Parable Of The Sower Analysis

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Octavia E. Butler was an African-American author who paved the way for other writers of color to explore the genre of science fiction. Butler wrote Parable of the Sower, a tale that chronicles life in a post-apocalyptic world. The Olamina’s are a family of five, living in a house surrounded by a large wall. They are forced to protect themselves from whoever lurks on the outside: thieves, rapists, and murderers. No one outside of the wall is safe. The Olamina’s have trained with guns and stood watch over their house at night. Their entire community has an alarm system that is triggered when intruders enter the walled area. However, none of these measures prove effective in the long run. Invaders attack the community and burn it to the ground. Lauren Olamina, the only daughter of the family, and narrator of the story, managed to escape. However, the rest of her family was all killed, except for her father Mr. Olamina left the house one night and never returned. The tragedy of losing her entire family was devastating to Lauren and she often utilized writing to calm her mind. One of the first entries in her journal reads “All that you touch, you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.” This journal entry marked the beginning of Earthseed: a collection of poetry that explains Lauren’s opinion of who or what God is, and how we can change him/her/it. Lauren was never fully convicted in her father’s religion. Yet, she was curious