Yue Zhou

ID: 85415714

RA Rough Draft

26/7/2017

Octavia Butlers Parable of the Sower

Fire is a double-edged sword. It could bring warmth to people, and help people to survive.

However, it may also destroy peoples home and lives. It is a great example of symbolism and it

has been applied in many literatures. In Parable of the Sower, written by Octavia Butler, fire

appeared too many times to be ignored. At different times, people used fire for different purpose.

Some used fire to harm and threaten othersto vent their anger, and some used fire to get comfort

and survive. Fire is a thing that has great power. It would show unique meaning when it is held

by different people. The universal and double-faced characteristic give fire superiority as a

symbol in literature. And parable of the Sower shows a great example of it.

Parable of the Sower is set in the future, when the earth is heavily damaged by climate

changing, human conflicts, and insobriety of humankind. Lauren OyaOlamina is a young girl

who lived with her parents near Los Angeles. She is the founder of a new religion named

Earthseed. The people in Earthseed believe that humankinds have to travel to other planets to

become adult as a whole species.The story begins with Laurens life with her family in the

dystopia world. After her hometown was destroyed and her families were murdered, she was

forced to step on her journey to the north. She united people during the trip and finally found the
first Earthseed community named Acorn, located in Northern California. It may not be so

obvious, but fire plays a significant role through the whole story. The outlaws destroy the whole

town and Laurens life with fire, then the town in fire starts to become Laurens nightmare; but

fire is also an essential factor during her journey, people rely on fire to survive the dangerous

night outside the safe town.

People are setting more fires to cover crimes. (Butler 13). Crimes happened

everywhere, such as robbery, rape, murder. Criminals set fire to destroy the evidences and bodies.

Not only did the criminals set fire, but also the other people who lived in the bottom of the

society. For people, fire became a method for them to vent their emotions. Uncontrolled fire is so

blazing and shining that people can easily connect it with craziness. They burn whomever they

dislike. They can do nothing to make their lives better, so they set fire to destroy others houses

and lives in order to make others felt frustrated, angry and hopeless as they did (Butler 13). It is

easy to blame on people there only thought about themselves. They didnt have power to change

their lives, and they didnt want to get that power by put efforts but do something to make others

live even worse than theirs. Setting fire was the only thing they can do to show that they could

still do something to satisfy themselves. However, the authors tried to deliver more message than

selfish people in desperate. The point is about this desperate world. If connect to the background

setting of the story, fire here stands for more than individual craziness, it is the symbol of the

sicken society. There are varies of ways to accomplish the goal of destruction, fire is a relatively

easy one but it is not the only option. The author mentioned servals times that those criminals use

fire, and the police or guards cannot do anything about it since the whole security system is

compromised. Fire here can also be understood as a symbol of rebel and lost. Without believe or

lead, people who got lost may seek comfort from the fire since people subconsciously believe
that fire stands for hope and purify--- the world is sick, the reality is too harsh to live with. What

happens is an invertible event that will occur if the world falls into darkness and chaos. It is

about human nature. Fire became the symbol of declining of moral. People were no longer trying

to make their lives better. They became desperate and selfish, consider others who had better

lives than them as enemies. When fire appeared, it showed that things were getting worse in the

world. Fire pushed more people into the deeper hell. More people became unfortunate, more fire

would be set to make more unfortunate. Only when people realized that make others miserable

would make situation worse, this circulation would stop.

However, fire is also a symbol of hope, in the same novel. When people became

homeless, fire could help them to survive. But people who have no homes will build fires. Even

people like us who know what fire can do will build them. They give comfort, hot food, and a

false sense of security. (Butler 16) Fire brought warmth to not only peoples bodies and but also

their hearts. In the outside world, this group was isolated from the rest of humankind, the

physical isolation usually means more dangerous. They must encounter life-threatening cold,

vicious animals, and potential risk from others, even may include their peers. Most hot food

brought energy to peoples bodies, which allow them to attack and defense. Fire could keep

many dangers away from people in the night. By the time people seek the warmth from fire, it

was no longer the weapon that took happiness away. Fire was the crucial thing that helped

people to survive, it allowed people to recognize the direction in the night as well, which helps

them to overcome the physical isolation and lost. Furthermore, this group is also isolated

mentally. Their destination is a brand-new religion and proposition, they want to lead humankind

out of the earth. Without any doubt, the voice from opposite never cease through the whole

journey. In such a case, fire becomes an essential part of their life because it brings physical
warmth and mental healing. People who gather around fire feel not only warm but also safe. In

ancient myth, Prometheus stool fire from god to bring people wisdom and start the humanity.

The worship of fire is carved in humans bone. (Extension)The youth who are not overwhelmed

by the crucial world likes to gather and play with the fire (Butler 13). It is human instinct.

Although people might be hurt by fire, they still could not refuse the benefit that fire brought to

them. If there was no fire, people could not even spend the first night outside the neighborhood.

For people who lost their home, fire was the symbol of hope. With the help of fire, they would

have chance to leave the nightmare and look of better lives.

Fire could take happiness away, but it could also bring hope to people. Fire was the hand

that push Lauren to the hell, but also the hand that pull her from the hell. When fire was used by

different people, there would be different effect. The complementary meaning of fire was also

applied in this novel obscurely. It is true that the major theme that the author wants to deliver is

the hope and courage in desperate world. However, the existence of fire deepens the meaning of

hope since fire plays both roles of hope and chaos. As mentioned, fires meaning is difference by

time. The use of fire is more about choice. In this case, fire may represent the power that a

individual have. If people give up themselves, the out-of-controlled fire will eventually spread

out the bring destruction to everything they touch. However, if people insist something, in this

novel, it is beliefs and hope, the fire gathers and become strong. It will eventually warm

everything, and help others. The power each people obtained is the same; the difference only

resulted from the way that people use it. The build of the Acorn is a great example of power of

willingness and hope. It cannot be accomplished without anyone in the journey. Meanwhile, the

wild fire in the outside world is still spreading, it burns strong but will not last long. Finally it

will cease and becomes piles of ashes. (quote about comparisons) The comparison usually
emphasizes a concept, especially when a single object was given complementary meaning. The

conflict would enhance the emphasizing effect and help the audience to focus on the message

that the author would like to deliver. The use of fire in this novel is absolutely genius.
 Reference

Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the sower. London: Headline, 2014. Print.