Lauren’s father is a Baptist minister, and he and the rest of her family live in a gated community just outside of Los Angeles guarded by makeshift walls protecting them from the homeless and drug addicts. When the outsiders break through, Lauren’s family is killed, home is destroyed, and she heads north. What starts as a fight for survival leads to a vision of the future of mankind and the birth of Earthseed. Lauren calls Christianity a lie and hates that she was born into it. When she was baptized, Lauren allowed her father to baptize her “in all three names of that God who isn’t mine any more. My God has another name” (7). The concepts of Christianity does not register with Lauren, and she criticizes her father’s sermon when in the
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Christians look to go to heaven after death. For Earthseed, heaven is a new frontier, a whole new world in a different galaxy far away from Earth. A new planet will serve as the new home for the human race. Lauren considers the present humans seeds which is also why she gave the name “Acorn” to the new community. Acorn stands for the seeds of a new start that will stem into something bigger than themselves, just as an acorn grows into a mighty oak tree. Octavia Butler makes the reader question his or her vision of Christianity. Butler’s message to the reader may not be one that challenges your beliefs, or is trying to convince you to start worshipping Lauren and Earthseed, but to give more attention to the many problems surrounding humanity. We can overcome anything if we are adaptable to the situation and accept one another. Christians in “Parable of the Sower” were either blind to all the issues in the world or just swept them under the rug and decided not to pay any attention to them. This is equivalent to real life. Maybe some of us should take a moment to stop playing church, take a look around, start taking action on the world’s problems instead of just talking about them. Butler leaves a lasting effect on readers’ consciences and gives an alarming wake-up call. We live in a different world than what Lauren and her companions do, but if we are not more aware of problems facing society today, “Parable of the Sower” could soon become
Christians look to go to heaven after death. For Earthseed, heaven is a new frontier, a whole new world in a different galaxy far away from Earth. A new planet will serve as the new home for the human race. Lauren considers the present humans seeds which is also why she gave the name “Acorn” to the new community. Acorn stands for the seeds of a new start that will stem into something bigger than themselves, just as an acorn grows into a mighty oak tree. Octavia Butler makes the reader question his or her vision of Christianity. Butler’s message to the reader may not be one that challenges your beliefs, or is trying to convince you to start worshipping Lauren and Earthseed, but to give more attention to the many problems surrounding humanity. We can overcome anything if we are adaptable to the situation and accept one another. Christians in “Parable of the Sower” were either blind to all the issues in the world or just swept them under the rug and decided not to pay any attention to them. This is equivalent to real life. Maybe some of us should take a moment to stop playing church, take a look around, start taking action on the world’s problems instead of just talking about them. Butler leaves a lasting effect on readers’ consciences and gives an alarming wake-up call. We live in a different world than what Lauren and her companions do, but if we are not more aware of problems facing society today, “Parable of the Sower” could soon become