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Parable of the Sower vs. BNW and 1984

  One big difference between the worlds of Parable of the Sower and the other two books we read this semester is the time period they were supposed to take place in. Parable of the Sower is a much more modern setting than the other two that were supposed to take place in 1984 and sometime probably around the late 1900s (from what we can assume about Brave New World). Since the book was written more recently, the plot, characters, and setting feel much more real than in Brave New World or 1984, where we can justify not getting too attached to the characters or upset by the world because it is “only a dystopia” and not a real possibility for the future. I think this realistic feel of Parable of the Sower is part of what makes it so intriguing  and upsetting, at least for me. Reading it has made me more conscious about the things I do every day that contribute to making the dystopian world a reality, as well as helping me appreciate the world we currently live in, despite its faults. I th
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Earthseed’s Success

I think Earthseed “works” in its context by bringing to Lauren and her small community of Earthseed followers what a lot of people look for in a religion. I think a lot of people in the world of Parable of the Sower are looking for something constant, something they can rely on, to bring some sense of security and normality to their lives. I think Earthseed provides that without putting hope in things that could go away. Lauren acknowledges that the only constant and true thing in their world is change, and she puts her faith in that constant, giving her a sense of purpose that others in the book seem to also want. I think Earthseed will catch on, even if Lauren doesn’t survive, because people are craving something to put their hope in, some purpose for their life, and Earthseed provides that. I also think that even if Lauren hadn’t created Earthseed, someone else would have created a very similar religion, because it was created out of a set of necessities that a lot of people have, w
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“All struggles are essentially power struggles”

I think I could make a case both for and against this Earthseed quote, because I can see how you could relate any struggle back to a power struggle, but I don’t think getting rid of the root of all power struggles would get rid of all struggles. I think this verse implies that because “all struggles are essentially power struggles”, by making the distribution of power perfect, you would eliminate all struggles, and that by improving the unequal distribution of power, you start to get rid of struggles. A “power struggle”, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is, “a fight for control”. According to this definition, someone struggling because they don’t have enough to eat or drink is part of a power struggle because they are fighting for control over what resources they have access to and ultimately consume. If power was evenly distributed among people in our world, theoretically this person’s struggle would be solved because everyone would have enough to eat. But if the root of the
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What makes Lauren so special?

  Why is Lauren the main character?  Lauren definitely fits the mold of a typical dystopian protagonist, in that she has creative new ideas, a strong will, and an ability to think rationally about things that cause others to panic. Why is this type of character so often the one who saves a society in dystopian stories? In many ways, Parable of the Sower seems “different” from other dystopian novels because it introduces religion as a huge part of the plot, and is scarily realistic to where our world could be in the future. In a lot of ways, Lauren is also “different” from the typical dystopian protagonist. She doesn’t have a lot of power over or respect from the other people in her neighborhood, she thinks about much deeper, more important things than most characters, it is implied that she is a woman of color, etc. But in some ways, it feels like she is no different from Tris (Divergent), Katniss (The Hunger Games), or any other number of female world-changers featured in dystopian no
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Is Lauren a "Religious Person"?

  After reading the first few chapters of Parable of the Sower, it seems like Lauren’s character is supposed to be rebelling against traditional Christianity/religion, which she is to a certain extent, but I also feel like she is being a better Christian than many people today who call themselves Christian. In my opinion, part of any religion is a personal connection with the set of beliefs, and finding how your values line up with those outlined by the religion you ultimately choose. For many people, it’s easier to blindly accept the beliefs of the religion they grow up in, and view it as an “insurance policy” to continue belonging to that religion, even if they don’t entirely agree with it. Because no person has ever had infinite knowledge about who God is, we are all just kind of doing our best and living the way we think is right, so everyone’s “god” looks slightly different, even if you don’t believe there is one. This is the main reason so many different religions exist, and part
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Universal Utopias

  Part of the reason the world of 1984 is so messed up, is because someone tried to create a utopia. We started the semester by defining utopia and dystopia, and discussing whether utopias are even possible. Most of the class agreed that no, a utopia in the way we normally picture it, is not possible, because everyone’s idea of a utopia is unique and involves the people around them. The world of 1984 is so messed up and different from our society because the original creators of the party wanted to create their utopia, which included total power and control, and it ruined the lives of everyone around them. I think we as a society tend to always look for ways to improve the world we live in, which is a good and necessary thing, because our world could definitely be improved upon, but I think sometimes we get caught up in that improval and don’t always think through how a decision that might make my life better, could hurt someone else. I have found that when I make an active effort to k
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Power in 1984

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  What defines power?  In the last few chapters of 1984 we learn more about The Party and its motivations, the biggest being power. The Party defines power as control, the ability to do anything they want, and the respect of every single person in “the world” (Oceania). To them, power isn’t power unless it is over everything. As O’Brien puts it, this is the type of power that people like Hitler were trying to achieve, but they failed to achieve it because they retained some amount of humanness that “held them back”. I think our current world values power, but also values balance, so O’Brien would argue we don’t truly want power at all, because “power” can only be defined as total control. The reason Winston, Julia, and other thought criminals put this society at risk is because they fight for some small amount of power for themselves. Julia seeks power over her own life, the kind of power that we tend to define as “freedom”. The freedom to say what we want, believe what we want, spend
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