Throughout my reading of “Dawn,” I found myself torn between where my sympathies should lie. The Oankali seemed compassionate enough and Lilith’s relationship with Nikanj struck me as genuine and surprisingly not creepy. And yet it is difficult to trust the motives of a group of creatures that put humans asleep for centuries and then keep them trapped in a ship. There were moments when Lilith’s resistance annoyed me and then at other times I was shocked by her ability to cohabitate with these seemingly grotesque features. I continually put myself in the position of Lilith and I was forced to acknowledge that I would not be nearly as brave or patient as her. Being the only human among alien creatures is indeed a terrifying concept. There was much criticism of Lilith’s decision making in class and I have to argue in Lilith’s defense. I believe she went above and beyond what the majority of humans would have done in her situation. Curt may be a brave man in the sense that he is absolutely determined to lead his life away from the Oankali. But he is also foolish because he never gives the Oankali a chance to prove themselves as decent creatures. Ultimately I realized that Lilith was such an appealing candidate to the Oankali because she was strong, intelligent and more importantly, open-minded.
Should the Oankali have forced the humans to cross breed with them? No. Do I understand why they did it? Absolutely. It would be ludicrous for anyone to claim that if a ship full of alien creatures landed on Earth tomorrow, we would not conduct numerous tests on them. We would of course be fearful but our curiosity would overrule. I am clearly more hesitant to say that humans would have any desire to mass procreate with them but I would not be surprised if there was some attempt at isolated cross breeding. The Oankali are naturally very curious creatures. They are simply fascinated by the race of humans and are eager to save them and then start a future with them. While they are not open about all their intentions in the beginning, they are incapable of actually lying. Akin “had always found it easy to tell the truth and difficult to make himself lie” (351). Humans cannot boast this need for the truth. “Humans, on the other hand, lied easily and often. They could not trust one another. They could not trust one of their own who seemed too close to aliens, who stripped off her clothing and lay down on the ground to help her jailer” (238). While the Oankali hope to see the good in everyone, humans are constantly doubtful.
Within the first few chapters of “Adulthood Rites” I had my mind set in favor the Oankali. This is not to say that they did not make mistakes in their handling of the humans. This is also not to say that they should serve as the epitome of morality. But I do believe they are a more sophisticated race than the humans in many ways. They display an inherent goodness that the humans simply don’t have. One must only look at how welcomed Tino was into the Oankali tribe in comparison to how carelessly and in fact violently the group of nomads treated baby Akin. His presence excited many humans in Phoenix but this was only because they had desired a baby for so long and at least this one was normal looking. And still, several of the humans are repelled by Akin because of his gray tongue and thus connection to the aliens. They refuse to see the Oankali as a race in any way equal to them. The fact their survival is thanks to these aliens means little to them.
I found the story of the merger between the Oankali and the humans as a twisted version of extraterrestrial colonialism. Here, the humans are essentially the savages who need to be taught how to inhabit the Earth. However, the Oankali do not behave like traditional colonialists. They do allow the humans to build their own villages; albeit with the knowledge that they can never have babies. Rather than exerting violence on the humans, they give people like Lilith defense mechanisms against the humans who will most likely attack her. This is because they understand humans’ inclination towards violence. Akin describes how the nomads “did hit each other occasionally. Twice, a pair of them rolled in the mud, punching and clutching at one another. Even when they did not fight, they cursed each other and cursed him.” (334) Two centuries after destroying the world through violence, humans still cannot resist the urge for physical aggression. And yet they still carry the strong need to love and be loved. Iriarte has great trouble letting Akin go because he reminds him of one of his children. This is why the humans’ dilemma is so problematic and why it is ultimately so difficult to choose sides. I believe that the humans need to recognize the flaws that almost killed them before and at least attempt to understand the creatures that saved them.