The Theme Of Prejudice In Octavia Butler's 'Fledgling'

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In Octavia Butler’s Fledgling, the protagonist, Shori Matthews, is viewed as different. Shori is the product of an experiment that mixes Ina (vampire) and human DNA in order to let the Ina be awake during the day. This alienates Shori from other Ina, some Ina accept this alteration but others do not. Those Ina that do not accept Shori show prejudice towards her; this is not unlike what happens in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In Frankenstein the prejudice is amplified in that everyone but the blind father of the De Lacey family is frightened of the creature. Prejudice is a major theme of both Fledgling and Frankenstein, the former through Shori’s mixed race/species and the latter through the creature’s origin and appearance.
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A perfect example comes from the good doctor, "I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks." (Shelley 59) This description of the monster by Dr. Victor Frankenstein shows how even though the creature is smiling, hinting that the creature is friendly, that Frankenstein hates the creature based on appearance; and this is the creator, everyone else who comes into contact with the creature acts much worse towards the creature for no other reason than the creature does not look human. In fact, the only person that treated the creature with any sort of decency was the blind father of the De Lacey family. The blind man can also be seem as a symbol for one of the assertions of Frankenstein, that man is blinded by prejudice. It is because of the lack of sight that the blind man treats the creature solely on the creature 's actions and words and not on the creature 's appearance, showing that the creature was not inherently evil and did not deserve to be treated in the matter that befell

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