Earthseed

In a typical post-apocalyptic work, the world has crumbled into a state of survival that varies within each story. In the novels Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, both of the main characters are survivors in different situations. Both Snowman in Oryx and Crake and Lauren in Parable of the Sower take their surroundings and do what is necessary to thrive in what is now society during their time. In Oryx and Crake, one of the main characters named Jimmy,…

Characters, whether readers interpret their role as the doer of tasks, pawns that represent a feeling or idea, or the carriers of messages, they are without question a crucial part of what makes a story, a story. Since the early 20th century, writers have used different types of characters to anchor their novels and stories. In the literary world there are two types of characters; flat or round, also seen sometimes as static, and dynamic characters. The two character types were originated,…

being robbed, raped, or even murdered, it was all supported by holding onto an unchanging way of living. It was only until the protagonist, Lauren, being forced to leave, that the alternative is presented. The alternative is provided in Lauren’s “Earthseed” religion where the deity is change, rather than a person, thus allowing for an acceptance in what is considered new. Religion and faith is represented in this novel as a transition of what is and what ought to…

When Lauren was preaching her philosophy of Earthseed to the rest of the members , she said, "God is Change, and in the end, God does prevail. But we have something to say about the whens and whys of that end"(295). This is an interesting quote because while God is in charge of everything and knows…

Parable of the sower is a book that could not be put in just one category for sure. It’s a book that covers a lot of different genres. One of them is feminist politics. Butler wants to change the world view about sci-fi books, she wants to show these type of books are not always about supernatural creatures, but it could be about our own world in different time and the main character should not always be a boy with super power, but it could be a young black girl. Parable of the sower has a…

She has this idea of a town called Acorn that is self sustaining and the people believe in her relgion of Earthseed. This religion is based on the idea of change and using nature to create peace and sustainability. This religion sounds a lot like a native American way of life before the white man came and ruined the piece. Lauren wants to live in nature and use…

to other black people. However, she goes through many different levels of discrimination such as being black, being woman, and having non-common religion. The most interesting part for me is that her parents are Christian and she chose her own as Earthseed. It is stated in chapter 24, “God is Change, and in the end, God does prevail. But we have something to say about when is and why is of that end” (Butler 65). She tries to understand what are the basics of the religion and has the mindset of…

An anarchist utopia is a place free of structure, an “intentional community” (Bey 2003, 95) that embraces the Chaos that “never died” (Bey, 3). Le Guin’s The Dispossessed (Le Guin 2003) Depicts such a utopia. Anarres hosts an anarcho-syndicalist society. There is no political system, socioeconomic classes, or possession. Everyone has the “birthright of decision” (Le Guin, 9). “Nobody goes hungry while another eats” (Le Guin, 285). The only organizational forces are the computers that…

Unveiling Narrative Leadership Through Authenticity in Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower”. In my opinion, I believe that Octavia E. Butler exemplifies the best narrative leadership in her book, “Parable of the Sower”. Although this is our most recent assigned text, I feel confident enough to say that she as an author demonstrates a great storytelling ability that comes through in the pages of her book. One thing that I immediately noticed as a reader was the format of Butler’s book. She…

Parable of the Sower: Narrative Explanatory Paragraph: In The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler suggests that survival is key. She implies that in the future death is inevitable and survival is a necessary skill to have. Lauren must live outside her community after the big fire. Because she has access to her father’s “library” of books, she is able to read on how to survive in the “wild”. These books teach Lauren what she can and cannot eat. Before the fire, Lauren’s father teaches her and…