Dawn Themes

Like many science fiction novels, Dawn asks questions about what it means to be human, specifically when a race of gene-“trading” aliens called Oankali start making plans to genetically engineer a generation of hybrid offspring that will be neither fully human nor fully Oankali. Oankali like Nikanj and Kahguyaht present this future as a positive one, where the best elements of both humans and Oankali will combine to supposedly create a new race with all…

In Butler’s Dawn, Lilith is placed in the role of being a communal mother for some humans being trained to go back to Earth by the Oankali, with references to motherhood in many of the novel’s part titles: “Birth,” “Family,” and “Nursery.” After Lilith is “birthed” by leaving a solitary room through a hole the Oankali open up, she is placed in a parent role for some other humans. The training begins with Lilith…

Dawn features a species of aliens called Oankali with at least three different sexes: male, female, and ooloi (using “it” pronouns). Unlike humans, Oankali mating typically involves three individuals (a male, a female, and an ooloi), and it can even involve as many as five if a male and female human are added. Although protagonist Lilith frequently does not trust the Oankali, as a former anthropology student, she believes that things like their practices around…