Comparing Conan The Barbarian And Octavia Butler

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Many stories featuring younger protagonists in dystopian, fantasy, and survival narratives frequently explore the complexities of human behavior under extreme circumstances. Some 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 of their worlds. Therefore, upon closer examination, the seemingly random …show more content…
Over the years of enslavement, he is molded into a stoic man with inhuman strength owing to his lifestyle and participation in fighting rings. Successful endeavors in these rings are rewarded with sexual favors. Despite the fear many of these women exhibit in his presence, though it is not explicitly stated in the film, it is often overlooked that Conan is supposed to be in his late teens during these times, in turn demonstrating how a young man can exert control over adult women in a world completely dominated by men. Similarly, in Parable of the Sower, Lauren embarks on her journey as a fifteen-year-old girl with a keen understanding of her struggling society, where women typically remain within the community while men venture out as breadwinners. Additionally, she has a condition known as “hyper empathy”, which allows her to experience the emotions of others, often viewed as a hyper feminine disability. Due to this, her own brother suggested that she should marry her boyfriend and bear children with him, as he believes she won’t survive in this world with her disability (Butler,
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Related Documents: Comparing Conan The Barbarian And Octavia Butler

Comparing Conan The Barbarian And Octavia Butler

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…

Words 1115 - Pages 5