The Parable of the Sower Chapters 9-12

Chapters 9-12

Lauren's parents gifted Keith a BB gun for his birthday, perhaps they thought it would comfort him and allow him to remain patient for the next two years until he could finally get a real one. A couple of days later, Keith took his BB gun and stole Cory's key to sneak out of the neighborhood. Lauren's father did his best to try and find him, but there was no sign of Keith. One evening, as Lauren's father had just returned from his search, Cory accuses him of not trying hard enough. Keith had always been her favorite, she had babied him, and perhaps that was why Keith thought it was alright for him to behave so badly. Cory accuses Lauren's father of only caring for Lauren and claims that if it had been Lauren, he would have found her by now. Lauren is struck by her stepmother's words, she had always assumed that Cory loved her. Later, her father came to Lauren's room, he told Lauren that Cory was sorry for what she had said and that she hadn't meant it, but Lauren knew otherwise.

Keith just showed up one day, dressed in better clothes, and looking completely safe and secure. Their father beat him bloody when he found him at home, Keith wouldn't say where he had been or how he had gotten his clothes. Their father took his BB gun and broke it. Lauren had to find her way out of the house since she couldn't help but share the pain of Keith's beating. After the beating, matters only grew worse, Keith stole Cory's gun and the keys again, and left home for good. He returned a long time later and brought Cory some money. He brought their younger siblings expensive chocolate bars but nothing for Marcus or Lauren. Cory cried quite a lot when Keith left, she had thought he would stay, but he told her that he couldn't let their father beat him again. Keith visited whenever their father wasn't around and always brought Cory some money and presents for the other children. He returned Cory's gun to her as he now owned a new gun, one just like their father's. Lauren is concerned about Keith because she understands that there is no honest way of making a living outside the walls, she reasons that he may be either robbing people, selling drugs, or involved in some kind of prostitution.

During one of his visits in 2026, Lauren and Keith get an opportunity to talk, and Keith tells her about this wondrous place he calls home outside the wall. It is full of amazing gadgets that generate a life-like virtual reality experience, and Keith can access this expensive technology because thieves or robbers rely on him to read and write. Most people outside the walls are illiterate and have fewer guns than Lauren had believed. Lauren attempts to be nice to Keith and tries to learn how he had survived outside in the beginning, when he had first left the house. Keith, without any hint of remorse, tells her of a person he had shot and stolen from, the man had been heading to Alaska. He had had a lot of money in his bag, and Keith had used it to set himself up, he said that everything could be bought outside the walls as long as you had money. Keith laughs at Lauren's horrified expression and advises her to stay within the community where she could marry Curtis and have his babies because she couldn't survive in the harsh outside world. He tells her of the crazy drug addicts that love setting fires, how they shave off all their hair, paint themselves, and then burn people alive. They seem to like enjoy burning rich people the most. Their meeting is interrupted by the entry of Cory and their siblings, and Keith promises to bring something for Lauren the next time he comes.

He visits Lauren on the eve of her birthday, as she is making her way back from seeing Curtis. Curtis had found a supply of condoms, they were old but they worked. Lauren's love-filled thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the tall and lean Keith, who looked much older than his actual 14 years. He gave Lauren money for her birthday, but Lauren was reluctant to accept it. She walked him to the gate, and he kissed her goodbye.

The next month, Cory and Lauren's father are called to the police station to identify Keith's body. He had been tortured and killed, most of his skin had been cut away and burned. His eyes had also been burned but his face had been left unharmed with the intent that he be discovered and found. The police speculated the involvement of drug dealers, but they simply couldn't be sure. The neighborhood's disintegration began after Keith's death, there were several break-ins as thieves kept finding a way through their defenses.

They then learn about the takeover of Olivar by a multinational corporation, KSF. Olivar is a white suburban area that had once been the residence of wealthy people, its beautiful coastline and terrain had once made it a prosperous region. The rise of the sea levels had changed all that, no longer were there any plain sand beaches, but everywhere there was only crumbling land as the ocean weathered away the land. KSF had come in and charmed the people of the town, along with the officials so that the people had elected to sell their town to a corporation. Lauren sits with her family listening to the radio documentary, they hear the residents dismiss the terrible accounts of company towns from the 19th and 20th centuries. They argue that they are educated, literate and well-to-do people, and so could not be made into slaves. Lauren's father disagrees audibly. He concludes that the people of Olivar will be made into debt slaves, forced to live in a secure city without being able to enjoy that security. Cory disagrees, she is excited about Olivar and even calls the number at the end of the documentary. Lauren agrees with her father, the kind of salary they were offering only permitted for room and board, with the six of them, the family would barely be able to survive. They would be forced to enter into debt with the company and then they would be owned.

Lauren decides to name her book of verses the 'The book of the Living' she doesn't care if there are any other books that have the same name. She just wants a name that fits her views, and this one does. Lauren has also begun to think about her future given that she'll soon be an adult, but she doesn't have a lot of options. She could stay and get married to Curtis. That's what everyone expects her to do, but she has something more important. She has Earthseed and has known for quite a while that she needs to go out of the walls to bring Earthseed to the world.

The Garfields are moving to Olivar, they like many other people had applied to the vacancies in the town of Olivar. Joanne is scared about moving to Olivar, and she is sad because she will miss Harry Balter. They have been together for such a long time, and so Lauren proposes that they get married, and take Harry along with them. Harry doesn't want to go, he believes that Olivar will eventually take away personal liberty, he instead wants her to stay with him. They would get married and then head north, without any plan or knowledge of where they are going, and Joanne can't conceive how that is sensible. Joanne asks Lauren what she is going to do, and Joanne tells her that she isn't quite sure what she'll do.

Reverend Olamina fails to return home after work one morning, they check with everyone but find no trace of him. He had been seen returning home with his colleagues within five blocks of their cul-de-sac, but he hadn't reached home. Lauren takes Marcus with her, as a group from the neighborhood goes out fully armed to search for her father. They find no trace of him anywhere in the city and then head to the hills and canyons. None of them admits to looking for his dead body but that's what they are all doing. They see several dead bodies, as well as feral dogs, and even find the amputated arm of a black man much like her father's. Lauren has no way to be sure, but Jay Garfield takes fingerprints from the arm. They continue looking but are interrupted by a loud and pained voice of a man echoing through the hills. The man is clearly in a lot of pain, but they aren't able to find its source. Kayla Talcott assures Lauren that the voice did not sound like her father's, and Lauren was glad for her presence.

The dejected congregation gathers at the Olamina house for Sunday service as usual, although they seem reluctant due to her father's absence. A couple of the elders say some words about her father, they eulogize him without saying that he is most certainly dead. The fingerprints from the amputated arm hadn't matched her father's fingerprints. Lauren takes over the service, preaches perseverance, and reads the parable of the widow. Emphasizing to them all the power of those that stand united against a foe, she tries to imbue them with that sense of community and togetherness that her father had first introduced to the people of this community. Kayla Talcott sings a lovely song at the end of the sermon, and all of them take some pleasure from the words, “We will not be moved.” At the end of the service, they all say pleasant things to her. Inside, Lauren knows that all she has said to the people is a lie, this sermon was her tribute to her father, she knew he was gone because God is inevitable, and God is Change.

<

Analysis

This section of the book begins to introduce changes in the social relationships of the characters, the most important change takes place between Reverend Olamina and Keith, while another takes place between Lauren and Cory. Keith is desperate to prove himself to his father, to win over his trust and attention, which he indicates often falls more on Lauren than on Keith. His jealousy drives him outside the walls, but it is his callousness that allows him to thrive in that harsh environment. The author uses Keith and Lauren to contrast one another, raised in the same household, one would expect their values to be largely similar. This could not be further from the truth, Keith is a remorseless criminal who does anything that doesn't cause him immediate harm, while Lauren is physically incapable of harming others without significant cause.

However, it is possible to understand the appeal of the criminal lifestyle, as Keith can bring home a lot of money. Since most households are now run by single incomes, even a little extra money could be seen as extremely valuable and would thereby raise his status in the eyes of his parents. Keith is killed outside the walls, while Lauren survives. Keith had always believed himself to be stronger than Lauren, and even more deserving than her, but he fails to survive in the world while she manages to do so. Through the example of Keith, the author shows us what true strength is, and Keith has none of it.

The book explores the legacy of slavery in these chapters, it is developed in more detail near the end, but the takeover of Oilvar is the beginning of this conversation. The tactics that were used by old logging and mining towns can be seen to make a comeback in Butler's dystopian world. The governance model of KSF stands in complete opposition to the community's present way of life. In Olivar, there is a clear owner-employee relationship, while in the community help and support are provided on a reciprocal basis.