Octavia E. Butler's Parable Of The Sower

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Often as societies advance they think of the end, the end to their community, the end to life, or just the end. These dismal thoughts produce a form of prediction or theorization of what will happen during the end or even after the end. In the modern day we see this in written literature, often called post-apocalyptic stories that express either a utopic or dystopic ending. I would like to focus on dystopian endings, dystopia most literally means in Greek ‘bad place’. These apocalyptic stories often incorporate real world issues taken to an extreme, leaving the author a stage to explain human nature at its raw self in a collapsed and desperate world. Through this somber stage, authors can express their interpretations of the doom and salvation of a collapsed society. In Octavia E. Butler’s novel titled Parable of the Sower, Butler sets the stage for her novel in a world that is disastrously affected by climate change, there appears to be some form of normality in place …show more content…
It is remarked by Lauren that she worries about her ability to survive in the post-apocalyptic world because of her nature to feel other emotions, but perhaps there is a benefit that she does not see. In many religions there is a standard to treat others with kindness, or to comfort those who mourn, which sounds similar to Laurens ‘sharing’. This correlation makes ‘sharing’ look like its own type of religion in a sense. By this definition of religion and examining the Acorn community at the end of the novel it is seen that most people are religious. Additionally, in a study done by H.K.Y. et al. found that a religious mindset “showed positive associations with traits that foster social harmony, such as conformity, benevolence, friendliness, and kindness” (H.K.Y et al.). Data in H.K.Y et al. study further supports the healing and unifying ability of
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