Comparing Conan The Barbarian And Octavia Butler

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Many stories with a younger leading protagonist in dystopian, fantasy, and survival narratives frequently explore the complexities of human behaviour under extreme circumstances. Some, however, take on the role of exploring sexual and romantic dynamics which may seem irrelevant to the overall plot. So, I pose the question: are sexual and romantic dynamics relevant to the plot and character of a story? In both John Milius’s Conan the Barbarian and Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, the protagonists' journeys for survival and better life are intertwined with underlying dynamics of sexuality, revealing deeper attributes about the individual characters which allow the reader to better understand the complexities of their world. Therefore, when taking into consideration and deeper analyses, the random occurrences …show more content…
In Conan the Barbarian, the story begins with a young Conan forced to work as a slave for the man who killed his family, as he ages throughout the years of slavery, he is taught to become a stoic man with inhuman strength due to his lifestyle and being thrown into fighting rings. When successful, he is rewarded with sex for his efforts. Although these women are typically scared at the sight of him, many fail to take into consideration he is only fifteen years old, in turn demonstrating how in a world completely dominated by men, a boy can take control of a grown woman. Similarly, in Parable of the Sower, Lauren begins the story as a fifteen year old girl with a realistic grasp on her struggling society where the women tend to stay in the community while the men go out to act as the breadwinner. Additionally, she suffers with a condition known as “hyper-empathy” which allows her to feel what others feel, also seen as a hyper feminine
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Comparing Conan The Barbarian And Octavia Butler

narratives also incorporate sexual and romantic dynamics, which may initially seem irrelevant to the plot. So, I pose the question: are sexual and romantic dynamics truly relevant to the plot and characters in a story? In both John Milius’s Conan the Barbarian and Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, the protagonist’s quest for survival is intertwined with underlying sexual dynamics, revealing deeper attributes about the individual characters, and enabling the audience to fully grasp the complexities…

Words 1044 - Pages 5