The Science Fiction Genre

 The particular stylistic features that shape "Bloodchild" must be understood in terms of the story's genre. A genre is a category of art or literature distinguished by distinctive style, form, and content. As early as the second sentence of "Bloodchild"—"T'Gatoi's sister had given us two sterile eggs"—most readers will recognize that it belongs to the genre of science fiction. Science fiction explores the implications of future scientific and technological advances for individuals and society as extrapolated from the current states of science and society. Science fiction represents fantastic material in a realistic manner, treating highly imaginative situations as hypothetically possible. Qualities that mark the story as science fiction include, most obviously, the fact that it is set in the future and involves an encounter with an alien race. However, Butler's emphasis on character and her development of the plot around psychological conflict...