Confronting Prejudice and Power Structure: Afrofuturism in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling

Prejudice and entrenched power structures are ancient institutions that have sprawled across ages and continents. In Fledgling (2005), Octavia Butler explores these themes through the characters of the older Ina and Shori, a high-tech Ina vampire, who becomes a victim of prejudice due to her genetically engineered body and dark skin. While the merging of the human and Ina species offers a long-sought solution to a major vulnerability of the Ina – sun sensitivity – the Ina elite resist this change. Through a Marxist critical lens, this paper examines how Butler interrogates class tension, resistance to change, and racial prejudice. As the title Fledgling suggests the emergence of something new, Shori embodies a ground breaking, youthful form of her people: she is the first Ina to have dark skin, distinguishing her from her kin. As a prototype, Shori does not seek others like herself; she stands alone. Following the death of her parents, Shori is thrust into a leadership role while still a child, carrying the heavy burden of her family’s legacy. Her genetic differences position her as the missing link that could secure her people’s survival by resisting sun damage. However, the prospect of Shori producing mixed-race offspring; human and Ina hybrids, terrifies the older generation. They fear that embracing technology would precipitate a revolution that could dismantle their traditional way of life. Through Shori’s struggles and confrontations, Butler, with an Afrofuturist lens illustrates that societal change is possible with the right leadership, even in the face of deep-rooted prejudice and resistance. Although leadership is reluctantly placed in Shori’s hands, the elders’ opposition, rooted in fears of impurity, hybridity, blackness and youth, reveals the universal apprehension toward transformative change. Butler’s novel ultimately affirms that evolution, though difficult and fraught with conflict, is essential for survival and progress.