Lucas Utopias and Dystopias Blog Blog

 Personally I haven't found the novel incredibly captivating, so far. It has its flaws and despite the uniqueness of the main character I find the story as a whole relatively unentertaining. I recognize the points its making about society but I don't think it portrays them succesfully from and artistic perspective.

 Since the identity of Lauren's biological mother is unknown, the main motherly figure in her life is Cory. Cory and Lauren seem to get along find, however, they fight more once Keith leaves. It is ultimately very sad for Lauren when she dies along with the rest of her family, proving the significance she had in her life. 

 Lauren in Parable of the Sower is one of the most unique characters in all of the books I've read. Her condition of hyper-empathy is something I have never previously heard of both in fiction and reality. She is clearly intelligent and her unique condition gives her a unique individual perspective in the world. 

 We live in a world that's ever-evolving, and I think most people would agree that time has the power to change almost any mind. This is notable in the books we have read throughout the course of this class, each of them has a take on the potential our society has for plausibly creating various utopias and dystopias, but im sure most would agree each has markedly different perspectives.

 Thinking about the themes has got me thinking about religion in literature and narrative in general. There are plenty of examples of books which critique and analyze religion, even Brave New World and 1984 touch on religion, the world of 1984 is largely areligious with notable exception and brave new world worships Ford. These books and the book we are reading now offer different perspectives on religion.

 Before reading the Parable of the Sower I have been lucky enough to have experience with Octavia Butler's other work, in particular the book Kindred. This novel discusses a woman who is pulled back into time in the Antebellum South at varying rates, and thus as a black woman becomes acutely aware of the horrors of slavery. It will be interesting for me to see the similarities between this book and that one.