Bloodchild | Themes

Coming of Age
‘‘Bloodchild’’ opens with the line, ‘‘My last night of childhood began with a visit home.’’ This clearly signals that it is a coming of age story, concerning the protagonist’s loss of innocence and his accession to an adult role of knowledge and responsibility. In the science-fiction fantasy world that Butler has created, Gan’s rite of passage entails witnessing flesh-eating grubs hatch from a man’s abdomen and then agreeing to be implanted with the eggs of a powerful, insect-like alien. Bizarre as these events may seem, the story’s plot...

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