Bloodchild Essay

As explained by the author, the story Bloodchild is “a story about paying the rent.” (Butler, 31) However, the story shows a rollercoaster of emotion and growth form main character Gan. At the beginning you see Gan of the story I noticed how Gan was more timid. He’s shown to be very observant, but towards the end of the story Gan showed growth by speaking his mind and making choices he wasn’t able to fathom at the beginning of the story.  The older I get; I take into consideration the responsibilities that come with every decision I make. Although I am still young, I’ve had important life lessons involving the different people I’ve bumped into. Like T’gatoi, there may be people who recognize my loyalty and try to take advantage of a round persons innocence and use it for their own happiness. But as I become more mature like Gan, I’ve learned to weigh risk and do what is best for me while still being the best young adult I can be. 

Everyone has something that defines them, also known as their own identity. Throughout the story “Bloodchild”, we see the main character and narrator Gan, working to find his own identity.  After being chosen by T’gatoi, leader of the preserve, Gan finds himself in a complicated position when T’gatoi controls him. Although Gan seems to be her first choice, T’gatoi seems to excessively exercise the loyalty in which Gan has towards her. We see Gan constantly being pushed past his limits. When Gan sees the experience, he will soon take part in going badly, it makes him question his future choices. He becomes unsure of how he would pursue his upcoming task. “I knew what I had to do, so what to expect. I had been told my life. I felt the familiar sting, narcotic, mildly pleasant.” (Butler, 27) He is able to come to terms with the responsibilities that come with becoming older.  

I believe an important lesson Gan learned was standing up for himself. There will be times where an authoritative figure tells you what to do and going against that will be a hard decision, but it’ll eventually mold you into being a better version of yourself. For me, the process of picking a college was difficult to say the least, and there were a lot of opinions. I’m grateful for all the help that I received but I’m also proud of myself for being able to simply listen and take into consideration what everyone had to say, but ultimately make my own decision. When it all comes down to it, it’s important to know what you want, and if you don’t know what you want it’s important to know what you don’t want. It’s important to stand for something. Gan stepping up and taking responsibility is the moment in which he showed the most growth. 

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