Grain of Manhood Essay Example

to someone else, just so she could be pregnant. A full frontal strike to his manhood.

When the baby is born, the unexpected happened; the baby looked just like him. "He was a complete replica of James, down to the last neat lock of dark hair on his forehead" (page 209).In a sense, this baby gave James something that he thought he had lost; A last grain of manhood, because no one would question whether he was capable of having a child anymore. Kolanddro, an alien from the planet Nev. He is a Nevid, and is capable of deciding how his children will look. " All Nevid parents have a choice in deciding before the child is born what form it will take - externally, not in the vital organs." (page 205). Though he is not a true "man", he is capable of giving Lela what she wanted; A baby. Kolanddro helps Lela while she is living on his planet.He gives her food, shelter and protection. When Lela declared that she wanted to leave, he allowed her to; even though she was carrying her son. What Lela did not know thought, was that Kolanddro decided to make his child look like James, and not himself.

One would have to be a real man to let his only son go like that, and in the form of another being; a human. Even though Kolanddro is not a man, he gains a "grain of manhood" by doing this. He gains a grain of manhood by giving up his only son, for Lela's happiness.The baby, Kolanddro's only son, is now in the care of two humans. Though he is just

a newborn, he gives two men what they needed. Without him, they would just be a Nevid, and a human unable to create a child.

He is the result of a crashed ship, but in the end he means more to three people than he will ever know. He is probably the only child who is loved on Earth and on Nev, though Kolanddro would never admit it. This small gift of life ties two people together, who could have fallen apart, Lela and James. He will be their life from now on, this small grain of manhood.The title relates to the story in three ways: through Kolanddro, through James, and through the baby.

Both Kolanddro and James gain a grain of manhood back when the baby is born, therefore the baby acts as a grain of manhood to both men. James now has a baby with his features, and Kolanddro was man enough to let Lela go back to Axtu, even though she carried his child. This baby, part nevid, now living on earth, kept two people together the moment he took his first breath. He was born amongst the stars, and will be remembered from Axtu to Nev, and across the universe.