OCTAVIA BUTLER AND THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER Sara Delaney

OCTAVIA BUTLER Lifetime Highlights

OCTAVIA BUTLER Born June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California Attended Pasadena Community College and received associates of arts degree with a focus in History in 1968 Furthered her education at UCLA where she took writing classes through the extension program Attended the Open Door Workshop of the Screenwriters’ Guild of America and was noticed by Harlan Ellison (Heifitz)

OCTAVIA BUTLER Her first story “Crossover” was published in the 1971 Clarion Anthology Her first novel, Patternmaster, was published in 1976 She had many more writings published and received 10 awards including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant, and the Nebula Award for Best Novel Died February 24, 2006 in Lake Forrest Park, Washington (Heifitz)

PARABLE OF THE SOWER Summary of the End of the Novel

SUMMARY OF PARABLE OF THE SOWER (END CHAPTERS) Lauren, Harry, and Zahra continue their journey, and are once again faced with an attack. They help the family under attack and continue on their way. They finally reach the beach and see the same family. The family only joins them after another attack, but this time by a pack of dogs. The father of the new family shows interest in Lauren’s poems and her ideas for Earthseed and Lauren believes this new family may be her first conversion. The group continues to travel and avoids a large fire probably filled with thieves and pyros. In this avoidance they meet Taylor Franklin Bankole. They save two women from the remaining rubble of a collapsed house an earthquake caused.

SUMMARY OF PARABLE OF THE SOWER (END CHAPTERS) Shortly after rescuing the two women they are attacked, they all fight and Lauren’s syndrome reacts to someone getting stabbed. They see a truck explode in the distance and Bankole finds a small child and bring him back to the group. One of the women takes charge of the child. Lauren and Bankole develop a romantic relationship after she expresses her ideas of Earthseed with him and he tells her of his dead wife. They travel more through very terrible scenery where teenagers are eating a human leg. Lauren is tested when Bankole asks her to leave the group and go with him to his land, but she has faith in what she is growing and says no.

SUMMARY OF PARABLE OF THE SOWER (END CHAPTERS) A mother and son join their group and Lauren is welcoming instead of hostile towards them. They are attacked a few days later and some of the people traveling with them die in the struggle, including Allie’s sister Jill. They travel to the land Bankole owns to find his family all dead when they arrive. They decide to start the Earthseed community here, and hold a funeral for Bankole’s family. While they plant acorns for each of his dead family members they decide the new community of Earthseed will be called Acorn.

PARABLE OF THE SOWER Relevant Themes

RELEVANT THEMES (END CHAPTERS) Community: The transition that Lauren makes from being a loner, to a ruthless pack, to in the end a community shows real development in her character as well as the community of Earthseed. Change: A theme present throughout the entire book, but most evident in the final chapters where Lauren transitions from ruthless loner to caring, accepting, and trustworthy leader.

SOURCES Works Cited

WORKS CITED Heifitz, Merrilee. "Octavia Butler." Octavia Butler About Comments. Writer's House, n.d. Web. 01 Oct Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, Print.