One of the major pillars of white supremacy that Butler continuously depicts in Parable of the Sower is the U. S’s capitalistic commodification of minorities in the U.S. Butler demonstrates this theme through the organizations and characters. Butler first raises the topic of slavery through KSF, which is a multinational company that sends out advertisements for skilled workers, ensuring safety and security in exchange for work. KSF plans to gain possession over water, energy, and agriculture in the entire Southwest, which ultimately gives them more power. Olamina says, “Anyone KSF hired would have a hard time living on the salary offered. In not very much time, I think the new hires would be in debt to the company. That’s an old company-town
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Moss asks Lauren to teach her how to read and write, Lauren’s immediate thought to this is “I was surprised, but I shouldn't have been. Where, in a life like hers, had there been time or money for school…” (Butler 186). Lauren’s specific word choice of “time” and “money” is significant here since it highlights the poverty of minorities, specifically Hispanic immigrants. Historically, one could think of Olamina’s word choice as Butler’s indication of the job crisis Hispanics faced in The Great Depression of the 1930’s, which led to a decrease of job employment for all citizens. As a result of unemployment, hostility towards immigrant workers grew and the U.S government began a program of repatriating immigrants. Immigrants who remained in the U.S faced desperate living conditions due to their only way of employment, which was in ranching, mining, and farming. Till today, we see many immigrants come to America for a better living but end up working in hard labor for minimal pay; whether legally or illegally. Due to immigrants’ illegal status, employers threaten them of deportation and criminalization if they attempt to fight for their rights. In sum, Butler proves that Moss’s illiteracy wasn’t a choice, rather, similar to the suffrage of immigrants historically and today, she had to work hard in order to survive the world she was living in, thus, no time or enough money to get
Moss asks Lauren to teach her how to read and write, Lauren’s immediate thought to this is “I was surprised, but I shouldn't have been. Where, in a life like hers, had there been time or money for school…” (Butler 186). Lauren’s specific word choice of “time” and “money” is significant here since it highlights the poverty of minorities, specifically Hispanic immigrants. Historically, one could think of Olamina’s word choice as Butler’s indication of the job crisis Hispanics faced in The Great Depression of the 1930’s, which led to a decrease of job employment for all citizens. As a result of unemployment, hostility towards immigrant workers grew and the U.S government began a program of repatriating immigrants. Immigrants who remained in the U.S faced desperate living conditions due to their only way of employment, which was in ranching, mining, and farming. Till today, we see many immigrants come to America for a better living but end up working in hard labor for minimal pay; whether legally or illegally. Due to immigrants’ illegal status, employers threaten them of deportation and criminalization if they attempt to fight for their rights. In sum, Butler proves that Moss’s illiteracy wasn’t a choice, rather, similar to the suffrage of immigrants historically and today, she had to work hard in order to survive the world she was living in, thus, no time or enough money to get