Poverty and Paranoia in "Parable"

One of the most shocking things to me in Parable of the Sower is the relationship between Lauren and people she doesn’t know. On the road, she has many small interactions with people but all of them are fraught with distrust and apprehension on both sides. When she helps an old man up after the earthquake, he is frightened of her. She is wary of him, too: “I gave him a pat on the shoulder and sent him on his way, checking when his back was turned to see that he hadn’t lifted anything. The world was full of thieves. Old people and young kids were often pickpockets.” She and everyone else have an innate distrust of everyone, and she really hasn’t had much cause to think otherwise. In Robledo, sharing her secrets quickly results in being scolded, and only recently has Lauren had anyone to share her ideas about Earthseed with. The road is a scary place. Everyone is frightened of a bigger fish and ready to bite like a cornered dog if stressed. This is why it takes so long for Natividad and Travis to warm to the gang. It’s also why Bankole is such an arresting character to Lauren: he is not scared of the group, but does not try to threaten them.

The people on the road seem to move as a massive, turbulent but slow wave. When they see the burning buildings after the quake, the wave speeds up and begins to wash over the town. None of these people are trying to be evil or kill people, but are doing their best to survive. And if survival means taking someone else’s belongings by force, it’s what must be done. Everyone is so guarded with possessions and emotions that they appear to be tough, gritty cowboys, but are really just people. It struck me how changed this is from other books: in Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, and 1984, there is an overarching power structure telling people not to reveal their emotions, but here the paranoia is self-imposed because of poverty.

Part of Earthseed is trust: knowing that you can only change, but not depend on, anything. Inside Robledo and out, Lauren is a trusting person. On the road, trust can get you hurt, but the gang has extremely good luck finding good people—or perhaps their trust changes those they meet.

Utopias and Dystopias: Best and Worst

Now that we’re almost done reading the books for this class, we can reflect on them a little bit. I’m not entirely sure which book will have the most impact on me in the long run. It’ll be interesting to see in a couple years if any of them stick in my head.

Right now, for my favorite, I’m torn between The Handmaid’s Tale and Parable of the Sower. I like them both because they’re the easiest to imagine living in. 1984 and Brave New World are interesting, but they’re more speculative than personal, as the characters are fairly removed from the way we are today. The personal connection really endears me to Handmaid’s Tale and Parable. While Handmaid’s Tale can be somewhat tedious, Parable is so upsetting that it’s difficult to read, even if I am totally engrossed. Also, I like that Handmaid’s Tale is totally clear about the structure of the dystopia and why it came to be. Parable does a good job displaying anarchy and survival details, but I just can’t get around the fact that we don’t know exactly why the U.S. got to be so bad. So I guess The Handmaid’s Tale takes the prize on my list.

I didn’t dislike 1984, but I won’t say I adored it. I do think it was important to read, and (besides Parable) it felt the most bleak. I thought its commentary on politics and privacy were interesting, if sometimes oversimplified. I never particularly cared for Winston, though, so that knocked it down a peg. I still think it’s an important book to read at least once, though. My least favorite by far was Brave New World. The beginning was kind of promising, and Bernard was a funny dude. But when John was introduced, the plotting of the book was basically ruined for me. Why did the protagonist “switch” halfway through the book? Why did it just end with his suicide instead of refocusing on the society? Still, it brought up interesting points on industrialization, and I’m sure it was very important for its time.

Again, my views are totally subjective and are mostly based on what I found to be “enjoyable.” If you want to argue with me, go for it. What did everyone else think of the books? What were your favorites and least favorites?

Earthseed

In Parable of the Sower, a new proposition arises. Our main character, Lauren, calls it Earthseed. But what exactly is it? Can we really call it a religion? 

In the start, Lauren herself is not exactly sure, and refers to it simply as a “belief system”. The belief system stems from her idea that God is change, and everything is change. In Lauren’s world, rather than basing her beliefs on a set divinity or higher power, she bases them off of the importance of change. For her, being a devout disciple of Earthseed is your resolve to change the world and make it a better place. It is the idea of social change and spiritual change, the virtuous determination to amend society for the better.

This makes total sense considering Lauren’s situation — not only does she suffer from a Hyperempathy disorder where she feels the pain of others around her, the society she lives in is in the midst of withering times. In the book, modern-day vice has produced a level of profound instability and dysfunction at its worst, with rising inequality, conflict, crime, and corruption… it only makes sense that she crafts what she calls Earthseed. It is her only hope at an improved existence, a life without pain or suffering.

Her faith and hopefulness is unblemished when she says, I am Earthseed. Anyone can be. Someday, I think there will be a lot of us. And I think we’ll have to seed ourselves farther and farther away from this dying place.    

Lauren wishes to spread the seeds of her faith to others, just like how a sower plants seeds. Which sheds light on the meaning behind the title, Parable of the Sower.