Crossover

Week 11 literary analysis

When he talked or smiled or frowned, it moved and she could watch it and ignore everything else. Sometimes she could even avoid listening to him.

Butler, 2005, pg. 115

In Octavia Butler’s short story “Cross Over,” she portrays the idea of mental health and self control as a main theme in the story. In the story, the protagonist words tirelessly at her job that she despises. She is happy with her job nor her current living situation. Her job at the factory made her unhappy and eventually depressed. She seems to want more with her life but something is preventing her from moving forward. When she has her first headache in three months, we can see that something might be wrong with her health. She seeks to get medicine form the local liquor store to get medicine to ease her pain. When she does so, she see a familiar figure that used to haunt her. This figure can be described as an ex-boyfriend who was a bad role model to her. He seemed to only make her life worse. As we continue to read along, we get hints that he is not real. He seems to be a part of her imagination part of her conscious mind. She also states that he was in jail for three months and was just released. This connection between his return and her headache is uncanny. The ex-boyfriend is violent, physically and verbally, and is negative. This ex-boyfriend was also into drugs and alcohol, which influenced the protagonist to be into them as well. The ex-boyfriend seems to represent her drug abuse and is the figure that lurks in order to show her that if she continues to used drugs and alcohol, he will always be there to make matters worse.

It is apparent that he is a pigment of her imagination. The time he returned and when she got her headache was the same which means that the headache caused him to return. The protagonist has returned to her old lifestyle with drugs and alcohol after three months of staying sober. This break from sobriety has damaged her mental health. Because drug and alcohol will harm one’s mental ability, it made the protagonist hallucinate and create a dark figure that essentially harasses her into doing bad things that will only further destroy her mental health. Because of her job and how unhappy she is with her life, she turned to drugs for comfort. This method is not always the best since there will always be repercussions. Addiction and abuse of the drug will only damage one’s mental health. In the protagonist life, returning to her old life with drugs and alcohol also made the dark ex-boyfriend figure return and haunt her. Drugs and alcohol should never be the first thing you turn to when you are struggling. Drugs and alcohol will only make the situation worse, not better. Friends and family is always there for you in times of need. Mental health is a big issue in our society. Those with mental health issues should definitely not turn to drug and alcohol for comfort.

In what way does drugs and alcohol play in one’s life?

Butler, O. (2005). “Cross Over” in Blood Child and other stories (Second ed.). New York: Seven Stories Press.