After Class Writing: Octavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds”

Write a summary about Octavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds” and your notes about her, Feminist SF, and Afrofuturism, and post it as a comment to this blog entry.

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16 thoughts on “After Class Writing: Octavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds”

  1. Tommy Lin

    The short story “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler is about a world where a plague occurred that made everyone either unable to read or speak. It begins with Rye being on the bus and witnessing a fight break out. Someone comes in a LAPD uniform and breaks up the fight and gestures Rye to get into the car with him. She calls him Obsidian. While Obsidian is driving, he takes out a map and demonstrates the ability to read, which fills Rye with immense jealousy to the point of wanting to kill him, but doesn’t. They encounter a woman running for her life with a guy coming after her with a knife. The man stabs the woman, Obsidian tries to stop him, but was too late, and his gun gets taken and he gets killed. Rye takes her gun and shoots the man. Two kids come out of the house and demonstrates the ability to speak coherent English, Rye takes them and takes care of them, while telling them that it’s okay to speak.

    In this class lecture, we learned about Octavia Butler, born in 1947, and died in 2006. Her work focuses on time travel, biological sciences, and social sciences. Her themes are slavery, victimization, classism, and racism. Harlan Ellison was a mentor to Octavia. She is the first science fiction writer who won a McArthur Genius Grant. Afrofuturism is connections between afro diasporic and science fiction. Afrofuturism is speculative fiction written by both afro diasporic and African authors, it’s a global aesthetic movement that encompasses art, film, literature, music, and scholarships. The 3 goals of Afrofuturism are: 1. Its artist want to tell good SF stories, 2. Afrofuturists are interested in recovering lost black history and thinking about how those history inform a whole range of African history, 3. Think about how these histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  2. mpaar

    Mike Paar
    After Class Summery
    5/11/16

    “Speech Sounds,” by Octavia E. Butler is a story set in Los Angeles after a plague wiped out humanities ability to communicate. As a result, civilization collapsed into a state of near anarchy. The story focuses on a woman by the name of Rye as she’s traveling home by bus when a fight breaks out forcing the passengers to flee the violence. A man stops by wearing a LAPD uniform and breaks up the fight with a gas grenade after which he offers Rye a ride through a series of hand gestures. Feeling now that she’s been marked, she reluctantly accepts the ride to avoid potential violence brought about the now waylaid passengers.

    In the ride, the man gains Rye’s trust by demonstrating his name through symbol, she comes to know him as Obsidian. She is shocked when she discovers that he is also able to read still, despite not being able to talk. Although initially she feels jealous towards him, she eventually feels affection for him and he invites her into his back seat to become intimate. Afterwards they continue to drive and she plans for what could be her possible future with this man that she only just met. She feels that he is kind enough and strong enough to protect her from the world that’s falling apart around her.

    Her thoughts are interrupted when a fight breaks out near them in the street between a man and a woman. Obsidian jumps out of the car to protect the woman from the man who has a knife, but she’s stabbed before he is able to shoot the man to stop him. Although the man initially appears dead, he grabs the gun and shoots Obsidian before Rye kills him in turn. Rye mourns the death of the man he just met and discovers two kids who come out from hiding to mourn the woman, who she assumes is their mother. She takes Obsidian’s body to bury him properly and begins to take the woman’s as well when one of the kids shout for her to stop. Rye is shocked at the fact that they can speak and decides to bring them along with her, revealing to them that she could speak herself and that among one another it is safe for them to.

    Octavia E. Butler was an female SF author of African descent. She was discovered at a writers workshop by Harlan Ellison, in which he groomed her skills as a writer in hopes that she would become successful with her work. Among her numerous awards as a writer, she was the first SF writer who won the MacArthur Genius Grant, establishing her as a major force in the literary world. She was one of the major influences on Afrofuturisim, a style of SF that’s focused on Afro diasporic and African authors. Their goals include telling good SF stories, recovering lost black histories and to explore how their histories and cultures inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  3. Gabriel Vega

    Octavia Butler’s Speech Sounds, a short story where an unnamed disease spreads through the world, which kills a lot of humans and has paralyzing the rest of both the body and the mind. The ability to speak, read, and comprehend is no longer in their grasp it’s truly gone as if they were dysfunctional zombies. The story starts off with a women named Rye who gets on a Washington Boulevard bus she still has the ability to speak after the diseases has took over most of the humans ability to talk and other functions be she keeps it a secret. On the bus there’s trouble all of sudden a fight until a L.A.P.D. in car rides up to the bus in uniform comes in who Rye calls Obsidian stops the fight rom going further than it is already. After breaking up the fight Rye leaves the scene with Obsidian after he gestures her to go along with him in the car for a drive. Within the car the she becomes sort of jealously of learning Obsidian has the ability to read after putting a map to read it and feels a violent reaction to harm him but doesn’t; she lets it go. When suddenly Obsidian stops to help the woman from the man whose carrying a knife in attempt to kill the women as she’s running; though it’s too late the women ends up dead by being stabbed. Afterwards the man who he was trying to stop by being shot with his own gun too kills Obsidian. Rye then with her gun kills the man and is left with the woman’s kids who also have the ability to speak. Rye tells them it will be ok that she will take care of them it’s ok for them to speak now. Octavia Butler in class lecture a writer was knows for her writings in time travel, biological sciences, and social sciences. Themes she wrote about were about slavery, victimization, classism, and racism; Harlan Ellison mentored her in being a S.F. Female writer. Then we moved on in lecture to talk about Afrofuturism, a speculative fiction written by both afro diaspora and African authors, it was a global aesthetic movement that embraces art, film, literature, music, and scholarships. It had 3 goals 1st artists want to tell good SF stories, 2nd. Afrofuturists have a interested in recovering lost black history and thoughts about how that very same history tells a whole range of African history, 3rd. Think about how these histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  4. Alan Zhu

    The short story “Speech Sounds”, by Octavia E. Butler is a story in Los Angeles. The people in Los Angeles was infected by a virus causing them to lose the ability to communicate, such as talking, writing, and talking. As a result, the city was in total chaos. The story begins on a woman named Rye. Rye was traveling home by bus and later there was a fight breaks out forcing passengers to exit the bus. A bearded man, assuming to be a police officer because of his uniform, he stop the fight and then offered a ride for Rye using hand gestures. Rye soon discovered that his named Obsidian through a symbol that the man was showing. Rye feels jealousy toward Obsidian since he can still read, knowing this when he was reading a map, but eventually, Rye fell in love with Obsidian and made love on Obsidian back seat.
    After a while in the car, there is another fight breaking out near them in a street between a man and a woman. Obsidian went to save the woman but she was already stab by the man before Obsidian is able to shoot the man. Thinking that the man was dead, he grab Obsidian’s gun and shot him. Rye killed the man and while being in grief from the death of the man she just met. Two kids came out hiding and mourn Rye. Rye soon discover that the kids can still talk, shock by this Rye decides to bring them along. Rye revealed that she can talk as well and told the kids it is safe for them now.
    Octavia E. Butler was born in 1947 and died in 2006. She was an African female Science Fiction author. Her themes are slavery, victimization, and racism. Harlan Ellison was a mentor to Octavia. When Harlan discover Octavia at a writers workshop, he help only her to be a skill writer that she was hoping to be. She was the first Science Fiction writer who won the MacArthur Genius Grant. She introduce the term Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism is a type of Science Fiction that focus on Afro diasporic and/or African author. Afrofuturism goals is to tell good Science Fiction stories and also recover lost black histories. They also want to think about how these histories and cultures might be able to inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  5. Kevin A. Gaul

    ENG 2420
    Kevin A. Gaul
    May 15th, 2016

    After-Class Summary: Speech Sounds

    Speech Sounds, first featured in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in 1983 by Octavia E. Butler, is the story about a woman living in a post-apocalyptic future where a pandemic has left the majority of the remaining population without speech or literacy. Survivors attempt to communicate with each other with sounds and physical gestures, but sometimes those attempts usually result in conflict either from a misunderstood gesture or a person’s frustration stemming from their inability to communicate. Those with any remaining ability to read or speak are antagonized by others out of envy. The woman, Rye, is on a bus traveling through the greater Los Angeles area to Pasadena to locate her brother and his two children. Buses are also very rare as most of the public transportation infrastructure has deteriorated, along with other infrastructure such as roads and law enforcement. On the bus, an argument breaks out between two men, which eventually leads to a fight. This fight causes another fight between other passengers, which prompts the bus driver to bring the bus to a sudden stop, causing the brawlers and anyone else who didn’t brace for the application of the brakes to fall over. Rye and a couple other passengers exited the bus, while others stayed, since it could take a very long time before another bus would arrive. A man driving a blue Ford pulls up in front of the bus, walks out, and gestures Rye to come with him. Reluctant at first, Rye eventually goes with the man after he manages to gain her trust. On the way to Pasadena, the two get to know each other, such as the man’s name being Obsidian and that he used to be some type of law enforcer. He also has the ability to read, which briefly fills Rye with envy and murderous intent as she was a history professor and a freelance writer before the pandemic. Obsidian also learns that she could speak, which briefly angers him as well, and that she had children. This bonding moment eventually leads to sexual intercourse between the two. Later in the story, Obsidian’s attempt to save a woman from a man with a knife resulted in the death of all three, with Rye still alive. A boy and a girl emerge from the building where the man and woman came from and went to the dead woman. Rye decides to bury Obsidian and the woman next to her husband and children, but the girl shouted “No!” to Rye’s surprise, as she didn’t want Rye to take her. After the boy tells the girl not to speak, Rye talks to the children to show them that she can speak as well, and takes them with her.

    In today’s lecture, we talked about the author of “Speech Sounds” and one of the most recognized African-American SF writers, Octavia E. Butler. We discussed how she was mentored by Harlan Ellison, who encouraged her to attend the Clarion SF Workshop in 1970. She was also the first to win a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1995. Her story themes included slavery, victimization, classism, and racism. We also talked about Afrofuturism, which is the connection of the Afro diasporic people, and that Afro futurist artists and writers want to tell good SF stories and recover lost Black histories, as well as inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  6. Hermann Sterling

    Exhibiting themes of illness, communication, and isolation, Octavia Butler “Speech Sounds” is about a future dystopia where a mysterious disease has left an entire civilization without ability to communicate properly. In this civilization, some humans are deprived the ability to read or write, while some aren’t able to speak. Given the lack of communication due to the disease, Individuals improvise their lost abilities to communicate by using universally understood sign language and gestures that can often exacerbate misunderstandings and conflicts. Additionally, it as a result of the disease people are easily prone to uncontrollable feelings of jealousy, resentment, and rage over their own impairments and the ability of others.

    The story, staged in Los Angeles, follows a woman by the name of Rye on her journey to seek her last living relative, her brother and his family in Pasadena. While taking her trip there on a bus, a fight breaks out which forces Rye to leave the bus leaving her 20 miles from Pasadena. Rye realizes the danger of walking the rest of the twenty miles through dangerous territory, decides to take a ride from a man by the name of Obsidian, a man in a police uniform who stops to restore order on the bus. While in Obsidian’s company she learns that he has the ability to read, and she struggles with an intense feeling of jealousy and an urge to kill him. But instead, she reveals to him that she is able to speak, which leads them into an intimate moment and have sex.

    Rye asks Obsidian to return home with her, and he reluctantly agrees. While on there way Obsidian is shot in the head by a man, he had tried to stop from killing another woman, but he fails and loses his life and Rye ends up killing the man.

    From the violence, two kids emerge from hiding, where Rye learns it was the dead woman’s children. The children having the ability to speak make Rye decide to adopt them.

    In class we talked about Octavia Butler who was born in 1947, and died in 2006. Time travel, biological sciences, and social sciences being her focus,Octavia Butler displays themes of slavery, victimization, classism, and racism in her stories. Being mentored by Harlan Ellison, Octavia became the first science fiction writer who won a McArthur Genius Grant. We also talked about Afrofuturism, which is connections between afro diasporic and science fiction.

  7. RaBbe AhMed

    The short story “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler is about a mysterious pandemic leaves civilization in ruins and severely limits humankind’s ability to communicate. In Los Angeles, a woman named Rye decides to seek out her only remaining relatives, a brother and his family in nearby Pasadena. But when a fight breaks out on a bus, Rye is forced to consider walking the rest of the twenty miles through dangerous territory. It is then she meets Obsidian, a man in a police uniform who stops to restore order and then offers her a ride in his car. Confronted with the hostilities of her fellow passengers or the threat of walking the streets alone, she cautiously accepts the stranger’s offer, and together they resume the trip out of the city. Before long, Rye learns that Obsidian can still read a map, and she struggles with an intense feeling of jealousy and an urge to kill him. Instead, she reveals that she is still able to talk, and the two share an intimate moment and have sex. Rye asks Obsidian to return home with her, and he reluctantly agrees.
    On the road home, the couple observes a woman being chased by a man wielding a knife. Both feel inclined to intervene in the woman’s defense but are unable to prevent the woman from being fatally stabbed. After wounding the assailant, the man is able to wrestle the gun from Obsidian and shoot him in the head, which instantly kills him. Rye then kills the assailant. After the violence, two children emerge, a boy and a younger girl, apparently the children of the dead woman. Rye drags Obsidian back to the car with the intention of giving him a proper burial—and initially plans to ignore the plight of the children—but shortly afterward, she has a change of heart and returns for the body of the woman and her two children. As she reaches for the woman’s body, the girl speaks in coherent English, shouting “No. Go Away,” and the young boy tells her not to speak. This is the first coherent speech that Rye has heard in many years, and she realizes that her choice to adopt the children is the right one. “I’m Valerie Rye,” she says. “It‘s all right for you to talk to me.” It is the first time she has spoken her own name in a very long time.
    In today’s lecture we mostly talked about O. Butler who was born in 1947 and died on 2006 and we also talked about afro futurism. The 3 goals of Afro futurism are: 1. Its artist want to tell good SF stories, 2. Afro futurists are interested in recovering lost black history and thinking about how those history inform a whole range of African history, 3. Think about how these histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  8. John Darius

    John Darius
    ENG2420
    Chapter Summary: “Speech Sounds”

    “Speech Sounds,” is a science fiction story written by Octavia Butler. “Speech Sounds,” is a short science fiction story that is based in the future where civilization is gone. Most of civilization was destroyed due to a pandemic. The disease killed many people, and affected the way people communicated among one another. The protagonist of the story Rye is a woman who turns out to be different than most people. We learn later on in the story that Rye has the ability to communicate unlike some other people. Later in the story Rye decides to go out on a journey to find her family but later runs into a police officer named Obsidian. We learn later on that Obsidian is able to read, and that causes Rye to become jealous. Later in the story Rye and Obsidian run into another woman who is in trouble, but they are not able to save her from her attacker. Obsidian ends up getting killed by the attacker and Rye ends up killing the attacker afterwards. Rye later on tries to give Obsidian and the woman a nice burial.
    Octavia Butler is a black feminist and science fiction writer. Octavia Butler’s short science fiction story “Speech Sounds,” also had a lot of meaning to it. “Speech Sounds,” can also be a representation of how black women in the past did not have a voice of their own in society. Octavia Butler wrote a dozen novels. Octavia Butler’s short story “Speech Sounds,” also won a Hugo award in 1984. Octavia Butler often wrote stories about civilization that lived after an apocalypse.

  9. Darius

    “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler is a short story set in Los Angeles. The story opens with the main character Rye when an altercation on a bus to Pasadena breaks out between too men. The bus jerk and the taller one falls into the shorter one and a fist fight breaks out. It is clear that due to a mysterious illness, people can no longer communicate with each other. Some people lost their ability to read and write and others lost the ability to speak and understand speech. Each to their own varying severities.Rye gets off the bus and a man dressed in LAPD uniform get out and gases the bus forcing everyone to get off. Rye and the mysterious man help the strangers off the bus. The man then calls Rye over to go away with him as he sees that she’s being harassed by the men on the bus. She reluctantly agrees and we find out his name is Obsidian. At least that’s what she calls him based on his name symbol. He asks her where to, and she starts directing him towards Pasadena. After a while he pulls out a road map and points to it indicating where they are. Due to this Rye figures out he can read and is furious. So much so she contemplates killing him but ultimately doesn’t. They continue driving and eventually they hook up. Rye asks him if he wants to stay with her at her home and after a while he agrees. Rye then decides she doesn’t need to go to Pasadena to check on her brother and his kids. She will be alright with Obsidian. So they are driving back when a woman runs out into the road being chased by a man who is presumably her husband. Obsidian gets out to help. The man has a knife and ends up killing the woman so Obsidian shoots him. As Rye tends to her. When Obsidian turns to the woman the man gets up, grabs Obsidians gun and shoots him in the temple. Rye retaliates by shooting him again. Now Rye is surrounded by three bodies. She contemplates burying them but when she tries to get the woman’s body, her children yell “NO”. This is when Rye realizes they can talk and this is probably what the man and woman were fighting about. She tells the kids her full name and that it is ok to talk to her.

    In the lecture we talked about Octavia Butler and afrofuturism and their efforts to reclaim black history and tell good science fiction stories.

  10. Edwin Ortega

    Speech sounds is a short story written by Octavia E. Butler about a woman named Rye on a quest to find her possibly only living relative left, a brother and his two children. She must make her way to Pasadena from Los Angeles, between her is a world where the ability for proper communication is nonexistent, and fights break out due to misunderstandings with people’s personal forms of communication. These include grunts, hand gestures, and only a few can actually speak, read, and write. People also feel jealousy and rage for those that possess some form of literacy. In her journey she meets a man who she names obsidian, who may have been a former LAPD officer due to the uniform he possesses, as he is a reasonable person unlike the savages that seem to plague the world in the story. He helps Rye after she exits a bus where multiple fights had broken out. In his car he gestures her to point to the location she wants to go to. Impressed with his civility and sanity they make love, and moments later they encounter a man chasing a woman. He kills her, he kills obsidian, and rye kills him, children, possibly the dead woman’s, come out with the ability to speak. This brings hope to rye and in turn she speaks to them revealing her full name. Octavia Butler was an African SF writer discovered by Harlan Ellison at a writer’s workshop, he took her as his apprentice as he saw great potential in her. She was the first SF writer to win the MacArthur genius grant. She was a major influence in the Afrofuturism field, where it explores the present day struggles of people of color, along with examining historical events through multiples genres including SF.

  11. Dolly

    In this story there was a disease that removed the ability for people to either read or speak. There is a woman who does speak named Rye who witnesses a fight on a bus between two men for no real reason that was controllable. She meets a man named Obsidian who’s name she learns because they have a system for letting people know what their names are. Obsidian saves her a 20 mile trip on foot through a bad area by offering her a ride in his car and one on his lap. She finds out he can read and entertains the idea of killing him because she’s out of her job since she could no longer read. she also tells him without words that she can talk and he only seems slightly jealous. After this she finds herself in his lap. She asks him back to her place and he doesn’t want to but starts on with her anyway. On the way a guy shoots him in the head and Rye kills the guy who kills Obsidian. Rye tries to give Obsidian a nice burial then the story ends.

    In class we learned about Octavia Butler and her work. She focuses on time travel, biological and social sciences. Themes she explores regularly are slavery, victimization, classism, and racism. Harlan Ellison mentored Butler when they met at the Clarion writer’s workshop. Butler was the the SF writer who won a McArthur Genius Grant award.He genre is Afrofuturisimand the goals of this genre are: That the artists want to tell good SF stories, recovering lost black history and thinking about how those history inform a whole range of African history, and thinking about how the histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  12. Octavio Anaya

    Octavia E. Butler’s story “Speech Sounds” takes place in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, after civilization has collapsed due to a collapse in communication. Rye, the protagonist, is heading home on a bus when a fight breaks out, to which she flees the bus in fear of her safety. A police officer throws a gas grenade into the bus, and tells Rye to come with him, but he does not speak so he uses hand signals. Rye goes with the police officer and they drive away from the scene. While driving, Rye finds that his name is Obsidian, and he can read, which surprises he because he cannot speak. Their time together attracts the two, and they eventually become intimate in the back of the police car. Later in the drive, as Rye is realizing she has immense feelings for Obsidian, a fight breaks out in a nearby street, where a man with a knife is attacking a woman. Obsidian jumps out the car to protect the woman, but ultimately gets shot by the man, who is killed by Obsidian. This was after the man stabbed the woman he was originally attacking. As Rye mourns the death of the man she loved, two children come out and do the same with the woman who died, which one can assume is their mother. After burying Obsidian, Rye takes the children, and reveals that she can speak as well, and that together they will be safe.
    The lecture focused on Octavia E. Butler. She was a female Science Fiction writer that was also African American. She shadowed Harlan Ellison, in hopes to become a famous writer. She was the first SF writer who won the MacArthur Genius Grant, and she also aided in the development of Afrofuturism.

  13. Vayne

    Mathew Tackett
    5/24/16

    In class today we discussed “Speech Sounds” by Octavia E. Butler which was featured in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in 1983. The story’s plot revolves around a woman living in a post-apocalyptic world where a virus has left the population without the ability to talk or read. Most of the people still alive communicate via sounds and gestures. The main character Rye is on a journey to find her brother and his kids in Pasadena. An argument breaks outs on the bus Rye is traveling on and she decides to leave the bus and thinks about walking the rest of the way. That is when Obsidian, a man with a Blue Ford convinces Rye to go with him to Pasadena. They get to know each other along the ride, Obsidian able to read and Rye able to speak, causes friction and then attraction between the two. At the climax of the story Obsidian sacrifices himself to save Rye and the children from a man wielding a knife. Rye learns her children can talk after she buries Obsidian, and decides to take them away with her. During today’s class lecture we talked about the author of “Speech Sounds” she is an African American SF writer who was mentored by Harlan Ellison. She won a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1995 and she often includes slavery, victimization, classism and racism in her stories as themes. We shortly mentioned Afrofuturism which is the reinvention of Afro diasporic culture to inspire new visions of tomorrow through good SF and lost Black histories.

  14. Peter

    Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006).

    Most of the social themes in her works – slavery, victimization, classism, racism.

    She met Harlan ellison and he encouraged her to attend the The clarion science fiction writers workshop in 1970. Pennsylvania, ended and reborn as Clarion West in California. The workshop was 6 Weeks, writing everyday and share their writing. Normally there are a certain amount of established writer to help with the writing. They spread their attention around but Harlan Ellison helped Butler, took her under his wing was a mentor to her. She is the first widely recognized African American woman science fiction writer. Also first science fiction writer to win a MAcArthur fellowship/genius grant in 1995.

    Afrofuturism – The connection between afro diaspora and science fiction

    3 Goals:
    Its artist want to tell good science fiction story
    Afrofuture artist are interested in recovering lost black histories and thinking about how those lost histories inform a whole range of black cultures today
    Think about how these histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow

    For class we read “Speech Sounds”. The world of speech sounds is a post apocalyptic society in which communication has broken down and the means of communication have gone. The main character is Rye and she is traveling to find her brother. Along the way she meets a man named obsidian who can read maps, which makes her jealous. The two meet a woman who is being attack by a man. Obsidian tries to help the woman but the woman, Obsidian and the attack all die. It i revealed that the woman had two children and that they can talk. It is revealed that rye can also talk and she takes the children in with her.

  15. mz0050

    “Speech Sounds”, by Octavia E. Butler in 1983. It is set in Los Angeles. Where people were infected by a virus causing them to lose the ability to communicate. Due to this governmental agencies no longer existed. The story is from the perspective of woman named Rye. Rye was traveling to her brother’s house by bus, which came infrequently. Due to frustration stemming from the lack of the ability of communication a fight breaks out forcing passengers to exit the bus. A man assumed to be a former police officer because of his uniform, stops the fight. He then offers a ride for Rye using hand gestures. Rye discovers that the man is called Obsidian. Rye feels jealousy toward Obsidian since he can still read. Eventually Rye falls in love with Obsidian. A fight between a husband and his fight breaks out. Obsidian goes to save the woman but she was already killed by the man before Obsidian is able to shoot the man. Believing that the man was dead, the man grab Obsidian’s gun and shot him. Rye kills the man and sees two children running out from hiding. Rye discovers that the kids can still talk, shock by this Rye decides to bring them along. Rye revealed that she can talk as well and told the kids it is safe for them now.
    The 3 goals of Afro futurism are: 1. Its artist want to tell good SF stories, 2. Afro futurists are interested in recovering lost black history and thinking about how those history inform a whole range of African history, 3. Think about how these histories and cultures might inspire new visions of tomorrow.

  16. Mel

    The short story “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler is about a disease that’s spread through the world which causes people to lose the ability speak, read and understand what’s is going on with people. In the story a women name Rye still has the ability to speak but decided to keep it a secret. While riding the bus with her brother Rye encounter a fight since the lack of communication is creating tension. Rye encounter a man by the name Obsidian which who she falls in love with. During an attack Obsidian gets kill and Rye takes of with his children who have the ability to talk
    In class with discuss Octavia Butler and afro futurism and its 3 main goals for good SF.

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