In order to see the major claim provided by this story, we must examine the historical background of the author, Octavia Butler. Butler is a black feminist writer who had her short story “Speech Sounds” published during the 1980s. During this time, blacks and woman were still fighting for equal rights—a struggle many would argue continues to this day—and we are able to see this reflected in Butler’s work. Butler’s world is full of people who are infected with a sickness that makes them unable to communicate and think properly; this sickness could be compared to the racism and sexism present within Butler’s own world, a sickness which renders those who hold prejudice against each other unable to communicate properly. We see that no one within