Mayahuel Utopias & Dystopias

 Lauren is what most people might call a "wild spirited" girl in this book, she does as she pleases and has a passion for creating change. Additionally, she also has sex with a couple guys. In chapter 10, Lauren mentions to Keith that her father once beat her after he caught her having sex with a boy in the bushes. Lauren is 12 at the time that this happened.  This moment caught me way off guard because of Lauren's age and the odd nature of the story. I liked Lauren's character a lot but this part threw me for a loop. Why was Lauren having sex with someone at 12 in a bush? What goes through your head for that? Was that really her choice or a nod to something else? And who was this dude? Is he relevant to the overall story? In a section where Lauren is worried if Keith is getting money through drugs and they are discussing things, the sexcapades of 12-year-old Lauren felt very out of place. In retrospect, Keith did ask if her father ever beat her, and this was the inst...

Early in the book Lauren asks her dad for a book that details California plants and how Native Americans used them. As she perseveres through basically living on her own and having to survive with little knowledge, this is a key piece of information to know: what plants to eat and use in different ways. As I read this part I couldn't help but think it was interesting that Butler included this tidbit in the book. Why did Butler choose the book to be about Indigenous uses of the plants? Was it because Indigenous peoples used every portion of the plant? Was it because they had some sort of special tie to the land and plants, unlike the colonizers? These were things that popped into my head as I got to this part. Though the book's relation to Indigenous people is not very significant in the grand scheme of things, it made me wonder about the meaning behind all the small parts of the book we sometimes overlook.  Maybe I was reading too intently, or maybe others have wondered similar...

In chapter 13 Wardell remarks that "I hate it here, everyone's dead" and Lauren feels bad for him. Throughout the book, people are constantly dying and going through horrendous experiences. I would think that will Lauren's hyper empathy, this would be more of an issue.  Since Lauren is young and has lost all of her family, her syndrome makes me wonder how she has made it through everything. She has persevered throughout it all, and ends up surviving, and with a bf! Despite her friends and family dying she continues to pursue new land and the dream of Earthseed, surprisingly enough, searching for joy. I would think that seeing all that death and destruction would be debilitating, and she honestly wouldn't make it. However, the end of this book was a pleasant surprise as I really liked Lauren as a character. Though it might have been cynical of me to think she was going to die, it seemed like Earthseed would not "flourish." What did you think of the ending...

One of the questions posed as a potential blog topic was Lauren in a time machine across books, travelling to the world of 1984 or BNW, and if she would survive/fit in. Using the book BNW as Laurens destination, I have some thoughts regarding her status there and if she would make it. Since Lauren is quite young and rebellious, I don't think the people there would take much of a liking to her. The rigid nature of social classes may throw her off and lead her to be alienated from society if she chooses to rebel. On the other hand, her freedom to have sex with people, of all ages, makes her much more liked by the "everybody is for everybody" cultists she may encounter there.  Additionally, I think she may have a hard time with the idea that everyone has to follow the same thing. She would definitely want to make Earthseed alive in some way, and the world of BNW would stifle those attempts. I think she would enjoy the benefits of a world that is not dying, but all in all, wo...

 As we were discussing Parable of the Sower  in class the other day, we were talking about what makes a dystopia vs. eutopia vs. apocalypse. If I were to categorize the books we have read in the class I would say they are all very dystopian, aside from this one. Parable of the Sower to me feels much more apocalyptic than any of the other books we have read based on three key things: the state of the world, the expanse of time the book covers, and the violence. Since the world is pretty much "ending" in a sense because of climate change, the circumstances feel much more dire than a classic dystopia. Moreover, the book covers a series of years as Lauren makes her way through life. This is a trope I see more in apocalypses, as people are "surviving" and going on journeys along the way. Finally, everyone is dying, literally. That sentiment to me is much more apocalyptic than a dystopia, which can have violence, but more people are living.  I still think Parable of the...

Towards the end of the book, Lauren and Bankole get together despite their large age gap. The other group members notice and after Bankole and Lauren have sex, Bankole becomes aware of her age. Though everything pretty much goes out the window in a world such as Lauren's it is interesting that Bankole has such a strong reaction to her age.  It is clear that Lauren is naive when it comes to partners and is sad that Bankole would suggest she be with someone older, but the discourse is different than your typical "old guy young girl" couple. Bankole is visibly distressed at her age and only switches up when he notices how upset she has become at the "disgust" he has portrayed.  This is an interesting situation since the predatory nature of such a relationship seems to be dimmed down. Though I think Bankole is incredibly weird for being with Lauren nonetheless, and Lauren incredibly naive, I am interested to see where their relationship goes, especially with the gro...

In the title of parable of the sower , the book is referencing a biblical verse where seeds are given the sower and the seeds go in different areas. Here is the explanation of Jesus below according to Wikipedia And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those t...