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The dystopian novel, Parable of the Sower, written by Octavia Butler, starts in 2024, which instantly affirmed the attitude for the setting of it. Presently, we live in 2020, which places this novel ahead of our current time. Promptly, the readers are introduced into an unruly society in which the narrating individual resides. The community lives in a neighborhood that is securely protected from the outside by a wall. The author discloses this to the booklovers by depicting those outside the protection wall as destitute, distressed, troubled, wounded, and everything else that is the opposite of what is found within the protected community. In this essay, the author analyzes two different worlds as portrayed by two neighboring communities, who both think they are different, yet they are the same in every aspect.
The story is told through a specific familys eyes, which allows the reader to understand numerous concepts such as community, religion, and inclusion versus exclusion. The novel rationally portrays the troubled world of the United States of America which is currently in a period controlled by poverty, thieves, criminality, and disharmony (Kouhestani 900). Butler opens Parable of the Sower by introducing the character of Lauren. She uses Lauren to construct a groundwork for the book readers to base on. It begins with an explanation about categorization and religion being a feature that is not only about Laurens life but also about her family.
In the second chapter, the character Lauren reiterates that:
At least three years back, the god of my father ceased to be my god, the same way, his church also stopped being my church. And for that matter, because today I am considered to be a weakling, I surrender myself to be introduced into that very same church. I have allowed my father to initiate the baptism on me in all the three games of the same God who is no longer mine because I have another different name for my God. (Crow 121)
What is being illustrated here is the kind of faith or religion that will be appearing throughout the entire novel, but it will just be a quick representation of the characters. Lauren is labeled with hyper-empathy, which causes her to always experience other peoples agony, thus making her exceedingly sensitive to her surroundings.
On the other hand, her father is a pastor and gains other social reputes, which deemed him influential. The distinction in personalities gives readers an idea of what to expect out of both characters. It relates to religion because Lauren grew up being taught the ways of what could be presumed to be Christianity. However, she paved her path to choose what religion she would practice. The writer establishes Laurens tenacious characteristics; and although she may not speak up loudly, she often makes a proclamation.
The novel then moves towards the communitys settings by conducting detailed descriptions of both the inside and the outside world. The books statement of how the United States dropped into a prophetically disastrous situation also stresses the association between prohibition and demolition. Lauren reveals that the historical background of racial and financial inequality in the US drove the country to the troubled world of the 2020s. She argues that excluding persons solely based upon their race, sexual orientation, and class from traditional society created an atmosphere of cruelty, retribution, and destruction.
The first half of the book happens inside Laurens gated neighborhood, which quickly exposes the signs of rejection. As the United States becomes progressively ruthless and prophetically catastrophic, individuals are increasingly in a hurry to close themselves off from the savagery and devastation that is quickly consuming what they used to know. The author uses images to describe the scene to the readers:
We did ride past persons laying on the ground, sleeping on the walkways, and a few who had just woken up, but they did not pay attention to us. I did see at least three persons who were would never wake up again, ever. Among them, one was without ahead. I found myself searching around for his head. (Crow 122).
This happened when the family was enjoying riding their bikes and on their way to church, which was outside the walls.
All these narrations are in a bid to convey to readers this particular community is confined within limits. It exemplifies precisely what would be waiting outside their doors if the wall system was not in place. The last reason why the system fails through avoidance is relayed in Laurens call of attention in her journal which states that rejecting individuals from a network provokes brutal and violent actions among the prohibited. Ironically, the fact that the neighborhood attempts to protect itself with a wall puts a target on the same neighborhoods back, which, as a result, brings it more dangerous. Nearly everybody in the gated community is poor and unfortunate in many aspects. However, the way that the same community is separated from the outside world makes the feeling that the individuals living inside the walls have riches or assets to safeguard from those on the outside.
On the contrary, this arrangement of inclusion and support within the community is still imperfect because not every citizen within the protected perimeter limits is honorable. The author displays this through Laurens dialogue when she states, There are other individuals in this locality whom I do not like, and I do not trust the Payne-Parrishes. Their children seem all right, but not their parents and the rest. I would not wish to be dependent on them, not even for minor things (Crow 122). Again, this relates to Laurens over-sympathetic personality, where she desires to be cautious of those she is supposed to trust. She is doing so in a bid to protect herself, her family, and those she seems to care about. She uses her excellent judgment attitude in many different places throughout the book to defend those she loves. Subjects encompassing inclusion and exclusion are furthermore scrutinized through Laurens hyper-empathy, a circumstance that permits her to feel other peoples pleasures and agonies.
Thus, Lauren does not have the corresponding mental and bodily limits which other ordinary personalities have and which they use to isolate people from each other. This encourages her to be predominantly vigilant about whom she allows in her life. Therefore, right from the beginning of the novel, Lauren stipulates how she wishes she could live in a community that possesses empathy, caring, and loving, among other positive traits (Crow 122). This imaginary idea turns into a reality when previously incarcerated characters Emery, Tori, Grayson, and Doe join the Earthseed community. Each one of these personalities happens to have the same qualities Lauren was hoping for. As much as having hyper-empathy can be detrimental for Lauren, it is equally part of what makes her such a reliable and outstanding character all through the novel.
Eventually, frequent critics and readers contest that books set later on are not so much about the writers perception of what is going to come. They have overstated expressions about why the authors consents are not right in their present time. This relates to Butler as this book was written in 1993, though it travels in the 2020s. The future era setting is important when analyzing precisely what readers are supposed to take away from the text because it reassures those reading it of the prominent issue at that time. Butler uses the writing to reflect her views of what she would like to see differently in the future, and if not so, what society would look like. Interestingly enough, as living in the year 2020, readers can see similarities between what type of society Lauren lived in versus the one the readers are living in now. It may not be as extreme, but again the writer utilizes this for emphasizing her writing.
In conclusion, Octavia Butler depicts the oppressed world of the United States of America present in a time controlled by poverty, thieves, crime, and discord. This is done through imagery, diction, and foreshadowing, giving readers a sense of religion, exclusion, inclusion, and community within the novel. The author draws a picture where two neighboring communities, who resemble each other and are equal in all measures, have had to live in fear and suspicion instead of embracing and accommodating each other. This kind of ideology has led to mistrust and disunity in the neighborhood. This is a true resemblance of what is happening now in our current world, and what has had some negative effects on modern society.
Works Cited
Crow, Charles L. Parable of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler . Western American Literature, vol. 30, no. 1, 1995, pp. 121122. Project Muse,
Kouhestani, Maryam. Environmental and Social Crises: New Perspective on Social and Environmental Injustice in Octavia E. Butlers Parable of the Sower. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 5, no. 10, 2015, pp. 898902.
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