Great Literature Discussion: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (Online)

Parable of the Sower is the odyssey of one woman who is twice as feeling in a world that has become doubly dehumanized. The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina sets off on foot along the dangerous coastal highways, moving north into the unknown.

Octavia Butler, as a young reader, became quickly disenchanted by science fiction’s unimaginative portrayal of ethnicity and class as well as by its lack of noteworthy female protagonists. She then set to correct those gaps.

Read the selected works — great novels and novellas — in advance, and be prepared to share your thoughts and observations, discussing the aspects of interest to you by referring to and reading specific related text to the group. Based on what we find in the text, we enrich each other’s understanding and interpretation. Moderated by Ethical NYC member Gunther Tielemans.

For complete access information, including Meeting ID, please see this week’s Ethical Weekly email or contact Gunther.

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