Parable of the Sower Essays (by Octavia Butler)

The novel Parable Of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler is set in California and takes place between 2024 and 2027. A parable is a short story that has a moral or spiritual message. The science fiction novel depicts a terrible future that exhibits a startling resemblance to reality. In the novel, Butler describes slavery as manifesting in two separate ways: debt slavery provoked by capitalism and bonded labor in rural sections of the country, portraying the image of African-American plantation slavery. Lauren represents liberation from the past as she embarks on a quest to flee the deteriorating state of society and start a new life somewhere, all while assisting others. I think Butler depicts a future in which slavery is pervasive because, throughout the book, Butler illustrates an environment that echoes the battles of African-Americans denied basic human rights, implying that something must be done to return society to people being self- sufficient rather than forcing themselves to become modern-day slaves. The purpose of Butler’s imagery of painting a scene that resembles our past is to make readers realize that slavery has not vanished; rather, it has resurfaced as capitalism.

The world depicted in this novel is shameful. Individuals’ lives are being taken, old-day slavery is out and modern-day slavery is in, torturous events are constantly happening, and it is all happening in front of Lauren’s eyes. Lauren is the only person who can and wants make changes in her community. Unfortunately, unexpected events are always ceasing her journey to creating brighter future. Butler’s story, focuses on the topics of slavery. Gregory Hampton’s article, ‘Migration and the Capital of the Body: Parable of the Sower,’ helped me understand the ways in which Butler used slavery as a key reference in her novel. Butler uses these references and metaphors to relate to a time where people were scared and wanted change, which also relates to exactly what Lauren wants. Further through the novel, Lauren states, ‘I’m going north.’ The phrase, “I’m going north,” relates and conceptualizes a time in the past where African Americans would escape bondage and travel north in hope of freedom and opportunities (Hampton 67). As the story progresses, Lauren forms a group with former neighbors, Harry and Zahra. The trio began their journey to peace and comfort, but it takes survival skills to do so. For example, Lauren cuts all of her hair to appear as man. Lauren and Zahra also unite forces to continue their journey as a black couple and have Harry as their white friend. Butler states in her novel, ‘Mixed couples catch hell, whether people think they’re gay or straight’ (157). The trio goes through those extra steps in order to avoid rape and torture. If a black person were to be seen being in a romantic relationship with a white person it would be seen as unconstitutional in the eyes of bigots.

Moreover, debt slavery is another one of the novel’s fundamental aspects of slavery. Debt slavery is when a person is economically linked to someone to pay off debt. Butler’s sci-fi fiction novel allows her to take a hands-on approach on writing and informing readers about debt slavery and what it can lead to. In Chapter 11, KSF, a Japanese-German-Canadian corporation that aims to dominate the farming and solar industries along the coast by luring its residents with plenty of jobs, security, and a guaranteed food supply, is where the stepping stone of debt slavery and capitalism began.

An outside source states, ‘A mysterious company enslaves people desperate for work and protection from deteriorating neighborhoods with promises of security and a normal life. It even uses entire families as slave labor and experimentation with the sole objective of ‘(Hampton 68). Within the novel, the society has taken a liking to modernized form of debt slavery with the help of egregious capitalism. There are many harmful effects that comes along with capitalism such as, wealth inequality creating social division, social benefits being ignored, monopoly power, and severe exploitation of workers in factories. In Parable of the Sower, the future mirrors the past in a negative light and creates awareness to how history can easily repeat itself over and over.

Butler continues to refer to America’s slave past by portraying how farm labor continues to exist in rural places across the country, recalling the image of African-American plantation slavery. The combination of debt slavery induced by capitalism in cities and enslavement on farms creates a landscape where the past and future coexist. Later in the narrative, Lauren meets Emery, a runaway ex-slave who exposes her past of hard work on a farm to pay off debts, The group comes upon Emery and her daughter asleep at their campsite in Chapter 23. The trio took them both in, and she tells Lauren about having to pay labor for food and shelter, and how their low income couldn’t cover their living expenses. Emery and her now deceased husband were ‘made to work longer hours for less compensation, could be ‘disciplined’ if they failed to achieve their quotas, and could be exchanged and sold with or without their consent, with or without their families….’ (Butler 265). Emery’s subjugation by her slave master is similar to what would have happened on plantations hundreds of years ago. Similar strategies would be used by slave masters to control their captives and keep them from disobeying them in the past. Emery’s story also demonstrates the return to a labor-intensive agricultural economy, given the large numbers of people who have evacuated cities ravaged by violence, theft, and arson in California. As Lauren and her friends settle into their journey, arsonists and thieves are destroying everything once again. Lauren’s environment constantly changes for the worse, illustrating how America is reverting to its economic past, highlighting Butler’s concept that history will always be a repeat of itself. White America tries to convince us slavery is a thing of the past but it is not. Slavery will remain throughout time unless fixed.

Coming towards the end of the novel, Lauren forms her Earthseed village at the end of the novel, Acorn. The acorn is symbolic of past independence, as well as the spiritual liberation of slaves triumphing over enslavement (Allen 2009). One of the poems in Chapter 25, the novel’s last chapter, represents Lauren’s responsibility of surviving her trip to this point and establishing a community. Lauren’s objective of forming an Earthseed community is developing. Her organization has steadily grown in size with the help of her new community. Lauren’s strong leadership qualities, despite her youth, reflect how accustomed and swiftly matured she has grown to a world that demands such courage to survive, and they underline Butler’s message that hope and freedom to change your fate in a cruel world is conceivable. Lauren was the key to changing the environment and people around her.

Slavery is the key theme in tButler’s work, which are depicted in a number of ways. Butler writes that debt servitude in cities demonstrate America’s return to the past, combining her thoughts of the future and the past. It depicts the issues that America is facing today and will encounter in the future. The Parable of the Sower will forever be relevant to our time because it speaks to readers who understand the past and the present. Butler’s picture of the future serves as a cautionary tale about society’s impending breakdown due to a lack of laws for greedy capitalism, protecting black lives and treating workers fairly.