Octavia Butler's Parable Of The Sower

The poem Fifteen by William Stafford, describes the ideas of a young teenager and imaginations when he sees a motorcycle at the side of the rail, It tells us of how the main character gets familiar with adulthood and starts getting mature, it gives us changes. The author in his poem describes the ideas and temptations that a fifteen year old would have, and it gives us a message of how when you are blinded of your teenage dreams, at the same time to take and decide the correct paths and decisions.

In the Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, the main character, Lauren Olamina, leaves behind Christianity, a religion that she identified with her whole life and creates a new religion known as Earthseed. Earthseed is a naturalistic way of faith, based on the idea that God is changeable, therefore life, too, could change. Lauren Olamina creates Earthseed because she believes that it is what her people need in order to not only alter their chaotic and misguided ways, but to live a pro-active and positive life.

Throughout history, women have been viewed as the less dominant and less powerful gender. Gender has been used as a primary way of signifying relationships of power. In Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, the role of gender in power dynamics in both the 19th and 20th century is explored through the journey of the main character, Dana. In the novel, Dana time travels back and forth in time to the 1800’s and back to her present time of 1976. Throughout her time travel experience, the different roles and powers women held in both the 19th and 20th century are portrayed through the characters of Dana, Margaret, and Sarah.

Accused witches were forced to admit to various practices believed to be witchcraft. Details from the French Court of Rieux and the insanity that ensued are jaw dropping by today’s standards. Suzanne Gaudry’s judgement confession was no different, being forced and tortured into confessions including having given herself to the devil, renouncement of God, lent and Baptism. Moreover, Gaudry was also forced to confess that she had cohabited with the devil as well received the devil’s mark on her shoulder and being at dances. Of note however, the judgement confession seems to acknowledge Gaudry having technically only confessed to having had killed by poison, Philip Coine’s horse. Nevertheless, Gaudry’s confession was made

The poem I chose to do a close reading essay on was, “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye. “Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004) is an American poet who remains known today for a single poem-a sonnet of just twelve lines-but it may be the most popular poem in the English language. “Do not stand at my grave and weep” is a consoling Holocaust poem and elegy with an interesting genesis, since it was written by a Baltimore housewife who lacked a formal education and had quite never written poetry before, and certainly none of note” (The HyperTexts). The tone of this poem is comforting and helps people find comfort with the view of death. This poem uses a lot of imagery, metaphors, and symbolism. Frye’s, “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep,” is enlightening people how to handle a death of a loved one while using important parts of the theme such as tone, vocabulary, and overall meaning.

Parable of the Sower is a very well-written science fiction novel by Octavia Butler. The setting is California in the year 2025. The world is no longer prosperous and has turned into a very poor place. There are countless people homeless, jobs are scarce and hard to come by, and very few communities of homes. The few communities that are still occupied have huge walls with barbed wire and laser wire surrounding them.

Fictional writers often write about the human condition as a way to connect with readers who contain narrow knowledge. In fictional books, characters are given emotion and senses like any other actual person, which can make the reader relate quicker in detail unlike factual novels. In other words, readers gain a new perspective on a period of time by examining a fiction novel. Ironically, some argue fiction can educate us about part of our life by enabling us to relate and empathize. I am certain that many people can learn factual items in fictional stories. In Kindred, by Octavia Butler, the near death experiences of Rufus Weylin transported an African American woman named Dana from 1976, to the antebellum south to gain an unbelievable experience of what it is like to have been a slave. Through her daily life on the Weylin plantation, the reader begins to understand just how complicated slavery is and how it affects both the slaves and the plantation owners. This novel gave a new definition of reality and a new meaning of the 19th century exploitation practice.

Octavia Butler’s “The Evening, the Morning and the Night, delivered a hypothetical scenario of a young woman (Lynn) living with a disorder known as DGD or Dureyea- Gode Disorder, the disorder is largely hereditary and largely destructive causing people to eventually become cannibalistic and prone to self-harm.

Through this examination of the differences between past and present, wrong and right, and North and South, by Ray West Jr., the different viewpoints and conflicts that appear throughout “A Rose for Emily” are deeply analyzed. West’s critical assessment divides the characters based on who represents the old ways and who represents the changing times. However, the story shows the South’s fervent desire to keep their lifestyle the same. Emily attempted to hold her love for Homer like the South attempted to hold its love for gentile days before the Civil War. West’s asserts that Emily’s fall from grace symbolizes the South’s fall. The deterioration of Emily and the South during reconstruction parallels the slow deterioration of Emily’s house.

In the novel Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler paints a picture of a dystopia in the United States in which the current societal problems are overly exaggerated into the worst-case scenario. Butler describes a world plagued with high unemployment rates, violence, homelessness, a flawed police system, and a crumbling education system. Butler focuses the story on the poor and the homeless by only giving characters with this background a voice in order to show the reader that society’s views and stereotypes of these groups are flawed. Butler shows the lack of attention they receive and over exaggerates the problem in order to show the extreme consequences if it is not properly addressed.

In the very beginning of the book Lauren begins to question the idea of God. Since she grew up in a religious setting (her father being a pastor) much of her religious knowledge comes from the church. However, from a very early start Lauren has always begun to question the very principles that were taught to her. In present society, the issues are just beginning. Lauren is in a secluded community, unable to leave because of the unknown dangers outside the walls. It 's no surprise she begins to question the principles of God.

In Octavia E. Butler’s novel “Parable of the Sower”, the community was entirely collapsed, and almost everywhere was chaos and out of control. It was obviously in a dark period.

Currently, I have been reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth. It is about a faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in, but now due to violence, loss, and betrayal, it is shattered. So when she and other Dauntless members, one of the factions, offered a chance to explored past the limits she's known. She thinks that beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a new life together, free from lies, untrue loyalties, and painful memories. However, when the group finally gets there, it is nothing as she expected it to be. Old explanations are fake. New truths change the minds and hearts of those she loves. Once again, Tris has to battle to discover the complexities of human nature and face impossible choices using courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

With the 1960s came a need for change, as an immense amount of smog and toxic chemicals used in agriculture and industry caused, the blue to fade away from the sky and water in America. Rachel Carson provided the catalyst for this change with her book Silent Spring published in 1962, which revealed the harmful impacts of pesticides on almost all wildlife and human beings. People reading a book wouldn’t be enough, though, for twenty million Americans came together on April 22, 1970, to celebrate the beauty of Earth and raise awareness about increasing concerns for the environment and declining quality of life. (maybe add a sentence about structure and diversity of the movement) Without these key events leading to the Environmental Movement’s diversity and unique structure through the 1970s, American values in politics and way of life would not have been able to change.

Have you ever been hurt by someone whom you loved and trusted the most, such as a close family member or friend? It’s a horrible feeling that leaves you in horrendous pain, varying for each individual person, as if you’ve been stabbed in the back through the heart. You’ve trusted that one, close person to keep your secrets, to protect you in a way they can, and to not leave you; however the trust shatters when you find out their true motives, and it all hits you as fantastic lies despite all the memories they have given you to remember and cherish. The poem, “Mariana”, written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1830, tells the depressing and suicidal state of a woman named “Mariana”, who is grieving over the loss and betrayal of who seems to be a lover. The poem describes detailed surroundings, which emphasizes Mariana’s feelings and gives us an impression of what Mariana may be feeling and give us an idea of and help us interpret the message of the poem.