Crafting Creative Concepts with Charlotte

 I probably should've expected this, but Lauren is spreading Earthseed really quickly among their rapidly growing group. Some are warier than others, but everyone is picking up pieces of Earthseed ideologies and beliefs. Lauren's ideas are unique and intriguing, but I think there are outside factors that are making Earthseed more appealing than usual to Lauren's group. To quote Taylor Swift in her song Soon You'll Get Better , "Desperate people find faith."  Lauren's group is a mishmash of desperate people. In a world where they are constantly fearing for their lives, everyone is searching for something to cling to. Earthseed allows them to cling to faith while staying entirely practical in their day-to-day lives. The idea of God that Earthseed provides is comforting, but gives believers the space to recognize that they need to act for themselves. Earthseed is the perfect religion for Lauren's time.

 Right now, everything in Parable of the Sower  is very stable and calm. Lauren's group is quickly expanding, and everyone trusts each other right now. They're safe, well-armed, and well-supplied. I'm tempted to think that it'll be smooth sailing from here on, but this is a dystopia so there must be something big and horrible coming. I think it's quite likely that at least one member of the main group will die in the next few chapters, so I am going to rank each character in terms of how likely I think they are to die, and explain my reasoning for these rankings. 1. Jill: she's in shock, unarmed, and weak from what we know. Also not a significant character yet, so killing her off would be easy for Butler to do. 2. Harry: his death would completely shake up the book, and further Lauren's detachment from her neighborhood (which would push her further into Earthseed). He's also not cautious enough. Butler has sprung some huge changes on us, and this would

 I can't believe that we're almost halfway through  Parable of the Sower . It feels very fast-paced and sluggish at the same time -- does that make sense? Lots of things are happening, but they happen in predictable and regular patterns in a way that makes them almost mundane. Now, however, we have a huge mix-up that has significantly boosted my interest in the final sections of the book. Like Lauren predicted, the neighborhood was destroyed. In the chapters leading up to this, there has been a purge of the biggest supporting characters: now that purge is complete, and we have a new set of companions for Lauren. This change reminds me of Brave New World , when our core character group didn't come into focus until we were deep into the book. I was not a fan of Lauren's family members, so I'm hoping that her new survival group sticks together and stays loyal to each other. It's exciting to meet new characters, and it would be a shame if we lost them as well. Side

In this reading, two of the most important characters so far died: Kevin and the dad (we have no reason to believe that the dad is still alive, even though his death hasn't been officially confirmed). Now we have an interesting situation where there is no "man of the house" or authoritative, grown-up male figure to lead the community or the family. I am really excited to see what Octavia Butler does with this situation, and I would love to see a stronger feminist narrative emerge.  The second implication of the dad and Kevin dying is that Lauren's biggest barriers in promoting her Earthseed beliefs are gone. The only person left with any authority over Lauren is Cory, who is too emotionally distraught to take any control. Lauren has two options now: share the Earthseed with her community and invite them with her outside, or leave her community alone (her original plan). I'm curious to see if she'll take the first option, because she doesn't feel right leav

The most recent reading focused largely on the narrator's expectations and plans for the future. She anticipates a scenario in which her neighborhood will be forced out of their homes, and wants to prepare for survival without the few modern comforts they still have access to. However, as soon as she tells people about her plan they push back strongly, convinced that such a situation will never form. The furthest she gets is with her father, who recognizes that an evacuation is inevitable but wants her to stay out of it.  Throughout the first chapters of Parable of the Sower , we have seen a longing for the past, particularly in the adults. Their longing for better times clouds their ability to see the future. This nostalgia creates a generational divide within the community. This reminds me of current generational divides that are fueled by nostalgia. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the "Make America Great Again" slogan of Donald Trump. This idea that the pas

Our generation grew up during the explosion of dystopian young-adult novels. From  The Hunger Games to  Divergent , these types of books defined my elementary and middle school years. Reading the first four chapters of Parable of the Sower  filled me with a strange feeling of nostalgia. It was almost comforting to be reading a dystopian novel with a teenage protagonist again. It was also nice to get out of Winston's brain - he was a terribly drab narrator, in my opinion. This also got me thinking about how authors, particularly young-adult authors, often borrow themes and ideas from previously successful books. The Harry Potter series, for example, is largely based on Lord of the Rings saga, which in turn is based on a Richard Wagner opera, which is based on Germanic folklore. I wonder if some of the dystopian novels that I loved so much are based on Parable of the Sower . I'm excited to see what other parallels I can draw between this book and the more familiar, watered-down v