Stories of Survival

“We humans have two main drives: the drive to physically survive and the drive to emotionally connect. If you grow up in secure attachment, you learn life is about connection. If you do not grow up in a secure, attached environment, you learn life is about survival.”

-Russell Kennedy, Author of Anxiety Rx

Octavia Butler was an American author who wrote many stories in her lifetime, one of which, is a short science fiction story called Speech Sounds that was first published in 1983. In this story, readers are offered the chance to take a bus ride with her main character, Rye, who is living in a post-apocalyptic world, overcome by a “highly specific” illness that causes language and intellect to become severely impaired, that is, for the ones lucky enough not to have succumb to the disease. Unsurprisingly, the bus is filled with many other passengers who are also locked in survival mode, all sharing a mentality that is common to self-preservation. Under these circumstances, Rye seems almost lucky to possess the ability to be able to anticipate the fiery tempers that surround her on her journey to Pasadena and can directly empathize with the energy as well. This, of course, suggests that Butler's main character, Rye, had likely already been living her life in survival mode even before the apocalypse occurred, which paradoxically, allows her to become one of the calmer presences in the state of emergency she has found herself in.

Although Rye has lost her ability to read, she allows her sharp senses to guide her safely through the altercations that arise throughout her journey into the south. There is one point in the story however, when she is briefly overwhelmed by intense feelings of “hatred, frustration and jealousy” (Butler 140) when she meets a man named Obsidian, who has not yet lost his ability to read, like she has, only his ability to speak. Nevertheless, she takes a chance with this bearded stranger because he can at least provide a source of protection for her since all her loved ones have already died from the illness. Despite their differing levels of impairment, these two strangers are able to gain a somewhat trusting understanding of each other and even proceed to have protected sex together in the backseat of Obsidian's car the very same day they meet, briefly satisfying one of their most basic human needs during this time of desperation.

Although Butler’s characters are plagued by a fictional illness in this story, very real undertones of self-preservation can be sensed through the main character’s vivid interpretations of the reality she is experiencing. Luckily, her main character manages to retain her temperate understanding of the aggressive gestures, attitudes, and actions of those who have become guided by their fear and anger throughout this story of survival, which is authenticated by Butler’s own, direct, experiences of racism, segregation and powerlessness observed and experienced during her lifetime and the highly misunderstood, short, and long-term repercussions and dangers of living in survival mode.

This is an important story because it allows us to conceptualize the multi-level character of self-preservation when we compare this mode of survival to the much less urgent state of being that many individuals get to enjoy on a regular basis. Through this second-hand experience, we are given the opportunity to briefly sink with Butler’s main character into the true depths of morality common to those who have been subjugated to a life in survival mode so that we may learn about the mindset that drives one’s actions while in this oppressive state of being.

In my opinion though, it is within our right to analyze the study of stories of survival that we have access to, particularly the ones written by authors who may have real, firsthand experience with this level of self-preservation, such as in the case of Speech Sounds. We should question the ways in which these types of stories are being used by readers and educators in “developed” countries like Canada and think about the motives that may lie at the heart of these interpretations (or misinterpretations) and public discussions about these stories of suffering. Have “developed” nations used their high levels of literacy, privilege, and access to second-hand experiences in a just manner or are these stories of survival being primarily used to achieve higher levels of “moral perfection” by those seeking to gain or secure positions of “power” in these nations? Because from the perspective of an (almost) middle aged, minoritized writer, who has spent the majority of her life in survival mode, I can assure you, that this was never the purpose of these stories. When you read a story about survival, born from the mind and real-life experiences of a marginalized and/or minoritized individual, not only is it safe to assume that there is likely an important lesson embedded into it somewhere, but also, that that lesson was only ever meant to be used as a tool of freedom. Too often, stories of survival are used as an instrument in developed nations to shame or oppress the ones who have not yet read the same story or gained the same insights. The ones who may not have been given a fair opportunity to attach to their own identity yet or to understand a set of moral guidelines that would provide a supportive basis for empathetic reasoning and objective thinking to occur in connection to this type of literature. In other words, let us not become too proud of the knowledge we are so blessed with in Canada, since oftentimes, it has indirectly come to us at the expense of someone else and their firsthand experiences of living a life in survival mode and the real anguish and real pain that stems from those experiences.

When a planet has paved over paradise and the plight for survival has morphed into a

much more unnatural ordeal, self-preservation takes on a multi-level character. From an

evolutionary perspective, speech has only worked to further complicate these circumstances,

leaving humans to wrestle with their highly contrasting perspectives of the world and the ways in which they communicate their concerns. Arguably, language has become one of the most manipulated tools in self-preservation in contemporary societies now, guiding vulnerable humans in directions they may not have otherwise gone. Yet, the art of storytelling allows readers to briefly enter the mindset of individuals who have spent more of their life in survival mode than others, so that those lucky enough to have avoided this experience can begin to empathize with these conditions. Speech Sounds, is a story that explores very real levels of self-preservation and the internal struggles that accompany this mode of survival, giving readers a taste of the real depths of morality common to those made to suffer these experiences. And hopefully, once those who do not have firsthand experiences of survival mode, have comprehended the true depths of this suffering, they will be inspired to do everything they can to help lift humans out of this moral and psychological state of confinement, rather than passively waiting for these “primitive” conditions to correct themselves.

Eerily, the story Speech Sounds does not seem quite as fictional as it once did perhaps, as an almost apocalyptic-like pandemic continues to plague our current civilization. And just like in Octavia Butler’s story, I am inclined to believe that we too, need the sharp instincts of the humans most accustomed to survival mode during this time, to help calmly guide us through this tempestuous storm safely. We need those individuals to help relieve us of our fear, so that our immune systems can function at a level high enough to protect our bodies from this disease. I hope such individuals feel liberated to use their keen instincts and senses in the coming weeks to provide our species with supplementary leadership at this critical time in the pandemic. A very distinct type of leadership that is outside the realm of our governing bodies and what they are able to do for us.

Sincerely,

Heather

Works cited: The Broadview Introduction to Literature: Concise Edition (2nd edition), ed. Lisa Chalykoff, Neta Gordon and Paul Lumsden. Peterborough, Broadview Press, 2019.