The Parable of the Sower Chapters 5-8

Chapters 5-8

The rain came to Robledo after six years, and although the weather forecasters thought it would pass quickly, it chose to stay for four days. Lauren took charge of little Amy Dunn during school time since the fire. On one of those rainy days, she walks Amy home. They stop on their neighborhood island and eat an orange from one of its trees, enjoying the cool rain. Amy seemed happy, then Lauren walked her home. Somehow, Amy must have found her way out again, for she was found dead soon afterward. She was hanging around the main gate when a stray bullet from outside the gate struck her.

The next day, Joanne and Lauren are sitting in Lauren's room and having lunch together. Lauren talks to Joanne about Amy, and Joanne feels that Lauren somehow feels guilty for Amy's death. Lauren corrects her, she tells Joanne that she doesn't feel guilty for Amy's death, and that says something about the kind of world they live in. Lauren talks of the worsening situation across the country, how treatable diseases like cholera and Measles are killing people, and how larger and better-armed neighborhoods than their own have been overrun and destroyed. Joanne agrees but adds that her mother feels the new president, Donner, will improve the situation and restore them to their old glory. Lauren and Joanne both disagree, they think that things will never return to how they once were. The climate had changed too much, and the president only had power because of the culture he represented. That would continue to change, and eventually, even their neighborhood would fall. Lauren says that almost like a certainty, and Joanne challenges her conviction. Lauren decides to change tact and instead talks of what the people had done during the bubonic plague. The people that survived the plague chose to refine their skills and to progress in the immediate aftermath. That's what Lauren wants to do, she wants to make sure that everyone in the community can survive. People in the community should know how to live outside, they should have emergency packs, and points to regroup outside in case their walls are overrun. Joanne is overwhelmed, but Lauren gives her a simple task. She shows her the books that she's been reading, books on subjects like local plants, agriculture, foraging, and other basic survival skills. She gives Joanne a book on local vegetation and asks her to read it along with any other books in her own house, books that could help them live outside the walls.

Joanne told her mother, and she felt worried for Lauren and asked her husband to talk to Lauren's father. Lauren's father came into her room, and Lauren guessed that she was in trouble just from his voice. Joanne had told her mother that Lauren thought their way of life was going to end and that she planned to elope from the security of their walls. Lauren had of course said nothing about running away, but only talked about survival. Her father listened patiently to all that Lauren had told Joanne. He then cautioned her about scaring other people with such dark thoughts and suggested that she teach people what she wanted them to learn instead of scaring them. Lauren feels it is foolish to avoid thinking about the real possibilities of their situation, and her father tells her that the adults of the neighborhood are more aware of their weaknesses than she is. He admits that the idea of setting up emergency bags in the form of earthquake bags is good, and even asks her to approach one of the neighbors to set up some martial arts classes. Lauren is angry with Joanne. She can't believe that Joanne betrayed her trust but is glad that she didn't share her religious beliefs with Joanne.

Thieves break into the neighborhood, they make their way across the barbed wire and the laser wire to empty the fruit trees and destroy the young crops in a garden. In response, Lauren's father organizes a neighborhood watch. Cory is afraid of this idea. Lauren overhears Cory talking to her father. Cory worries that he would be jailed if he killed a thief in the night, while Reverend Olamina feels that he needs to discourage the thieves now before they grow bold. Additionally, the neighbors have a plan to ensure that no one is caught by the police for killing a thief. Cory softly whispers “Thou Shalt not kill.” Reverend Olamina replies, “Nehemiah, Chapter 4, Verse 14.” Lauren looks at her Bible when her father and Cory have finished their conversation, she looks up the verse he had quoted. It tells of the rights of men to defend themselves and their loved ones.

The neighborhood association formalizes the neighborhood watch and allocates the weekends for meetings and training on improving their ability to guard their homes. The watchers prove effective when two watchers come upon thieves trying to steal the rabbits. The watchers blow their whistles and fire in the air, and the noise scares the thieves. They run back over the wall and leave behind all their tools as well as a handgun.

Lauren decides to name her religion Earthseed as she reasons that all things that come of earth are Earthseed while everything in the universe is Godseed. Lauren never feels like she is making any of her religion up, and it isn't like she is some sort of prophet, because her God doesn't work that way. She makes observations and writes down what she thinks, although she has never quite felt confident that she can write the right things. However, she is getting better with time and so decides to compile her verses in a notebook.

She also finishes preparing her emergency pack, but she doesn't have a firearm for it since they are all kept secure under her father's vigilant care. She asks him for a gun that she could pack away but he adamantly refuses her. Lauren has to concede, and she asks him what he would do if the neighborhood wall was overrun. He tells her about the emergency accommodations that his college provides for its employees. After his family is secure, he then planned to rebuild and refortify the neighborhood. Lauren asks whether he would ever consider moving north, where water is cheaper and life a little easier. He tells her how most state boundaries are closed since no one wants 'California trash' and besides his job was too secure and good to give up. There was no work in the north. People have to work menial jobs for subsistence. Afterward, Lauren concludes that a tree cannot grow in the shadow of its parent.

Lauren hears a report on the radio about a space observatory on the moon that had discovered several planets with signs of life in the neighboring solar systems. It is increasingly evident that life exists outside of earth, although the conversation about intelligent life remains controversial. Lauren feels drawn to the report somehow, as she feels that human beings should strive to leave the ailing earth. On the day of her 16th birthday, the verse with the destiny of Earthseed comes to her. She begins to believe that the destiny of Earthseed is to take root in the stars, and Lauren believes it to be the heaven that every religion has. Lauren realizes that destiny will yet take several years to fulfill but believes it to be the true destiny of mankind.

They discover yet another corpse on their next shooting practice trip, the sight of the decayed and maggot-infested body is enough for Aura Moss to conclude that she no longer wished to participate in practice. As per the religious views of her eccentric father, Aura concludes that men have to protect women. Lauren attempts to change her mind, but Aura remains adamant. Keith, who is only 13, had wanted very badly to accompany the group for the practice. He argued that he was a man, while Lauren was a girl, and yet she was allowed to go beyond the wall. Their father was unyielding, and he had refused to take him along. Keith snuck out of the wall in rebellion and took Cory's key for the main gate. Cory realizes that Keith had gone out of the wall when Lauren and her father return with the rest of the group. Just as Lauren's father is preparing to leave to seek Keith out, Lauren observes a shape moving close to their home. She points it out to her father, and he goes to investigate. Cory hears something in the house, and she goes inside. Minutes later, Lauren hears her scream. Lauren yells for her father as she enters the house, and she discovers Keith sprawled on the floor, bloody and naked except for his underwear. A sobbing Keith explains that he was robbed by five thugs, and Lauren's father rushes away to alert the neighborhood about the key that Keith had lost outside the wall. They would change the lock tomorrow, but Keith is in deep trouble tonight. When her father returns, he spends two hours trying to understand why Kieth had behaved so irresponsibly. He forces him to admit that he was wrong to have stolen Cory's key and to disobey his parents by leaving the safety of the walls. The next morning, Keith is forced to confess his transgression to the congregation, and apologize for the danger he had exposed them all to.

Analysis

In Lauren's description of the events that occurred after the bubonic plague, we see her apply one of the Earthseed verses. She demonstrates an example where change has been shaped deliberately. This is the essence of her religion, no matter how terrible the circumstances grow there is always room for action and hope. Conversely, Joanne places her faith in authority figures like the president and the adults of their community, she surrenders her well-being to a seeming superior entity. This could be seen as a common reaction among people in tragic situations, but it could also indicate the regression which has taken place in terms of gender equality. In this new world, women are more vulnerable than men and avoid leaving the walls, for instance, Cory rarely leaves the walls, if ever. Perhaps, Joanne's denial to take responsibility for her continued survival indicates a diminished or repressed perception of her abilities. Aura Moss's refusal to continue her shooting practice is another example of the same phenomenon.

Lauren's quote about a tree being incapable of growing in its parent's shadow operates on multiple levels in the story. The first is rather obvious, in that Lauren is beginning to grow up, and she sees the North and Space as hopeful sanctuaries that are free from the shortcomings of her present world. The quote can also be applied to Lauren's religion, which she developed by observing and learning from her father's religious leadership of the community. In this way, Christianity is Earthseed's parent, and Earthseed cannot grow in a Christian community like theirs.