Octavia Butler's The Resistance Is Dead And So Are Me

The Resistance is Dead and So Are You When the environment dramatically changes, humans are left with a false choice: accept or resist; only one of those options, acceptance, leads to survival. People often like to think that, in any given situation, there is a choice. However, when one of the options is suffering and death, no choice exists at all. Life is evolutionarily programed for survival. One of the primary tools of survival is adaptation. If the situation one finds oneself in is irreparably difficult, dangerous, or deadly, adapting to the situation is the only way one can hope to survive. In Octavia Butler’s short story, “Amnesty,” the world has been dramatically and irrevocably changed. Humanity has been invaded by an alien life
form known as the Communities. “The weeds came here uninvited, stole our land, and kidnapped our people” (Butler 158). Not only did the Communities kidnap portions of the population, their sheer presence sent the world into an existential crisis of sorts which manifested itself in an economic depression. “These weeds can invade us, wreck our economies, send the whole world into a depression just by showing up” (Butler 160). Even worse than an economic depression, the US government initiated a nuclear war against the Communities. However, the Communities only responded by returning half of the arsenal to the government. “Apparently, the Communities still have the other half [nuclear missiles]—along with whatever weapons they brought with them and any they’ve built since they’ve been here” (Butler 184). The Communities asserted their dominance, and the Communities and governments around the world entered into a tenuous truce, agreeing to coexist. As a result, humans were left struggling to find their place, their response to this sudden change of environment. Generally, there were two reactions to this change: bitter resistance or open minded acceptance. In “Amnesty,” James is in the “bitter resistance” camp. “I’m angry because I have to be here…They do whatever they want to us, and instead of killing them, all I can do is ask them for a job” (Butler 160). James is resistant, but cognizant of the fact that his resistance is futile. It will only lead to unemployment, poverty, and suffering. “I’m here to work for them, lady. I’m poor…I just need a job” (Butler 168). James has no real choice in this new environment. His only course of action is to accept and adapt. A foil to James, is Noah, the protagonist of the story. Noah was directly harmed by the Communities. She was one of their abductees. She suffered through her captivity. Yet she accepted the new order of things. She embraced her role in the new environment, and it has made her successful and secure. “You can make money here…I’m wealthy myself. I’m putting half a dozen nieces and nephews through college. My relatives eat three meals a day and live in comfortable homes” (Butler 168). Noah is wealthy and able to provide for others in her family. She has achieved and acquired what James desperately needs by adapting to the new environment rather than fighting it. This lesson of adapting instead of resisting can also be found in another science fiction short story, “The Piper’s Son.” “The Piper’s Son” takes place in a world that has experienced the Blowup, an event akin to a mass nuclear explosion.
The Blowup mutated a portion of the population. One of the mutations to arise from the Blowup was a group of hairless telepaths known as the Baldies. “So you’ll find that the Blowup caused a hell of a lot of insanity. Not only among the Baldies, but among the other mutations that developed then” (Padgett 134-135). Similarly to the background and environment in “Amnesty,” the environment in “The Piper’s Son” has been dramatically and irrevocably changed. Because of the Blowup, there now exists a new subset of people. Non-Baldies must reconcile with the permanent changes in the environment, and Baldies must determine how they will integrate with non-Baldy
society. The Baldies are presented with the same false choice as the people in “Amnesty,” they can reject the norms of non-Baldy society or they can adapt to them. Some Baldies choose to resist the norms by not hiding their baldness. They flaunt their mutation and ability to non-Baldies. Burkhalter’s son, Al, wants to resist. He does not wear his wig in school. “And keep your hair on too. Don’t take your wig off in class” (Padgett 140). Other Baldies refuse to wear wigs as well. Mr. Venner, the owner of a general store, is wigless. Resistance to some Baldies may feel liberating, but the effort is futile. It only leads to suffering. Resistance causes the non-Baldies discomfort, creates a danger for other Baldies, even those who attempt to hide their mutation, and it causes even greater discomfort, harm, and danger to the resistors. Because Al bought in to the Green Man propaganda which depicted the Baldies as superior to the non-Baldies, his mind had to be reconditioned. “Al could be reconditioned. Burkhalter’s eyes hardened. And would be” (Padgett 151). Even worse, Mr. Venner, the propagandist, was killed for his resistance by other Baldies. “Burkhalter took out his dagger. Other slivers of steel glittered for a little while—And were quenched” (Padgett 152). For Baldies, just like the humans in “Amnesty,” the only way to survive in the new environment is to accept the changes and adapt. “Baldies were always sneakingly conscious of a hidden peril, lynch law. And wise Baldies didn’t even imply that they had an…extra sense” (Padgett 129). The majority of the Baldies, Burkhalter included, choose to adapt and blend into non-Baldy society. They were toupees to hide their baldness. “Self-preservation was a part of it. For which reason Burkhalter, and many like him, wore toupees” (Padgett 129). They do not announce or show off their telepathic abilities. Because of their adaptation, they thrive. They have jobs. They make friends with Baldies and non-Baldies alike. More importantly, however, they avoid death. When the environment changes drastically and irrevocably, the only viable choice for humans and animals is to survive by adapting to the environment.
Any resistance leads to death. This is a basic evolutionary principle: natural selection. Charles Darwin’s theory of the peppered moth provides a real life example. The white moth was more prominent, but when pollution darkened the color of the tree bark on which the moth rested, the white moths became easy targets to predators. The white moth died off, and the type of moth that survived was the darker colored moth that blended into the tree. The same principle applies to humans. Adaptation is necessary to survival, and those who resist changes in the environments will die off like the white
moth. Humans have been adapting to their environment for millenia. A recent study found that nose shapes are a product of natural selection. “The findings revealed that nostril width was strongly linked with climate” (Gregoire, 2017). “Narrower nose can more effectively condition cold,” therefore those with narrower nose were more likely to survive in colder climates (Gregoire, 2017). Humans also adapt to diseases in the environment. “People whose ancestors have lived in areas that have had endemic malaria for thousands of years often inherit some degree of immunity to this serious disease. The high incidence of sickle-cell trait among the people of Central Africa is largely the result of indirect selection for this trait by malaria” (O’Neil, 1998). While these are examples of adaptations that occurred lifetimes ago, human adaptation is still taking place today, in a different way. With the climate changing rapidly, humans are making technological adaptations to stem the effects of climate change. For example, on the coasts, cities are building higher sea walls to protect cities from flooding (“Adaption Overview”). When the environment changes, resisting the change only leads to death; the only way to survive the changes is to adapt.

Works Cited
“Adaptation Overview.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 29 Sept. 2016, www.epa.gov/climatechange/adaptation-overview. Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
Butler, Octavia. "Amnesty." Bloodchild and Other Stories. 2nd ed. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003. 149-84. Print.
Gregoire, Carolyn. “How Your Ancestors' Environment Determines The Shape Of Your Nose.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Mar. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nose-shape-evolution-climate_us_58cfe281e4b0be71dcf62ea4. Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
O’Neil, Dennis. “Human Biological Adaptability: Overview.” Human Biological Adaptability: Overview, Palomar College, 1998, anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_1.htm. Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
Padgett, Lewis. "The Piper's Son." The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories. Tom Shippey. Oxford: Oxford U Press, 1945. 127-53. Print.