Hyperempathy In Octavia Butler's Parable Of The Sower

In Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler, the format of diary entries emphasizes Lauren's hyperempathy, which highlights the real world issues of gun violence.

This book is written in an epistolary novel way, but the only difference is that in Lauren's perspective, we can feel the pain and emotions other people are feeling. It’s like a personal viewpoint but it is double the viewpoint part because of Lauren’s hyperempathy. Lauren views her hyperempathy as a weakness, but we the readers can see how it can be a strength in Lauren's world. After the raid happens in Robledo, Lauren meets up with Harry and Zahra

When Lauren is saving the baby from the dog, she shoots the dog and “The dog dropped without sound. I dropped, too” (188). Lauren

We might find this issue to be small, but think about the millions of people who have their family killed by gun violence. The author want us to know by including descriptions on the setting of places such as the freeway “People get killed on freeways all the time” (159)

The many moments that involve a gun actually have two meanings in the book. On one hand it signifies violence and destruction, in the story we see that Lauren’s journey up north witnesses countless acts with many guns: “One group chasing the other, both firing their guns as though they and their enemies were the only people in the world”(223). This not only shows us the brutal nature of people but also how people will use the guns to get what they want, knowing that it might kill someone. This is like the real world because gun violence is still a big concern to people in the world since “More than 500 people die every day because of violence committed with firearms” (Amnesty International, Gun

Some moments in the book was when Lauren accepted new people to join the group. At first she doesn't necessarily just hand them a gun to stay on watch over the night. Lauren knows that she has to establish trust among the new people and ensure that they are not a threat before giving them a gun. She is also wary of those who don’t know how to use a gun: “I'll watch with you,” Grayson Mora said. That surprised me. I would have preferred someone who knew how to use a gun–someone I would trust with a gun (278). This is a concern for Lauren since she knows what might go wrong if you don’t have the knowledge, but the other part that really gets her is that Grayson Mora is willing to watch with her, Lauren’s thoughts show us how she hasn’t trusted him yet. Especially in this lawless world it is important to know that people are not who you think they are on the outside, so you should always be cautious at all times. Bringing back to the format of the