Shadows

A tree

Cannot grow

In its parents’ shadow. (pg 82)

This Earthseed verse, which Lauren wrote in response to her father’s refusal to let her have a gun, clearly shows how Lauren feels about her parents and her parents’ generation. As early as page 8, Lauren shows that she does not feel that her parents understand the reality of the world they live in: “They never miss a chance to relive the good old days or to tell kids how great it’s going to be when the country gets back on its feet and good times come back. Yeah.” Lauren never knew the world her parents grew up in, and thus cannot fully understand how devastating the current state of the country must be to those who lived through happier times. Her parents’ tendency to dwell on the past seems somewhat silly to her because of this lack of understanding, and she obviously feels that their time would be better spent preparing for the future.

In the passage before the Earthseed verse, Lauren questions her father about what were to happen if they were forced to leave the cul-de-sac. She seems disappointed by the fact that her father would stay in California and writes this verse, which also alludes to her ultimate plan to leave and head north herself. Again, her disappointment stems from the fact that she does not feel that her parents are adequately preparing for the future. In this passage as well as later ones Lauren expresses the idea that society might be better off if it were able to shake off the constant pressure of its past, a pressure applied by adults who still live in the last century and assume that the country will eventually get back on track by itself. When Lauren decides to leave her neighborhood she is also clearly expressing that she does not believe that she can survive and prosper surrounded by people in denial about the state of the world. Although she obviously loves her father and respects his attempts to protect his family, she also obviously feels that his commitment to the neighborhood and to California is holding her back. These contradicting feelings are more clearly defined when she speaks at her father’s unofficial funeral.

In her sermon the main moral Lauren communicates is that it is important to persist, and that with persistence the weak can overcome the strong. She essentially tells her neighbors that she believes that their small island of safety can remain if they continue to fight off the outside world. This is, of course, not her belief, and she says so later in the chapter: “as much as I want all that I said to be true, it isn’t. We’ll be moved, all right. It’s just of matter of when, by whom, and in how many pieces.” It seems ironic that even though Lauren’s father is no longer around to tell her that she shouldn’t frighten their neighbors, that she should try and teach them, she encourages their denial by lying to them. Even though she is no longer under the “shadow” of her father, she continues to appease her neighbors and thus propagates the behavior that she admittedly believes will cause the neighborhood’s destruction. She also postpones her trip north, and although it is out of love and concern for her family, it shows that the shadow might be more far reaching than she thinks. She is not easily able to shake off her or her parents’ past, even after the death of her father.

After writing the verse Lauren Asks “What does this one mean if you live in a cul-de-sac with a wall around it? What does it mean if you’re damned lucky to live in a cul-de-sac with a wall around it?” For Lauren, it seems that it means that it will be more difficult to escape the shadow than she thinks. After her father dies she has to consider the other people in her life, even though she feels that their resistance to change will eventually lead to their destruction. She seems to feel that she has been hindered throughout her life because she lives in a walled community that has attempted in part to separate itself from the reality of the outside world, but because it is safer, because she is “lucky” to live there, her decision whether or not to leave becomes a complicated one. She has not been dehumanized by the horrible conditions outside of the wall, so she still thinks about her family and Curtis and how her leaving will affect them.

Ultimately, Lauren is forced to leave when drug addicts burn down her neighborhood. I think this is an interesting response to the verse because it’s almost as if she is escaping the shadow by burning the tree down. In nature forest fires allow new plant growth in areas once dominated by fully-grown trees. Saplings are allowed to grow in the ashes that have replaced their parents’ shadows. Although Lauren is clearly grieved by the deaths of her family and friends, this may be the chance she was looking for to try and survive in the real world and spread her beliefs. Despite the fact that forest fires can destroy an area, many biologists look at them as a chance for a new start, an opportunity for new life. Again, although Lauren is devastated, it is a fresh start, and will hopefully take advantage of this situation to improve her own life as well as others through her new religion and her clear outlook on the state of the country.

Believe in Nothing

Throughout the novel, Lauren consistently relates the idea of god to change. One particularly interesting passage that further develops this thought is an Earthseed passage found at the beginning of chapter 5:

Belief
Initiates and guides action –
Or it does nothing. (47)

Regardless of whether change is for better or worse, it must all start with a beginning step. This can be related to Lauren’s belief of god as something that is shaped by humans (if they have the will to do so). This shaping or change is something that is stimulated by the beliefs/support of the people but without any initiation or start it is pointless and ineffective. This also shadows Lauren’s view of the true effectiveness of the belief in god, something her family and friends hold so dearly to them that they will travel outside the neighbor hood walls just to fulfill a “silly” baptism.

This Earthseed passage parallels Lauren herself in the way that she has always had the belief to travel north in order to find a better life but has never made the “initiation” to. She has always believed that there was a better place to live and raise a family somewhere in the north, but has never made the attempt to look as something has always held her back. In the beginning of the book Lauren talks about her dream where she was flying but her house was on fire. The dream then turns into a past memory of her grand mother telling her about how there were fewer lights than there used to be. This mirrors Lauren’s own desire to leave her home due to her belief that there is nothing truly left for her (the lights dimming) but unfortunately there is no room to expand or “fly.”

This idea of “useless belief” can especially be seen in the stages leading up to the fall of Lauren’s Neighborhood and family. Throughout the first few stages of the book Lauren is constant urging her friends and family to prepare “safety packs” for dire emergencies and to learn how to defend themselves as well as to survive off the land. However, they all failed to listen to Lauren’s advice, rather putting their faith in a higher being than on their own survival, eventually leading to their perish.

During the streak of increasing burglaries in Lauren’s neighborhood, she feels compelled to do more than sit back and watch her town be terrorized further. She not only wants to continue surviving but also wants to change her future for the better. Lauren truly believes and wants this but fails to ever put it into action.
This lack of action/ambition by her surroundings proves to be truly “nothing” as her town is eventually overruled by addicts and thieves thus leading to Lauren being forced to act upon her deepest wants and must leave her home for the sake of her own safety under much more weary circumstances.

Although I agree with Lauren’s statement, I do not think she truly lived by her words. Despite the stubbornness of her peers, I think she would have been better off living by her beliefs and following her wants. While this may be a hard decision for Lauren, I feel it would be the wisest as she is much more miserable later on after staying put.

The lack of ambition and drive seen in the townspeople due to their desire to put their reliance on god rather than in their own control further extends Lauren’s idea of “useless belief.” The townspeople’s’ belief of god should be seen as pointless by Lauren as it does neither initiate nor stir action. This pointless belief is proven to be ineffective as it eventually leads to the unfortunate destruction of Lauren’s home.

Belief

Belief
Initiates and guides action-
Or it does nothing.
This is one of the many verses in Lauren’s diary that represent her beliefs and religious views. Belief is an ongoing theme in the text that is shown in different variations and viewpoints. Specifically from the chapter in which this verse opens, many events occur to portray this idea.

Lauren lives in a gated community in which the sole purpose of the massive wall is a barrier to, and ultimately protection from the outside world. This belief from the community, that the wall is enough to protect them, is wrong. Lauren shows her disgust for the wall and how all it does is fill her with a sense of entrapment. She sees this as her community believing too much in the falseness of the wall, hiding from their fears and not taking actions to better themselves, to Lauren, this is just prolonging their end.
Lauren is very different than probably all of the other people in her community. Aside from her hyperempathy Lauren is very clear headed to what is actually going on around her and in the world and this in part comes from the Earthseed religion in which Lauren believes in. She sees how society is eventually going to collapse. Lauren doesn’t feel safe inside her own community walls and doesn’t see how herself or anyone else is going to amount to anything staying there and living the way they all are. The community is too afraid of change to better themselves, they rely on the faith of God too much, thinking he will cure the community. They should really be taking direct actions to change the community because ultimately, God is change. Lauren sees it as her end if she just stays put in this stagnant community where everyone believes its best to be at.

The first instance that really bothers Lauren is Amy Dunn’s murder. Not only does this bother Lauren but it also gets the other people in the community thinking. They are thinking, but not acting upon what they are thinking, just hoping for the best. Amy Dunn’s murder caused by bullets going through the bullet proof wall represents how nothing in life is guaranteed and how only change can be counted on in life. Lauren had her hopes and beliefs for amy. Lauren was putting in the time and effort towards the little girl but only Lauren’s attention could not save her, she needed her family at the least.

Lauren’s strong belief that something terrible is going to happen to the community, reinforced by Amy’s death causes her to have a strong desire to get out. She takes it upon herself to read varieties of books to learn about survival methods and how to live off the land. She has been keeping these ideas to herself because she is reluctant to how others will react to them. The first time she shares these ideas are with her best friend Joanne. Joanne completely disagrees and does not believe what Lauren is saying. Joanne feels as if the community is not as bad as what Lauren is making it out to be and that in time it will get better, yet she is making no actions to contribute to the bettering of the community. This correlates to the strong meaning behind the verse; you can have a belief but you need to take actions to help make your desires come true, you cant just sit around waiting. If you try, and the outcome you wish doesn’t come through, then you can at least have the satisfaction of knowing you attempted.

Joanne states how her mother hopes the new president will fix the society and take it back to normal. This is a bad way to think in Lauren’s eyes due to her belief of ongoing change. With consideration to Lauren’s religious views she is taken back by this statement. She doesn‘t believe in going back to the “good old days”. Earthseed is all about changing and that’s just what has happened to the world; it has changed. There is no such thing as a “normal” to Lauren, everything is change, and need to live with open eyes and fresh views or else you hit a road block in living life to the fullest. Lauren tries to change Joanne’s view of the fate of their community by suggesting to read books to aquire new knowledge and Joanne is leery stating “Books aren’t going to save us.” Lauren replies with “Nothing is going to save us. If we don’t save ourselves, we’re dead. Now use your imagination” (59). This is synonymous to the opening verse.

Joanne criticizes Lauren in saying that Lauren can’t see the future but Lauren defends herself and says she can because she is able to set aside her fears. That she is able to recognize what’s happening in the world, thus, having the capabilities to foresee what is going to eventually happen to her society. “I want you to be serious. I realize I don’t know very much. None of us knows very much. But we can all learn more. Then we can teach one another. We can stop denying reality or hoping it will go away by magic” (58). Lauren believes so much in taking actions to make change that is needed that she is able to communicate to Joanne’s closed mindedness with the previous statement and the statement of “Lets kill ourselves now and be done with it”, because without some change, that’s all they are doomed for anyways (57).

NASA: A Very Good Thing

Throughout the book “Parables of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler, the main character, Lauren Olamina, appears to make several critiques about our society. There appears to be such a passage in her entry on Saturday, August 3, 2024 on page 20. This passage appears to be a critique of NASA regarding whether or not it benefits our society.

This passage was preceded by a passage about one of the astronauts on the current Mars mission. Her name was Alicia Catalina Godinez Leal, and she died “when something went wrong with her protective suit and the rest of her team couldn’t get her back to the shelter in time to save her.” Lauren states that the people in her neighborhood believe that the government doesn’t have any business in going to Mars.

During the last moments of her life while she knew that she was going to die, Alicia Leal stated that she wanted to be buried on Mars because “Mars was the one thing she had wanted all her life, and now she would be part of it forever.” Lauren; however, was angry when she heard the news that the Secretary of Astronautics had denied Alicia Leal her last wish due to the concern of her body contaminating the Martian environment. She states that one of the men who is running for president, named Christopher Morpeth Donner, promised to abolish the Department of Astronautics if he is elected.

“Bread and circuses” is the expression that Lauren’s father uses when he hears space news on the radio. He says that “politicians and big corporations get bread, and we get the circuses.” Lauren argues to her father that “space could be our future,” but her father responds with “you don’t understand. You don’t have any idea what a criminal waste of time and money that so-called space program is.”

Based on this passage it appears that Octavia E. Butler is not a fan of NASA. I imagine that she believes that NASA is a waste of money and that the United States of America does not have any business in the exploration of outer space. I assume that she believes that the money that the government invests in NASA would be better allocated towards areas of the government that directly benefit citizens that are in need.

I would have to strongly disagree with Octavia E. Butler’s viewpoint on the benefits that NASA has on the citizens of the United States. I believe that NASA plays a vital role in increasing the strength of America politically, militarily, and economically.

NASA was established on July 29, 1958. It replaced its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was founded on March 3, 1915. On July 20, 1969 the Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth’s Moon. The three lucky humans were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. In the documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon” Michael Collins had this to say about their return from landing on the Moon.

After the flight of Apollo 11, the three of us went on an around-the-world trip. Wherever we went, people, instead of saying, “Well, you Americans did it,” Everywhere, they said, “We did it. We Humankind, we the Human race, we, people, did it.” And, I had never heard of, um… people in different countries use this word “We, we, we” as emphatically as we were hearing from Europeans, Asians, Africans… Wherever we went, it was, “We finally did it!” And I thought that was a wonderful thing. Ephemeral, but wonderful.

I believe that this quote shows the profound impact that the achievements of space exploration can have on the world. Without organizations such as NASA, it would be nearly impossible to achieve such great accomplishments.

Another way in which NASA benefits our society is militarily. NASA plays an important role in the defense of our nation. It is the means by which we are able to launch satellites the provide support for our military. Some of these satellites include the Global Positioning System (GPS.) GPS was created and realized by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973 and originally consisted of 24 satellites. Its purpose was to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems. The highest quality GPS signals were originally reserved for the military; however, on May 1, 200, President Bill Clinton ordered that the selective availability be turned off. This increased the accuracy available to civilians from 100 meters to 20 meters. Since then GPS has been an enormous benefit to our society. It enables safe and reliable navigation to ships lost at sea, aircraft traversing hazardous weather, and families trying to find their beach house. Valuable technology such as GPS would be impossible without the contributions of NASA.

There is also an economical benefit that NASA provides. The unique challenges of space travel have spawned many great inventions. Some of these inventions have also been adapted for use in the civilian market. One such invention is the space blanket. The space blanket is a blanket that can be used in emergencies to erduce the heat that is lost in a person’s body caused by thermal radiation, water evaporation, and convection. Their use ranges from preventing and countering hypothermia to providing shade in hot environments.

Although Octavia E. Butler may believe that organizations such as NASA are a tremendous waste of precious resources, I believe that society has benefited a great deal from the existence of NASA. It has spawned technologies that allow us to navigate more precisely and reliably and products that help save lives. It also has the power to unify our planet in conquering new worlds. I think that it is important that our society realizes the importance of having a government organization that enables us to explore the space that surrounds our world.

Will demand of you.

There is no end
To what a living world
Will demand of you.

This verse opens chapter 13 of Parable of the Sower and reached out off the page at me when I read it for the first time. The verse is slightly different than the others in my eyes. In most of Lauren’s Earthseed entries the verses seem to focus on change and the religion she is trying to create. This one is different. Not different in a bad sense but more like unique. At this point in the book more than any Lauren knows that change is not just coming but it is here.

In chapter 12 Lauren’s dad has gone missing for days and of course this affects her. Change is now. The verse describes the events before and after and that’s why I feel it is intriguing. Her dad has been gone for days now and the reality has set in that he is not coming back. The living world Lauren talks about in her verse is her world. She realizes that she, not anyone else, needs to step up. On Sunday morning like any other Sunday morning the neighborhood came over to the Olamina house for church. Yes her father was not there to lead the service but she knew what she had to do. She delivered a sermon it in the loving memory of her father. He was a big influence in her life and now in the life of Lauren change was coming fast.

In the verse Lauren writes that there is no end. This opening line says a lot about Lauren and her religion. It goes along with the theme of change is God. The fact is the only end is death, but while alive there is no end like see says. I consider this a form of foreshadowing. Lauren is intelligent enough to realize that yes her father is gone but it is a change and more is coming. In chapter 13 and on a lot of attention is paid on the Will demand of you. The depth of this simple line is anything but simple. She could have used many different words instead of Will but none would have the power. When see says will, it means she understands the in the world you will have responsibilities and you as a person have to do something about these responsibilities. When you are down, some other event is going to occur and push you down again. It takes a person of true strength to keep bouncing back and continuing their journey like Lauren. This is exactly what she wants to preach or teach to follows. That things change. You can’t dwell on the past of you will be left behind. Change is forward and in the living world there is no end.

Lauren does get past the passing of both her brother and father in a short span of time. She has little time to more because of exactly what she wrote in the verse. There is no end as she says and instead of mourning her father that she loved dearly she had to more on. It was scary for her because just like that she had to be an adult. The good thing is that since the beginning of the book she has wanted to be grown-up. As I have been reading I have been trying myself in Lauren’s shoes and the best word I can come up with is intimidating. She knows that her town is not going to last much longer and when I try to imagine how that would feel and it’s not a good feeling. She understands that her family her town is going to demand more of her more of everybody just to survive and continue. More than ever in the story or Lauren’s life I feel like the verse embodies what is going on. Earthseed is coming together as the outside as well as the inside community are falling apart. This is a huge step in Lauren’s life and I feel the verse rises to the occasion. Honestly I like the verse and I feel it applies to my life as well. I mean I guess that is the point of a religion, to be able to connect too many different people. Lauren uses her verses as crutches to help her along her path through life and I think it’s truly inspiring for her, me, or anyone that will spend the time and listen.

Drowning in Complacency

Drowning people

Sometimes die

Fighting their rescuers (Butler 57).

Although all of Lauren’s verses bear some importance to her journey throughout The Parable of the Sower, none have been as striking as the above verse from the beginning of Chapter 6. While I spent time analyzing the others, pondering their meaning and overall significance, this verse seemed to be immediately connected to the course of events; it’s ominous, it’s morbid, and it’s so seemingly non-religious that I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Lauren’s previous entries in her journal were all filled with words like “God,” “worship,” and “change” (and rightfully so since these are the spiritual ponderings of the protagonist) so what place does a phrase about unintentional suicide have in her repertoire? Despite the obvious parallel of the “rescuer” to a more holy “savior”, I don’t feel that this phrase truly has anything to do with the successful (or unsuccessful) nature of divine intervention. Lauren contemplates the concept of God a good deal throughout her life and ultimately decides that, for her, “God just is” (24). She feels no animosity towards him for putting her in her situation, she feels no obedience towards him that governs her decisions, and most importantly she feels that God is not some archaic figure meant to be followed but rather something that we are meant to mold according to our experiences. If Lauren even believes that a “God” does exist at all, she certainly doesn’t feel that she should relent to his doing and blindly follow some larger life plan that he may have in store for her like so many in her neighborhood do. This philosophy calls for a sense of responsibility and a call to action when needed because God is not the ultimate decider, he presents himself in different manners according to the decisions that we make.

This verse finds itself at a point in the story after Lauren has all but completely renounced the traditional idea of God, has made the decision to take hold of her own fate, but has nonetheless been betrayed and written off as an impulsive and careless teenager. Despite the confidence she has in her plan and her friendship with Joanne, the prevailing forces are those which hold together Lauren’s community; complacency and, ultimately, resignation. It is this exact sense of complacency that Marcuse speaks of in One-Dimensional Man when considering the lack of social change in the United States. Because the Olamina family lives within the walls of a relatively protected community they are considered lucky despite the hardships they face, and it is this comparison between the utter chaos and destruction outside and the respective false sense of normalcy inside that Marcuse targets as the source which “modifies the attitude and the status of the exploited” (Marcuse 25). Joanna may exemplify this unconscious submission to current conditions best when, in the middle of Lauren’s survival plan explanation, she interjects with “Things don’t have to be as bad as you say they are here” (Butler 56).

Lauren has the intelligence and the fortitude to step outside this narrow school of thought, outside the walls of her own neighborhood, and truly ponder whether there is much or any rationale to the way she and her peers are living. In her loss of faith in a “true” God Lauren rids herself of the strongest belief and commonality retained by the rest of her community, but also gains the insight to evaluate what is considered societally normal and judge these norms outside the context of her ruined world. Revolution cannot occur without someone who has the audacity to question the system, someone who will defy tradition on the quest for improvement, and Lauren Olamina uses her alienation as a means to recognize change when changes is needed and make herself that savior or rescuer that she speaks of in her verse.

What Lauren does not realize is that the logic behind her plan is not so apparent to those who so desperately grasp to the “anchor of the past,” waiting for their God to save them. To such a society Lauren’s ideas are not only foolish but also dangerous, serving to knock the whole system of balance and destroy whatever shred of regularity they have left. They push the young girl away in favor of preservation and this verse acts as an omen of things to come as a result of their blissful ignorance. Although Lauren’s intuitions may prove to be correct (and may even make sense to some), the gated community cannot view her as their rescuer because they are anchored to long-held custom and they are drowning from the weight of it.

Steps Toward Change

Most of the verses that Lauren has written are about her religious ideology, whether it is directly stated or not. The verse at the start of Chapter 14 is,

In order to rise
From its own ashes
A phoenix
First
Must
Burn. (153)

Lauren strongly believes in change whether it is for an individual or society. This helps her to keep moving during challenging times. When her father disappeared, she realized that her life had changed from what she had always known and decided to adapt. She stepped up and led the community in church and motivated them all to persist and never give up. Lauren also became a leader when she teamed up with Harry and Zahra in their quest to head north.

The chapter following the verse is the one where Lauren describes the destruction of the community. She lost all of her friends and family and chose to move on. Just like the phoenix, she suffered from her past but she will rebuild and change into a stronger person. Although, not every bird is a phoenix. In other words, not everyone can successfully change or be a victim of a traumatic event and rebuild. For example, Mrs. Sims eventually killed herself after so much loss and suffering.

Before the community was burnt down and Lauren had no other option but to venture north, she was planning on leaving. In order for Lauren to rebuild and change, that change must first be sparked by an idea or event. This goes along with another verse of hers,

Belief
Initiates and guides action -
Or it does nothing. (47)

Newton's first law states that an object will remain at rest unless another force acts upon it. Some people fear change and unless they are forced to change or adapt, they will remain the same. Change needs to be initiated, which can usually be from a belief, goal, or desire. Lauren first starts to think that her life in the community will not last forever after Amy was shot through the door to their fortress. Lauren realizes that forces are growing stronger on the outside and that the walls will one day fall. Amy's death was the beginning of the initiation for Lauren's change, but it ultimately began after the large fire.

A group or society needs someone to lead them in order to change as a whole. Lauren and her father are the ones who do this. Reverend Olamina was the person who organized the watch system after the increase in robberies. He also gave advice and comforted people within the community. Lauren maintains this after her father disappears, though not to the same extent. She finds a way to alleviate some of the questions and doubts that the people had after the loss of their leader as well as helping them to continue in their lifestyle. Although she tells them to persist, the disappearance of Reverend Olamina starts people to really think about the outside world and how long they might be able to last, even though they will not have much time to think this through and change as a unit.

Belief can also do nothing if it is not a strong one or if it is not accepted. This is seen with Joanne, who refuses to believe and act upon Lauren's advice. Joanne would not have changed much, if at all, if not for her family deciding to move to Olivar. Joanne did not understand what was really going on outside and that their community will one day cease to exist. Marcuse discussed this in One Dimensional Man where he stated, "All liberation depends on the consciousness of servitude, and the emergence of this consciousness is always hampered by the predominance of needs and satisfactions which, to a great extent, have become the individual's own". He talks about the question: how can someone want or initiate change if they do not realize that they are not really free or that their "happiness" has been imposed on them by another force?

Lauren's belief in that God is change is what keeps her living and motivated to survive. This belief causes her to act and never give up, even after such trying events. Her religion is her initiation to change as well as what maintains it. After the loss of her home, community, and everyone she loves, she will rebuild from her ashes and become even stronger than before.

Change Abounds

Page 31, “A victim of [change] may, through learning adaptation, become a partner of [change], a victim of [change] may, through forethought and planning, become a shaper of [change]. Or a victim of [change] may, through shortsightedness and fear, remain [change’s] victim, [change’s] plaything, [change’s] prey” (Butler 1993). I have taken the liberty (through Lauren’s own logic) of replacing the word ‘God’ with ‘change’ throughout this verse. Lauren worships a god that she believes will pay testament to her survival: Adaptation. If she could have convinced those in her community of the same beliefs, then the change that raped and burned her village to the ground might have been an enlightening experience for them – though, as we know, it was nothing but death.

Olimina has taken God, which has altered the course of the world, and equated Him to an idea, an event; change. “God is change,” after all. In this particular verse, there are traces of her fears and her current state. She sees the world as an ever-moving collection of events that waits for no one. People have two options; they can take control of the change or let it do with them as it pleases, become its “prey.”The personification of change gives an ominous feel to the idea that Lauren uses to stimulate fear and thought. The verse illustrates exactly how her father and his followers blinded themselves to what would eventually come. As they waited for the world to right itself, the world got worse every day. They took no part in shaping the future, the universe; God. There is something to be said here about the different religions in question. Lauren’s Earthseed is very proactive. It forces members to be the protectors of themselves and those around them. Her father and his generation typically pray to their god to help them. “Belief initiates and guides action – or it does nothing.” Lauren’s beliefs lead her to action – a saving grace other religions lack.

As Olimina’s town was desecrated, she acted upon the changes that were tearing her world apart. Others did not. She had been shaping her change for some time, and in essence, her future. She made the grab-and-go pack and she rehearsed the routine of its use. In years before, thanks to her father’s foresight, Lauren had been training to use a gun. Even more proactive, Lauren sought to learn from the past. She read and absorbed all she could about the ways the Earth, though ravaged, could provide for her outside. In her taking the past seriously (in one instance likening their future to the Bubonic Plague), she continued to build upon Earthseed, the ultimate hand in her defense against the currents of change (or destruction) that defiles the land. This new religion is the backbone of her shaping God and gaining followers. Lauren will go on to sow these beliefs in her new group as a way to root the change she knows to be the future of human-kind. Without this change there would be no world for her or anyone else to bring children into (though as she notes, people continue to do so).

Olivar was a change that some, including Cory, thought would save them. But there it is again; Lauren knows that they must save themselves, “become a shaper of [change].” They must initiate what is to become of the new world. As their houses were torched and screams filled the air, I’m sure at least one person wished they had moved to the corporate town. Lauren may have preferred some do that, too, had she known what was to come. At least, in that case, the people would have had some choice in the shaping of change that came. Change always comes; Lauren resisted leaving the town for fear of the fate of her family – change came anyway. The journal entries don’t address this, but I wonder how she feels now. Would she still stay with her family for those months had she known their deaths were coming, regardless? Her family did not survive as they did not change, not in the slightest. Keith had died because he was rash in his change. Lauren lives because she planned for the coming change. None of them seemed better off, but somehow Lauren’s Earthseed kept her alive. Adaptation, a theme touched upon in the verses of her book, is a fact of life, usually on a grander scale, which has proved self-evident in the case of the town. Lauren urged them to keep adapting, but they stopped at a certain point. As result, she is forced to live without them. This is arguably the most pivotal point in the story; Lauren’s survival as a representation of her religion. It gives her efforts and toils credit that the story had not thus far. Had everyone lived, or she died, or the town won-out, the reader, and maybe even Lauren, would be questioning the legitimacy of Earthseed. Further in the book, when Lauren starts teaching, the book already has worth.

Disillusionment

In Chapter 4, Lauren's father takes her and a few other people target shooting in the hills. When Aura Moss shoots at a wild dog out of fear, Lauren's father goes off to try to find it. He returns with “a look that [Lauren] couldn't read” (page 42.) He has seen some decaying corpses, and he is trying to protect the youths from seeing them. While in this dystopian outside world the horror he's protecting them from is an extreme example, a parent's job in most society is to protect one's children from becoming disillusioned, scarred, or in any way emotionally harmed by the harsh realities of life. He does this effectively, except for slightly worrying Lauren with his unreadable expression.

Later, in Chapter 12, after the death of Lauren's father, she goes looking for his body. She begins the day's entry by stating “I've never seen more squalor, more human remains, more feral dogs than I saw today” (page 130.) The gravity of this grim reality hits Lauren hard. She says “I have to write. I have to dump this onto paper. I can't keep this inside of me.” (page 130.) Because her father is not around to protect her anymore, she is forced to deal with this harsh outside world on her own. She is forced to grow up. While this is realistically an ongoing process, this moment is a very well-packaged crystallizing point.

These two moments, working together, undoubtedly offer a critique of society. Butler seems to object to the coddling of our children. Even though Lauren is not entirely a part of the gated community in spirit from the beginning, with Earthseed replacing Christianity and with her aversion to settling down in a white-picket-fence motherhood, she still becomes disillusioned throughout the story. This disillusionment is actually amplified by her hyperempathy; when she witnesses pain, she experiences it. It's not only an emotional disillusionment but an actual chemically and biologically enforced painful experience. Butler's point is that this disillusionment is inevitable and extremely painful; we should not keep that a secret and pretend that everything is going to miraculously be okay. Because Lauren's father didn't exactly protect her from the horror of the corpses and disembodied arm she found, Butler isn't exactly using Lauren as an example of what not to do. Lauren's situation becomes a statement of what is going to inevitably happen.

Since Lauren isn't an outright nonexample, there is no real explicit alternative stated in the book. Butler isn't outrightly stating her point, saying “if you coddle your children, then such-and-such will occur. Instead you should ruin their innocence.” This would be far too heavy-handed for Butler's novel. However, there is definitely a heavily implied alternative. Logically the only real alternative to sheltering someone is to expose them to what you are sheltering them from. However, Butler does not explicitly state at any point how to expose them. Perhaps, however, Butler sees the disillusionment process in terms of religion. In Christianity, the method is to gradually expose children with a constant reminder that faith in God as a being to keep the child safe from the frightening parts of life. Lauren's Earthseed beliefs, however, are that God is not a being controlling the world but actually a process of shaping and changing your environment and your own life. In this way, we can see that perhaps Butler is suggesting that children should be allowed to experience the world and go through disillusionment with a constant reminder that they can shape their world and life in any way they see fit.

Skills for Survival

Drowning people/Sometimes die/Fighting their rescuers. (Butler 61) This verse is used to introduce chapter 6 in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. The verse, in my opinion, is one of the most poetic and intriguing that is used throughout this half of the novel. However, like most epigraphs, it is used to tell the reader exactly what they should expect to see on the pages ahead.

The first sentence in Chapter 6 reads, “Joanne told.” (Butler 61) However this does not sufficiently explain the use of this epigraph in this chapter. Our knowledge from the previous chapter is what makes the reader able to connect this epigraph to the chapter. We can then make the deductions that “Drowning people” is more likely than not referring to Joanne. The “rescuers” in this case is not a plural, but in fact a singular rescuer in Lauren.

Where the verse becomes less straightforward is the second line, “Sometimes die.” (Butler 61) There are no obvious deaths within the chapter, which leads us to question whether or not we can trust these epigraphs to reveal information about the coming events within the narrative. However the parallel that this verse has to the situation at hand is clear. Lauren believes that if the people in her community remain uneducated on how to maintain themselves outside the comfort of their walls that they are surely to be met with ill fate. She encourages Joanne to study this type of information as a test subject of sorts, as well as the fact that she is considered Lauren’s closest friend.

The verse does not have to apply strictly to the fact that Joanne disclosed information to her mother that Lauren had talked to her about. Because it was Joanne’s mother that reacted negatively to what Lauren considers to be help, is a statement about how others will react to her preparations for surviving outside the wall. No doubt that more within the community would react as Joanne’s mother did.

Lauren’s thoughts during the conversation with her father reveal the reasons for her choosing this particular epigraph. She thinks, “…I think your world is coming to an end, and maybe you with it.” (Butler 62) She whole-heartedly believes that her information regarding survival is what will save those who live within the community. As she is met with resistance, from Joanne, from Joanne’s mother, and her own father, it is clear that the remainder of the community will probably react in a similar fashion, with severe resistance and anger. Without the skills that she is trying encourage them to learn, she believes that they will all, in fact, die if an emergency of catastrophic nature were to ever occur. Their resistance to her information suggests that they are at risk to die by fighting what Lauren believes to be necessary skills for survival.

Human Nature

We, as humans, love to believe we are superior to every other species. Sure, we can build a building, paint a painting, fiddle a fiddle, and perform countless other complex behaviors; however, when it comes down to the genetic level, we are not too different than our Cro-Magnon ancestors from hundreds of millennia ago. So much of our behavior can be explained by our most primordial instincts—fight or flight, kill or be killed, dominance of the fittest. In actuality, we may even be worse than we were before; there is no other organism on our planet that will kill a member of its own species for reasons as trivial as our own. I believe Butler painted a very disturbing portrait of man’s true capacity for debauchery, and the scariest part is that it isn’t completely unfathomable.

The majority of the population in this dystopian future consists of impoverished families, drug addicts, and illiterate gangsters. This type of conduct actually doesn’t surprise me; in fact, it almost seems like common sense to assume that, without an enforcing government, anarchy will occur. This once-civilized populace completely retroverted back to animals in the span of a few years at the first sign of famine and actual independence. The sad irony here is that these people essentially gained pure freedom. These cold-hearted beasts now roam in packs, scavenging what they can, and following their old instincts of “kill or be killed”. It’s hard to believe that such a change in behavior can occur in one’s lifetime, and not in the span of evolutionary eras. Even Keith, a sheltered pre-pubescent child, turns into a merciless killer and robber after being exposed to the environment for only a few months. It’s not even that he was unjustly put in that scenario; he actively left safety in order to pursue his wants, like a coyote leaving to find its next meal. I think the cause is indeed our primitive nature attracting us to our uncivilized instincts.

Butler construes the people outside of the gates as inhuman savages, but she also subtly incorporates the gated community’s dehumanization throughout the chapters leading up to the massacre. The older generations are described as unmotivated and simply waiting for better times to come. Most of the adults are also described as being very intelligent—often holding jobs in engineering, medicine, and teaching—however, they refuse to collaborate as a giant unit and instead isolate themselves and their family into smaller populations within the community. For instance, the newcomers, Wardell Parish and Rosalee Payne, are described by Lauren as having a false sense of superiority over the rest of the group. This seems odd, considering that chances of survival are greater if everybody collaborates. Yet, once again, the natural instincts of the group come out in this unrestricted environment, causing families to assert domination and territory over others. Parents even take their youngest children hunting in order to prepare them for a violent future; besides the technology, it’s hard to see society anywhere you look.

Despite this very bleak look at human nature, Butler uses Lauren as a nostrum for all this debasement. She gives Lauren all the good qualities of a leader and the insightfulness to foresee the fortress’ collapse. She is basically the one human that still retains good merits in a collapsing world. This may be in part for her having hyperempathy, which differentiates her from any other person. I found it interesting that the author would make such an abnormal person so much more human than any other character in the book. Perhaps Butler is trying to shine a light through the grim hole that human nature has dug itself. With such a mutation, Lauren actually becomes a better organism; free of the natural instinct to protect herself over everything else, she is able to see through a religion generally constructed to control the public and create a new, more reasonable, way of living life. Perhaps Butler is trying to show a polarization between two populations of Homo sapiens—one path taking the more barbaric lifestyle, and the other taking an enlightened path of understanding another’s emotions. This type of character displacement is very common amongst other organisms in the environment and it may just be that humanity will be in need of such a divergence sometime in the near future, considering the storm of events that is about to be unleashed on us as a race in the next few decades.

Earthseed and Change

Lauren’s verse throughout the novel displays her religious evolution as she continues learning and growing. Chapter 12 begin’s with the verse,

We are Earthseed

The life that perceives itself

Changing. (126)

Like many of Lauren’s verse, this one includes “change.” The idea of change guides her through her entries. Following the verse are entries discussing Joanne Garfield’s acceptance to Oliver and Reverend Olamina’s disappearance. These entries represent great change, not only for Lauren, but also for the community. It is the first time in the novel that the community cannot deny the changes that are occurring around them. Although they accepted the break-ins earlier and tried to adapt within the community, it is with the first loss of an entire family and then the town preacher — arguably the most important person to the community’s unity — that they must acknowledge the impending destruction they may fall victim to (even within the walls).

Lauren constantly fights denial. With the death of her father, when her ability to reason is challenged, she still fights it. Following the unsuccessful search for him, she preaches a sermon that centers both on the “on-going search,” but also the persistence of a widow. “I’m no good at denial and self-deception. That was Dad’s funeral that I was preaching—his and the community’s” (136). Lauren contradicts herself by sustaining the bit of hope that Reverend Olamina may be alive, yet she knows she must suppress it. And she presents herself as the leader of her community, stepping forward to give them an idea of hope, that they will survive the destruction if they persist. But she does not herself believe this to be true; she believes that the only hope lies in leaving California. She lies to do the duty her father taught her, to teach and guide rather than scare. Although Lauren is young, she is quick to jump into her father’s footsteps and offer her voice to the community — a community that she believes will soon fall apart.

Lauren’s religion is defeating her desire to lead the community. She cannot teach a people that won’t accept her teachings. Joanne’s reaction of fear and shock when Lauren tried to tell her about preparing for survival taught Lauren that she cannot trust her neighbors to understand her viewpoints, that they would rather remain within the walls hoping for the worsening conditions to end — but Lauren knows they won’t. Signs that the walls of the fortress are slowly breaking down have already begun, and although the community adapts (they create a watch system), they still do not completely understand that the worsening conditions mean for the community.

But with the news that the Garfield’s are leaving the neighborhood behind, the community as a whole is soon to experience a great loss. The Garfield’s departure is significant because it is not a change to the community that was forced upon the family; they choose to leave; they acknowledge the powerlessness of the community and leave it for one they believe will be stronger. They draw the concept of the danger directly in the community; if families are beginning to leave then the danger seems more real because if the other families in the neighborhood acknowledge and credit the reasons for their departure, they must face the truth that they cannot face the danger. However, it not only makes the danger feel real, but also weakens the community because they have less allies, less watchmen, defenders.

And after the news of the loss, the community — aware of looming violence — is harshly confronted with the loss of their reverend, their guide. The violence destroys their most important figure of hope and survival. This is the strongest way that they could perceive the effects of the world outside upon their lives. It signifies the approach of great change, and it is up to them where that change will drive them. Lauren knows that she will not accept the changes that would draw the outside violence any farther into her home. Her religion is her backbone, and she must find a way to make adapt God, change. Her plans to leave the town and travel on her own towards a free land resemble that of a traveling messiah who leaves home to search for land where his beliefs stand a chance of growing despite the risks it poses to him. Her belief in change and its possibility is all that keeps her from giving up and allowing the world to knock down the walls of the tiny fortress and trample her with the community.

Prompts for Friday's Blog Post

Note 1:  as I add prompts, I will edit this post, so you only have one place to look.  Just be aware of that - if on Monday you don't see a prompt you like, check on Tuesday, but check the same post - don't look for a different one.

Note 2:  The prompts for this week will deliberately focus on Butler.  That doesn't make Marcuse less important - that just means that you'll have some time to read, re-read, and ask questions before writing on him.

1. The main body of Butler's text (which, although it reads mostly like a conventional first person narrative, is theoretically Lauren Olamina's diary) is interwoven with Earthseed verses.  All of these are deeply important to the text as a whole.  Pick one verse which particularly interests you, and write a short essay analyzing some event in the text using that verse.  How does the incident illustrate the verse, for instance.  Doing this prompt well requires that you take Olamina's status as a religious thinker and leader seriously - for the purposes of this prompt, it might be a good idea to think of the novel as a series of parables (drawn from Olamina's life) illustrating her religious theory or principles.
2. This one is especially for the bio and bioengineering majors.  Butler's text draws, both visibly and invisibly, on contemporary biology.  Take one biological theory or text (a specific one - not as vague, for instance as "evolution") and use it either to make an argument about Butler's text or views, or to argue that she is explicitly rooting herself in a theory or text (and then, knowing that theory or text, how do we understanding Butler differently).  For example, look at one of the following:
1. This is Robert Trivers' famous paper on reciprocal altruism.
2. Multilevel selection is highly relevant to Butler's text.  Here's one example paper; I'm sure many of you could find something better.  
3. Pick a specific part of the text (probably based in a single passage, although it may appear elsewhere) which seems to offer a *critique* of our society.  What, specifically, about our society, does Butler seem to be objecting to, and what is the implied or explicit alternative (keep in mind that Lauren't religion as well as her biology are a starting point to understanding offered alternatives).  Remember - you are talking about one criticism, not three or seven:  you are arguing that she is making a criticism and presenting an alternative, and you may also chose to evaluate her viewpoint.  This option might make use of Marcuse, but that is a suggestion, not a requirement.  (This option was added after class)

NOTE:  Unlike with your Monday posts, you should post your essays on the main page, *not* as a comment.

Open Thread for 1st Reading (Marcuse & Butler)

This is an open thread for your first Monday blog post.  Remember, write whatever you want, in the form of a coherent paragraph that asks a question, brings our attention to an issue, or analyzes some component of either Marcuse's text, Butler's text, or the two in relationship to one another.  Put your Monday blog posts as comments to this thread, so things don't get too hard to follow; that will be the standard going forward.

You can expect 1 or 2 prompts to be posted today for your Friday blog post, with another to follow after our class.

Blog for today

Does anyone know if we have to write a blog by monday night about what we read?