Parable of the Sower Tutorial

Atalia’s Reading Tutorial　

           The passages I would like the class to discuss today 
           include:
1.    "Change is part of life, of existence, of common wisdom. But I don't believe we're dealing with all that means. We haven't even begun to deal with it" (Butler 26).
2.    "I am earthseed. Anyone can be. Someday, I think there will be a lot of us. And I think we'll have to seed ourselves father and father than this dying place" (Butler 78).

3.     "If hyperempathy syndrome were a more commno complaint, people couldn't do such things. They could kill if they had to, and bear the pain of it or be destroyed by it. But if everyone could feel everyone else's pain, who would torture? Who would cause anyone unneccesarry pain? I've never thought of my problem as something that might do some good before, but the way things are, I think it would help" (Butler 115).     The three questions I hope to cover in class today include:
 
1. Change stands as a reoccuring theme in Butler's novel Parable of the Sower. From reding this book, how would you decribe Butler's vision of a near future dystopia? Is there a utopia that she would consider within the novel? What is Lauren's idea of change? What changes is Butler hinting at for society to consider and how are these changes relevant to society today?
2. What does Earthseed mean and stand for? Why does Lauren push for establishing Earthseed? What are your feelings about Earthseed as a religion and what might Earthseed suggest about religion in current society?  3. What is hyperempathy? Why did Butler choose to have a protagonist with an illness such as hyperempathy and what signifiance does it have to the story?  Do you think hyperempathy would make the world more peaceful?