July 1st class- Octavia Butler-Parable of the Sower

As Octavia Butler's novel is from the 1990s, the context is different clearly.

This is a novel from 1993. Octavia Butler was a very important science fiction writer, first of all
science fiction writer. Science fiction had been traditionally a male field, and more female voices
were needed. Because traditionally it was male writers who wrote and published science fiction. It's
interesting now that, for instance, in the 1950s we have Ray Bradley writing science fiction, while
Langston Hughes was writing Harlem.

In the 50s science fiction was mainly male. Those who wrote and were published were mainly men
writers, and mostly white. And that's why Octavia Butler comes such an important figure in the
sense that she is a woman writer and she is black, she's an African-American woman writer of
science fiction.

And in spite of all those drawbacks,- in terms of what the standard, what the mainstream literature
would accept- she became well known and she was acknowledged as one of the most important
science fiction writers. For instance, she received the Nebula and the Hugo, a very important awards
in science fiction. She was the first woman writer of science fiction, there are many others, but
Octavia Butler is also African-American, and that brings a new perspective into the field of writing,
in the field of science fiction.
Her writings are from the 1970s on, an interesting thing is that she wrote some group books like
trilogies and the parable series that includes two was originally intended to be a trilogy. She
intended to write a third one that could not write. She wrote something in between like flatling uh
2005 and then she unfortunately she died, a year later. so she never got to finish the trilogy of the
parables, but there are only two. And we are sharing one with you.

Some brief comments about science fiction. Science fiction is a genre that has been considered not
mainstream. Is we think of the development of science fiction, it has always been some kind of
marginal genre, not the mainstream genre. And little by little it got into becoming mainstream. But in
its origin it was a secondary genre or a more marginal genre. But nevertheless, science fiction, as
most genres, has led to lots of theoretical discussions. There are lots of theories of science fiction:
what science fiction is? How to define science fiction? Some concepts that are important for our
understanding of science fiction, and these are taken from Darko Suvin.

Literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of
estrangement and cognition, and whose formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the
authors empirical environments.
(Darko Suvin)
Pay attention to these concepts of estrangement and cognition, as two important elements in
science fiction, and an imaginative framework alternative. This idea of an alternative framework.
These are important devices of science fiction.

Estrangement: (extrañamiento) it's not something applied only to science fiction. That is, making the
reader feel something else, new, different, as a way of creating interest in the reader by presenting
the reader something different from the everyday. Or presenting the everyday in a different light, so
that it is felt as different.

This is not just a device, but it is a part of the definition of science fiction. that is, as readers of
science fiction we must feel that the world we have in front of us in the novel is strange to us, it's
different from the one we usually perceive, even though we could break we can recognize many
elements of the everyday. For instance, when you come to ‘parable of the sower’, there are lots of
elements in science fiction that have to do with the present, with the current reality. But they are
presented in such a way, the alternative world framework that is created is such, that we perceive
them as strange, even though we recognize them as part of our world. In science fiction, the world
that is presented to the reader must give the impression that it is unusual, different, not a world that
you can perceive next door. This does not mean that science fiction is divorced from reality, it's just
the opposite. It is not divorced from reality, science fiction has a very strong connection with the
current, present reality. But the way in which the world is presented is strange. Not to show that it is
different from reality, but to call our attention as readers to that world.
Cognition has to do with knowledge. Again, the process of acquiring knowledge. Every text provides
knowledge; we learn when we read. Any kind of text, not only science fiction. But in this case
science fiction acts as the experimentation of possible changes in the world. As it says here: “the
investigation of possible social systems or a new kind of science” For instance, Ray Bradbury, in the
1950s, he writes a story called ‘The Bell’?, in which a family with children, and they have in their
house –this is what we call now an intelligent house- one of the rooms where the walls project
visions. But not as a film they make it real, so it's virtual reality imagined in the 50s.

Nowadays it sounds more familiar, but in 1950s it was like a world to imagine. So that has to do with
a new kind of science, presented as fiction.

The Handmaid's Tale as an example of science fiction: because it doesn't necessarily include
technology but a new as a new possible social system.

We have said that there are many theories, and one point in which theories do not agree is whether
to include alternative world literature, within science fiction. There are writers who include one of
the kinds of literature, that is, science fiction is alternative worlds literature.

Any marginal genre, any genre that is not considered mainstream helps writers to make use of
criticism, because as it's marginal, it's not that important and then it allows you the possibility of
writing. And that's why women start writing science fiction. But it's only that, of course it offers
them the possibility of speaking at times of censorship. But it's a whole genre that allows to imagine
this. This is the ‘what if’. It is imagining the possible results of something, either scientific or social,
taking that to an extreme and imagine the possible consequences. This is the case of The
Handmaid's Tale, for instance. Because many of the things that we read in Margaret Atwood's
novel, were taking place in the United States, even fundamentalist groups who were thinking of the
use of women to rare children, etc. So there were many things taking place or situations that appear
like exaggerated in the metaphorical in the novel, which were taking place in certain parts of the
states. But what Atwood does is to take those things to an extreme and imagine what would happen
if this continued, or what will happen if this continues. And this has to do with the investigation of
possible social systems, the consequence of the current social system or imagining a completely
different social system. Or imagining new kinds of science. All this has to do with the concept of
cognition, which is central to science fiction as a genre.

Going back to the question about history, there is one kind of alternative worlds alternative worlds
could be worlds in the future was, in the present or other places, or it could be imagining what
happened, imagining a different ending to a historical fact.

There are many theories, and there are many variations in terminology having to do with science
fiction, utopia, dystopia, ukrainia. It's a permanent change of and consideration.

Novum. This is another concept related to science fiction, something would have discussed. This is
the ‘what if’ that we referred earlier. This is a novum or innovation. How can the world change?

Estrangement: present in the world as strange for the reader.

Cognition: having to do with a new kind of science, or new possible social systems. But there's also
the idea of something new added, some kind of innovation. And this has to do with this ‘what if’.
What if some human being survives a nuclear holocaust? What if a fundamentalist belief took hold
of the United States? What if...? And this is the world of science fiction.
Traditionally science fiction had included certain elements like the use of technology, or space
voyages, or the figure of the alien, or genetic manipulation, or, as we were referring to, alternative
worlds. But also geographical temporal displacements or placements of alternative societies. It
could be geographical at the same time or temporal, or both, because there might be different
societies appearing in the story. These are traditional elements in science fiction. But women's
science fiction had incorporated and, in fact, when I say women I’m referring to Octavia Butlers, but
it could be any gender science fiction, except the traditional one.

The gender becomes a very important change in science fiction and incorporates many other topics
as central to the discussion of science fiction. For instance: women, gender, sexuality and the body,
language, motherhood, family, the self, ecology. These are new concerns of science fiction and
utopia introduced by women. But you will find male writers of science fiction following also these
concerns, but these are changes introduced by new voices, not only female new voices in science
fiction, that introduced new concerns, in the last decades.

It has to do with post-modernism as well, giving voice to those that had not have the voice earlier.
So science fiction, that has been so male and mainly male protagonists and male perspectives, the
introduction of female characters and female points of view introduce new concerns. Because the
way in which the world is seen is different.

Science fiction as good ways of introducing the American culture. Because by working with science
fiction, science fiction speaks of the frontier, and if you take a space travel, for instance, going
beyond the frontier, trespassing the frontier. It introduces the concept of the dreaming, either the
dream or the dream deferred; technology that is so uh close to the development of American
culture. The concept of manifest destiny that believe that the Americans had the united states have
the right to conquer, to dominate, to become an example of democracy. All those concepts we
discussed in different classes appear in science fiction.

The space: the new frontier. The new planets: an example of the conquest.

Whenever the US citizens traveled to Mars, they did not want to see what Mars was like, but they
wanted to transform Mars to their own needs. And it's taken to Mars the ideology that they have in
the states, is the manifest destiny. But instead of moving westwards, it's going to space.
The frontier, the American dream of starting a new society, the manifest destiny -because it's the
right of well ‘I know what I have to do, I know I have the right ideology to take there. The difference
is perhaps here you have a strong criticism of society. So we imagine that she would and from what
she speaks of her seed we know that she doesn't want to repeat the same kind of society she wants
to want some changes.

In the case of Bradley's stories often the characters often repeat exactly the same in on Mars, even
in the story the wilderness. The wilderness speaks of a couple who is going to travel….

https://youtu.be/i52UESABGeA

One term that is used to describe this kind of text like ‘parable of the sower’ is critical dystopia.
There are many terms, many theories….

Utopia refers to the textual construction of a society that is seen or perceived as better than the
contemporary. That is, the reader or the writer must see this world as better than the present one.
This is the main concept of a utopia, the perfect place. But as we said, it's not just presenting an ideal
place, but there is a political discussion of what that society should be like, what that world should
be like. And that implies, of course, a comment about the present society. If that is the ideal, there
might be something that is not ideal in this society. So there is a political stance in utopia. In terms of
the narrative, utopias usually include a figure that is a guide. That is, in utopia the protagonist is
immersed in her present society, meets a figure that is going to act as a guide, and that god guide
takes the person to this other world. So you see the contrast between the current society of the
protagonist, and the ideal world that she experiments, usually guided by some other character. This
is more common in a utopia.

In a dystopia, things are going to be different. It is similar to utopia in the sense that there is an
alternative world, but unlike utopia that alternative world is perceived as worse than the present
one. So there is an alternative world, but that world is worse than the current world. This is, for
instance, what we perceive with The Handmaid's Tale, because that society is worse, we don't
want to live there, that is not a perfect place to live in. Unlike utopia, dystopias do not include a
guide that takes a protagonist from the current society to the utopian world, alternative world. The
dystopia usually introduces the character already in the middle of that world that is worse than the
present. There is no guide here. It's even worse, because the protagonist finds himself or herself in a
world that is worse than the reader's world. In a world that perhaps they do not understand, they're
already suffering in that world without any explanation. Explanations come later perhaps. And of
course that makes it even worse for the reader because there are no explanations given for the
situation from the very beginning.

Now the dystopian worlds usually include ecological disasters, poverty, totalitarian regimes, absent
governments, fundamentalist attitudes towards religion, dehumanization. All the negative things you
can think of are taken to an extreme in that world. And we come again to the ‘what if’ we discussed
earlier: ‘What if the economic policies are taken to an extreme? this is the experiment and there is
this sense of experimentation in imagining alternative worlds.
But both utopia and dystopia have a political stance. They might have been seen by some critics and
by some people as a sort of escaping from reality and imagining worlds that are fantasy, that are not
real. But in fact that is not true. Both utopia and dystopia, science fiction in general, speak of the
current society, and make a comment about the current situation, by imagining either a better or
worse alternative world. But there's always a political comment there. Political in terms of politics, of
economy, of society, of gender… there are many political comments in this kind of science fiction.
For instance, in the 70s there were utopias, that is, dreaming of a better world, the characters being
presented with a society that seems to be better, and there were often gender experiments in these
societies. The Left Hand of Darkness: it's a planetary system of different worlds, and in one of these
worlds the people have both genders. Of course, there is a limitation in this view of a binary system.
But the experimentation was imagining that the same person had a neutral face, and at the phase in
which sex was activated the person acquired one of them adopted one or the other gender. And the
same person could be female in one phase, and male in the next phase. That had to do with an
experimentation about imagining what would happen if we were not restricted by the gender
limitations we have, and impose ourselves as societies.

Another example in the 70s: children conceived in laboratories, and three people take responsibility
for them, not their own mothers. They did not get to know who their mothers were. This is also a
political stance, not only political in terms. This is just one example of this political commitment that
utopia and dystopias have. It's not just imagining the world so as not to think about realities, just the
contrary. It's a different way of thinking about the current reality.
So dystopias usually start in media res, there's no guided journey, we're just immersed in this world
that is perceived as worse than ours. There is textual estrangement, a questioning of society by
presenting this strange world.

There is a construction of a narrative of hegemonic order and a counter-narrative of resistance. That

is, there is a narrative of the hegemonic order of the world that is the world that governs, the politics
that govern that world. But there is a counter-narrative of resistance. So if you think of The
Handmaid’s Tale, there is a narrative of the hegemonic order that is all the system of Gilead. But
there is a counter-narrative of resistance that is what Afreud starts to discover. She is not aware of
this world, she's not fully aware of this resistance, she does not resist from the beginning. But she
seems to accept the reality that she takes, that has fallen to her, and then she feels alienated, she
feels strange, and then she starts resisting. So it's a process.

The narrative of hegemonic order and the narrative of resistance, the two stories clashing.

The notion of critical dystopia. The main introduction of this new genre is that the dystopia provides
an alternative world that is worse all the time. And so it's more pessimistic in that. There is a political
stance hopefully, in a traditional dystopia that is the writer showing that and making a political
criticism of society. That is the hopeful part. But there is no hope within the story. We have to make
a distinction in dystopia: the world the alternative in dystopia is always worse than ours, and there is
no clear hope there. Hope stands outside the text, in the writer that writes that criticism. And so
there is no pessimism there. The writer writes a pessimistic story to make a criticism and to take
active an active part in society with the hope that something can be changed.

But in a critical dystopia - again like The Handmaid’s Tale or ‘Parable of the Sower’, there is a
horizon of hope within the story, at the level of the narrative. It's not only the author's hope of
bringing some change by calling our attention to these questions of society. There is within the plot
line, within the narrative level, a horizon of hope. In The Handmaid's Tale, Ofreud can escape and
she can record her story. That's the hopeful, she does not die in the middle of that world; she fights
back and she gets something. Even though it may not be a happy ending, there is some hope there,
and there is the hope of a change in that society, at the level of narrative. In Parable of the Sower’
there is this horizon of hope that makes this a critical dystopia. What would you say is a horizon of
hope in Parable of the Sower’? Where is the hopeful line in Parable of the Sower’? There is a hope
of creating a better society. The hope, the planning, and the action towards that. That would not that
is not part of a traditional dystopia. That's why we may consider this a critical dystopia in this sense.
Because there is the decision to include in the narrative an area of utopia, or an area in which of
hope, of bringing this dystopian world to an end, of changing this dystopian. There is resistance but
there is some hopeful resistance. And we see Lauren thinking and planning a new society, the
journey north towards accomplishing that, and finally settling down. And of course, in Parable of
the Sower’ we have that society. Although we have many drawbacks there, we have this is hopeful
in this novel. But this is part of the narrative. It's not Octavia Butlers imagining a change in society in
her current society, but that is part of every dystopia. The change, the innovation of this kind in this
chamber is that within the narrative there is a hopeful vision.

The novel itself. The structure of the novel. How is the novel organized?

The first thing you notice when you read the novel is that sections are introduced by dates, and that
it takes the form of a diary in which the protagonist writes. Another feature of the critical dystopia
think about here is that there are many genders embedded. Something that accompanies the post-
modern period, the embedded genres.

But apart from that diary structure, if we had to define the novel into different parts… the journey
north is a very important part of the novel but it's not the complete novel. There is a whole section
first on Robledo, in which she talks about her community, and her life, and why it was necessary for
her to stay at Robledo at the beginning because of her hyper-empathy. And the necessity to leave
Robledo once people from outside begin to attack, and there's a moment of that in which they need
to escape, it's either die or escape. So that is the moment in which she can put into practice her
planning of leaving Robledo. The novel it's not divided like that in parts, but when we see the whole
plot line, there is a first part in which there is a description of Robledo: her family, the people there,
the kind of society they have, the dangers they face every day, the social organization they have, the
limitations. And you have Lauren planning a new society. Little by little she has glimpses of this new
society which she writes about. And her plans of getting ready to escape because she's aware of
the many threatening situations they face. That's one part.

Among them different intrusions they get from people from the outside, there comes a moment
when Robledo is attacked so violently, many people are killed, and the place is destroyed. And so
they have no other possibility, but escaping. And this is a moment when Lauren can put into
practice everything she has been planning, everything she has been thinking of, and this is the
moment to act. And so she starts a journey northward with other people, and more people joining
along the path.

The story before the journey (to see the context, to see what the situation is like, and then that will
help us to understand better the journey)
What is society like at this time? How would you describe society at this time?
The setting: the novel was published in 1993. So it's very common for the novels’ critical dystopias
written by women, at this time in the 1990s, to make a clear criticism of the neo-liberal politics of
the US and of the world in general that were taking place at the time. One way of criticizing this is
by imagining, again, ‘what if innovation’, ‘what if the neoliberal politics are taken to an extreme’,
what would happen? And then the result is the society imagined by Octavia Butler. A society in
which the government as such is almost absent. That is, there is formally a government, but the
government has no power. The power resides in the hands of private companies or enterprises. So
if you think of our 1990s as well, if you think of privatization, and the neoliberal politics, that will help
you understand the discussion that took place in the 1990s here. The term neoliberal. This is what is
being criticized by Octavia Butler in the 1990s and other writers: How these politics provide or give
more power to private companies and enterprises, and so little by little the government starts losing
power. And so in this extreme version of those politics the society, imagined in the novel as a whole
–Robledo is one of the neighborhoods- in which the society the government is absent, and so the
citizens have to do what they can, in order to survive. Because they do not have the help of the
government. The powerful ones are the private companies. For instance, in Olivar –another
neighborhood that appears as an option to move to- there is a company that owns the
neighborhood, and so if you move there, you have to work for those, for that company. And so you
are provided a place to live by the person who you work for. And in some way or another you end
up being enslaved by that company. Robledo is a closed neighborhood. And that speaks of close
neighborhoods, could be as places of privilege, but privilege in this case is simply surviving. Because
the people living in Robledo are not rich people, not wealthy people. But they are together a
community that stands together as a community in order to survive, and avoid as much as possible
the violence and the lack of power they have outside. So living in Robledo is a way of surviving as a
community. But they have many difficulties. So pay attention to that.

Also pay attention to what Lauren is like, her hyper-empathy. That is, the empathy she feels the
same that others feel. So if someone is feeling pain, she feels that pain. And pay attention to the
consequences of that, positive and negative consequences. Because Lauren becomes weaker
because she is a shearer. But at the same time she becomes stronger, because she's a leader in that
sense. Her empathy helps her understand what others feel.

Lauren’s projects: earth seed. What kind of religion is it? This is not the only religion. Lauren's father
takes the role of a priest, a Baptist leader. But she confronts that religion. So she thinks of a different
religion. So pay attention to what she wants to achieve in this religion, what her earth seed project is
like.

As we mentioned, there is a turning point in which Robledo is attacked, and the journey starts. The
journey is to the north, so think of a historical background for that. There were other historical
journeys northwards which went. For instance: the slaves moving from the south, the slaves
escaping from the south. This underground movement that was the star line, the underground
movement helped by people in the north and by people in the south, slaves could escape.
The obstacles faced and the solutions found. It has to do with Lauren's growth as a leader, but also
of her project becoming true. And Acorn, this place where they settle, what it is like and what it
means. Pay attention to the religion then, to the title and, as we said earlier, to the genres. What
genres are embedded within the critical dystopia?

t’s not the God of her father’s Christian faith but, rather, a God based on her own observations of the
world, a world in a state of constant flux and upheaval. She names her belief system Earthseed and
its tenets revolve around the concept that God is change and that humanity’s destiny is to take root
among the stars. Change is to be embraced, not resisted, in Lauren’s faith, and lifting the veil of self-
denial that shrouds that truth from her community becomes her primary motivation.

Baccollini describes the critical dystopias as texts that "maintain a utopian core” and yet help "to
deconstruct tradition and reconstruct alternatives. Recalling the dialectical sublation the previous
critical utopias, she notes that the new dystopias "negate static ideals, preserve radical action, and
create a space in which opposition can be articulated and received". She then identifies the
""strategies at the level of form" that enable these texts to challenge the present-and-utopian
situation by creating a “place of resisting hope and subversive tension in an otherwise pessimistic
genre. Critical dystopias reject the conservative dystopian tendency to settle for the anti-utopian
closure invited by the historical situation by setting up “open endings” that resist that closure and
maintain "the utopian impulse within the work'".

They go on to explore ways to change the present system so that such culturally and economically
marginalized peoples not only survive but also try to move toward creating a social reality that is
shaped by an impulse to human self-determination and ecological health rather than one
constricted by the narrow and destructive logic of a system intent only on enhancing competition in
order to gain more profit for a select few.

A new historical conjuncture is upon us. As an anticipatory machine in that new context, the critical
dystopias resist both hegemonic and oppositional orthodoxies (in their radical and reformist
variants) even as they refunction a larger, more totalizing critique of the political economy itself.
They consequently inscribe a space a new form of political opposition, one fundamentally based on
difference and multiplicity but now wisely and cannily organized in a fully democratic alliance
politics that can talk back in a larger though diverse collective voice and not only critique the
present system but also begin to find ways to transform it that go beyond the limitations of both the
radical micropolitics and the compromised centrist ""solutions" of the 1990s.
Indeed, Baccolini's invocation of the critical dystopia's use of re-vision suggests this emergent
stance. .Especially in so far textual re-vision retrieves memories of:the oppositional past and enlists
those forward-locking memories in the work of articulating the next political steps, these texts at the
end of the century take on hegemonic formulations as well as oppositional habits, breaking open
favored perspectives to move to what next needs to be done, by refreshing the links between
"imagination and utopia" and ""utopia and awareness" the new dystopias "with their permeable
borders, their questioning of:generic conventions, and their resistance to closure, represent one of
the preferred sites of resistance". I would only add that this preferred site is not only, even though
importantly, feminist but also anti-capitalist, democratically socialist, and radically ecological in its
overall stance. Although the critical dystopia position continues the qualitatively progressive
advances of identity politics, it also takes the political imagination into the larger realm of a
democratically unified alliance politics; and although it remains attuned to contemporary theoretical
practices of openness, diversity, and resistance to the closure of master narratives, it also revives
and privileges totalizing analyses that consider the entire political-economic system and the
transformative politics that are capable of both rupturing that system and forging a radical
alternative in its place.
Character List

Lauren Olamina: The novel’s narrator and protagonist. Lauren is a Black teenager living in a modern-
day dystopia (relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or
injustice.). She creates and establishes Earthseed, a belief system based on the idea that God is
change. Armed with her convictions, and afflicted with hyperempathy, a syndrome that enables her
to feel the pain and pleasure of others, she flees a rapidly crumbling landscape with the sole intent
of founding the first Earthseed community. Throughout the harrowing journey, she fights to make
her voice heard and ultimately earns the respect and devotion of those who share in her hopeful
vision of humanity’s future.

Reverend Olamina: A Baptist teacher and Lauren Olamina’s father. Reverend /rvrnd/ Olamina is a leader in the community

Taylor Franklin Bankole: A 57-year-old Black doctor who joins Lauren’s group of travelers. Bankole
left tragedy in San Diego to make his way to Northern California in a parallel journey to Lauren’s.
He’s drawn to Lauren’s benevolence when witnessing her helping those in need, and eventually falls
in love with her despite their age difference. There are noted similarities between himself and
Reverend Olamina, but Bankole’s experience and historical perspective prove valuable to Lauren
and the group as they navigate an anarchic landscape. As well as being Lauren’s lover, Bankole is
also her intellectual match.

Harry Balter: A young white man and long-time Lauren’s friend. Like Lauren, Harry survived the
massacre in their community and, along with Zahra Moss, joins Lauren. Harry possesses a
compassionate will, but his strong sense of morality and skeptical nature at times creates discord
within the group. He relishes his role as protector and shows he’s not afraid to kill.
Zahra Moss: A young Black woman who was purchased by her husband Richard Moss. Like Lauren
and Harry, Zahra escapes the carnage of their community and shows an innate ability to navigate
the cutthroat world outside having been homeless until the age of 15. Though illiterate, Zaire’s street
smarts allow the trio to endure. She is the second Earthseed convert.

Cory Olamina: Lauren’s Mexican-American stepmother and Reverend Olamina’s second wife. A
teacher for the neighborhood’s children, Cory has four sons with the Reverend of which Keith
Olamina is her favorite. Her view that Reverend Olamina favors Lauren over Keith drives a wedge
between Cory and her husband. Ultimately, she perishes along with three of her sons when the
neighborhood burns.

Keith Olamina: Lauren’s eldest half-brother. He and Lauren share a dislike for each other that
simmers until Keith’s torture and murder. His arrogant and unrelenting desire to prove himself a man
leads to a life of crime outside the neighbourhood’s walls, causing irreparable rifts within the family.

Joanne Garfield: Lauren’s white friend from childhood and Harry Balter’s girlfriend. While intelligent
and compassionate, Joanne lives in a state of denial, which strains her relationship with Lauren.
Joanne is unable to accept the chaotic reality of the world around her and winds up moving into a
company-controlled town with her family.

Travis Charles Douglas: A Black man who joins Lauren’s group of travelers, and whom she considers
her first Earthseed convert. A fiercely smart and inquisitive individual, Travis joins Lauren on her
journey with his wife and infant son. His genuine interest in Earthseed spawns numerous
conversations with Lauren about her faith’s tenets, leading to his eventual conversion.

Natividad Douglas: The Hispanic wife of Travis Douglas, and mother to Dominic. Natividad’s
maternal instincts are an asset to the group on their journey northward. As a maid, she was a victim
of sexual harassment but had the sense and wherewithal to divest herself of the situation, revealing
an inner strength.

Allie Gilchrist: A 24-year-old white woman rescued by Lauren and her group. Allie was forced into
prostitution by her pimp father who also killed her baby son, Adam. In a show of retribution, Allie
and her sister Jill burned the house down with their passed-out father inside. The close bond Allie
develops with Justin Rohr allows her to heal from the death of her own child.
Jill Gilchrist: A 25-year-old white woman rescued by Lauren and her group. Like her sister Allie, Jill
was also forced into sexual slavery by their father. However, she dies a hero and a martyr for the
cause when she’s shot in the back running little Tori Solis to safety.

Emery Tanaka Solis: A 23-year-old mixed-race woman and former debt slave. Emery has
experienced unspeakable trauma, having lost her husband and two sons, but exhibits resilience and
courage in escaping with her young daughter Tori. The bond she develops with Grayson Mora is tied
to their shared trauma and hyperempathy.

Grayson Mora: A half-Black, half-Latino man and father to Doe Mora. Grayson is a hyper empathetic
runaway slave who joins the group when his daughter Doe and Emery’s daughter Tori befriend one
another. His petulance and aloof nature draw suspicions, but the group accepts him after witnessing
the display of love and affection toward his daughter.

Justin Rohr: A toddler rescued by Bankole after his mother dies in a gunfight. Though a rambunctious
child, Justin is plenty charming and is able to disarm potentially volatile situations with strangers on
their journey. His very existence gives meaning and purpose to Allie Gilchrist’s life.

Curtis Talcott: Lauren’s childhood boyfriend. Curtis shares Lauren’s desire to flee their neighborhood
confines but assents to gender constructs that Lauren opposes. He’s killed in the neighborhood
melee. Lauren’s relationship with Curtis is contrasted with Bankole’s relationship with his wife after
Lauren and Bankole make love.

Main characters’ analysis in depth

Lauren Olamina

Lauren Olamina, the novel’s narrator and protagonist is a 15-year-old Black girl living in a walled
community in Robledo, California when her story begins. The year is 2024 and the nation has
regressed into violence and chaos as climate change, economic disparity, and racial divisions
transform the country into a modern-day dystopia. It’s amid this bleak landscape that Lauren, the
precocious daughter of a Baptist preacher and an unnamed mother who died during childbirth,
envisions a new concept of God. It’s not the God of her father’s Christian faith but, rather, a God
based on her own observations of the world, a world in a state of constant flux and upheaval. She
names her belief system Earthseed and its tenets revolve around the concept that God is change
and that humanity’s destiny is to take root among the stars. Change is to be embraced, not resisted,
in Lauren’s faith, and lifting the veil of self-denial that shrouds that truth from her community
becomes her primary motivation.

As she spreads its gospel, the notion of establishing an Earthseed community comprised of
individuals who share in a hopeful future for humanity becomes an attainable goal. Lauren is acutely
aware of the impending destruction of her community and takes the necessary steps to prepare for
a sudden evacuation. Her father shares her concern, but Lauren’s congenital abnormality concerns
her. She was born with hyperempathy, a syndrome enabling her to feel the pain and pleasure of
others. While hyperempathy can prove debilitating, it allows Lauren to interact with people and the
world around her in a unique way, particularly after her walled community is destroyed.
Hyperempathy complements the compassion she shows others after their own personal tragedies
bring them into her fold of travellers. People become drawn to her as they embark on a treacherous
journey to a proverbial promised land in Northern California. They begin to respect her intelligence,
conviction, and leadership skills and trust her to shepherd them like a Black Moses leading her
people out of bondage and toward a new destiny.

Reverend Olamina

Reverend Olamina is a Baptist preacher, college professor, and community leader who has a very
close relationship with his daughter Lauren. He wields much influence over Lauren, teaching and
guiding her through her formative years. He’s also fiercely protective of his family and his
community and isn’t shy about exacting discipline when necessary, sometimes to a fault. He once
beat Lauren who later remarked to Keith that she was “glad he didn’t quite kill me.” Reverend
Olamina’s beating of Keith, however, drives a wedge in his relationship with Cory, his second wife.
She loves Keith very much, but the headstrong and stubborn reverend feels no remorse for the
beating. Egotistical and reckless behaviour has no place in his world. When Keith is tortured and
killed, Reverend Olamina doesn’t shed a tear for Keith. Lauren fears his reaction after talking to
Joanne about an imminent attack on their community but, surprisingly, he appears sympathetic. He
doesn’t deny that an attack will happen, yet he also chooses to live in a state of denial, hoping for a
return to the good old days. The irony is that his own life is mired in tragedy; his parents were
murdered and his first wife, Lauren’s mother, died during childbirth.

His state of denial doesn’t stop him from giving firearms training to the community as well as setting
up security measures and devising a strategy with Lauren on disaster preparedness. The sermon he
gives on Noah proves ominous, but he emphasizes the importance of looking out for one another, of
prioritizing the betterment of the community over the individual. It’s an ethic that Lauren will hold
dear to her heart when forced to leave their compound, and while establishing Earthseed. The
reverend seems to augur a day when the family will have to defend itself, and possibly kill. He cites
a scriptural verse from Jeremiah as justification, a clear sign that he’s preparing his family for the
possibility of attack. His disappearance (and presumed death) marks a turning point for the family,
and allows Lauren to grow out of her father’s shadow.

Taylor Franklin Bankole

Bankole is a 57-year-old doctor from San Diego who lost his wife in an attack on his community. His
and Lauren’s journeys merge and they soon find commonality in their backgrounds and shared
tragedies. Like Lauren’s father, Bankole’s surname is of Yoruban origin and he’s but one year older
than Lauren’s father. That Lauren finds Bankole attractive says a lot about the imprint Lauren’s father
had on her. Lauren’s relationship with Bankole allows her to indulge in a sense of rare vulnerability.
His character serves to challenge hers and ultimately strengthens her commitment to the tenets of
Earthseed.

Bankole is shown to be a little vain, paying careful attention to his beard, wearing clothes that “fit
him well,” and possessing an “expensive professional haircut.” He joins Lauren’s group, though he
intends to find sanctuary on his property in the hills of Humboldt County in Northern California.
After he and Lauren make love, Bankole is taken aback at how young she is — 18 years of age at this
juncture in the novel — but ends up falling in love with her. He even finds her hyperempathy
intriguing and offers to help the negative facets of her condition with medication. As an atheist,
Bankole is a lot less accepting of Lauren’s faith, dismissing it as “too simple.” However, he
pessimistically tolerates it when Lauren and her disciples establish Earthseed on his land. Bankole
doesn’t believe they’ve hit rock bottom yet, but he shows a willingness to work hard to create a
better future for all.

Symbols

Fire

Fire, caused by climate change and the maniacal behavior of drug-addled pyromaniacs, is the most
devastating force in the novel. It symbolizes death, and a destructive finality. Fire levels Robledo to
the ground, and raging infernos follow and chase Lauren and her group throughout their journey, at
one point nearly engulfing them all. Whereas fire is a source of attraction to many opportunist
scavengers, it is an element to avoid and evade for Lauren and her followers. When they camp on
the hillsides at night, the fires they start are put out so as not to draw the attention of thieves and
murderers. Fire also lends power to those who have none. Pyro addicts use it to wield control over
the rich by destroying their homes and properties. But fire is also seen as necessary for rebirth, as in
Lauren’s reference to the phoenix rising from the ashes.

Seeds

Seeds are symbolic of life, hope, and the future, and are a common device used throughout Lauren’s
narrative. The novel’s title speaks to the planting of seeds, which Lauren accomplishes in both a
literal and figurative manner. In her survival pack, Lauren carries “a lot of plantable seed” while the
ultimate goal of her belief system is to “seed ourselves farther and farther from this dying place.”
The Earthseed community Lauren establishes at the end of the novel is called “Acorn.” As acorns
contain the seeds to grow into oak trees, they’re planted into the ground after the community stages
a memorial to bury their dead. From the resting place of the dead, seeds will sprout and generate
life anew.

Water

Unlike fire, water in Parable of the Sower signifies life, security, cleansing, and joy. It’s a precious
commodity in the novel’s Southern California setting where drought is common. When it rains for
the first time in six years, Lauren is so overwhelmed by how “incredible and wonderful” it is that she
purposefully soaks herself in the downpour. When she, Harry, and Zahra see the Pacific Ocean for
the first time, they bathe in it and wash away their “grime and stink.” The ocean also affects people
psychologically. Lauren witnesses no violence or mayhem and remarks it was “a safer place than
any we’d seen so far.” The water removes their worry and allows them all to just be. A reliable
source of potable water is essential for the Earthseed community to survive and having a well on
Bankole’s property allows them to settle and create Acorn.

Rabbits

Rabbits are used to represent procreation and a perpetuation of life in the novel. The polygamist
Richard Moss breeds rabbits and sells them outside their walled neighborhood to make money and
sustain his large family. The fact that Richard has many wives, and many children, suggests he
breeds like a rabbit. When thieves rob the Moss household, they take the family’s rabbits, knowing
how valuable they are. At the end of the novel, Bankole brings back three rabbits he hunted, which
the Earthseed community enjoyed for supper. After the meal, Lauren contemplates that wild rabbits
could be captured and bred for a “sure meat supply” for the group.

Themes

The Acceptance of Change and the Need for Resiliency

The only constant is change. It’s a universal truth in Lauren’s world that people have a tendency to
resist. For Lauren, not accepting change is to live in a state of denial and, worse, invite a destructive
transition. She observes her neighbors rigidly clinging to old constructs, be they economic, racial,
sexual or religious, that prove untenable in a world devastated by climate change. It’s an aspect of
her father’s Christian faith that runs counter to her beliefs. She’s unable to place hope in a capricious
and, in her mind, uncaring Christian God to bring about a desired outcome. Earthseed’s fundamental
tenet is “God Is Change.” Change is to be accepted, though not in a passive manner. In accordance
with Earthseed scripture, change is to be actively engaged, purposefully shaped, and intentionally
influenced to bring about transformative results. Change affects everyone, but as we read in the
novel, only those who are resilient and capable of “ongoing individual adaptability” are best able to
survive and thrive in a turbulent landscape. A deliberate manipulation of change manifests resiliency
through hard work, education, purpose, kindness, and community. It ultimately breeds a more
tangible type of hope within the Earthseed community.

Destruction and Its Role in Rebirth

The novel is set amid a backdrop of environmental devastation and societal collapse, yet the idea of
rebirth, regeneration, and rebuilding is continuously woven throughout Lauren’s narrative. As fires
rage across the land and drug-addicted pyromaniacs raze communities in murderous fashion,
Lauren notes that people, like Bianca Montoya, continue to marry and have children. The creation of
life, and the importance of children is, of course, vital for a hopeful future, and for Earthseed’s future.
For Lauren, destruction is to be taken in perspective. In a conversation with Joanne Garfield, Lauren
talks of humanity surviving the bubonic plague and, subsequently, using the vacant land left behind
to create a thriving commerce. Prior to her community being burned to the ground, she raises the
concept of a phoenix being reborn from its own ashes. To rebuild from nothing takes hard work and
persistence, a notion touched on by the sermon her father gave on Noah and God’s impending
destruction of the world. Through Noah’s perseverance, hard work, and purpose, life was able to
regenerate itself after God’s divine cleansing. Similarly, after fire cleansed Bankole’s land, work got
underway to reseed the arable land. The group also made plans to rebuild housing structures that
were lost during the fire, and to create a steady food supply by breeding rabbits all for the sole
purpose of regenerating life.

The Importance of Community Over the Individual

Lauren’s neighborhood in Robledo is composed of individuals driven by self-interest. As the outside

world crumbles, so do the bonds that hold together their walled community. Neighbours hurl
accusations, children are neglected, friends are betrayed, and the undercurrents of racism threaten
the community’s livelihood. When neighbours band together to put the community first, it’s too late.
For Lauren, their behaviour demonstrates how a community shouldn’t function. The framework she
devises for the Earthseed community comprises approaches and governances antithetical to those
in her walled community. There are no barriers to be a member of the Earthseed community, but all
are expected to put the group ahead of the individual. We see examples of this when Lauren shows
kindness to strangers in need. She helps an elderly man to his feet, rescues Jill and Allie from the
rubble of a house collapse, and goes out of her way to offer food to Emery and Tori. When Jill
Gilchrist sacrifices her life to save Tori in the ultimate show of selflessness, Lauren comforts Jill’s
sister Allie in an act of familial love. The importance of community and the idea of rebuilding a
society that thinks altruistically catches on with others, none more so than Bankole. He initially
wants to run away with Lauren alone to his mountain hideaway, but soon reverses course. He
welcomes the entire Earthseed community to live and rebuild their lives on his land.

Motifs
Weapons
Weapons, much like food, water, clothes, and shelter, are crucial for survival in
Lauren’s world. Those who don’t possess them are at a distinct disadvantage. In the
early stages of the novel, gun training is used as a rite of passage in Robledo, first
with BB guns then with handguns. As a chore, Lauren has to clean both guns in the
household, one of which is a submachine gun. As Keith demonstrated, weapons, like
the one he stole from Cory, can be used for personal gain and to build a life of crime
outside the neighborhood walls. But on the group’s journey northward, weapons are
needed for protection. For their first purchase after the neighborhood massacre, both
Harry and Zahra buy knives as an alternative to expensive guns. Both knives and
guns are employed to kill in self-defense, but they’re used in other manners as well.
Lauren flashes her gun to intimidate two men approaching their camp. In the
Earthseed community, being handed a gun signifies trust and full acceptance into the
group. Lauren hands Harry her gun prior to digging Jill and Allie out of the rubble.
After that, she buys a rifle and gives it to Harry. Conversely, Lauren refuses to give a
gun to Grayson after he exhibited arrogance, petulance, and a lack of understanding.

Drugs
Drugs and drug abuse are woven into Lauren’s narrative as a means of showing the
effects of drugs on the state of the world. People look to drugs for escape, pleasure,
and to enhance intelligence and memory. As a result of her mother’s abuse of
Paracetco, Lauren is born with a congenital defect that shapes her world view and
the manner in which she interacts with others. Pyro, a popular drug, turns people into
maniacal sociopaths, causing them to derive pleasure in watching things burn as the
sensation is better than sex. However, not all drug references in the narrative
underscore a societal meltdown; for instance, Bankole offers Lauren pain medications
to counter the negative effects of hyperempathy.

Slavery
Societal collapse in the year 2024 has allowed for a modern-day version of slavery to
exist and flourish. In Octavia Butler’s re-envisioning of slavery, the recurring motif of
human bondage isn’t purely based on race but gender and economic disparity as
well. As multinational conglomerates, like KSF, gain even more wealth and power,
workers find themselves indebted to the companies they work for. Emery Solis, who
is mixed-race, and Grayson Mora, who is half-Black and half-Latino, are runaway
slaves who have joined Lauren’s group. Both of Emery’s sons were snatched away
from her by her employers in a scene reminiscent of the pre-Civil War era. While debt
servitude pervades the nation, so does marital slavery. As a homeless 15-year-old,
Zahra Moss is purchased by polygamist Richard Moss in what Lauren describes as his
“version of slavery.” Jill and Allie Gilchrist were forced into sexual slavery by their
father before they killed him. The fact that all these characters journey north in a sort
of modern-day Underground Railroad speaks volumes on the importance Butler
placed on her characters breaking free from the physical, psychological, and sexual
chains of their oppressors.