Well, nobody died (Ch 23-End)

 Well, nobody died. Is a book really dystopian if the protagonist survives the end? I suppose, but retrospectively Parable doesn't seem to match up with many other dystopian books. Sure, it featured the individual-verses-society narrative that we saw in both Brave New World and 1984, but in those two (and most other dystopian books I'm aware of), "society" is represented by a controlling, all-encompassing governmental system. In Parable, though, "society" is simply the hoards of people who are contributing to the chaos Lauren and her group had to deal with throughout the book. If BNW and 1984 are a warning about the dangers of totalitarianism, then Parable is a warning about the dangers of anarchy. For whatever reason, that seems like a really important distinction to me, one that makes this book feel less dystopian and more post-apocalyptic. I generally think of dystopias as places where the society (in the form of the government) tries to assert control over the individual, and that didn't really happen here. Maybe my perceptions about what makes a dystopia need revising. 

Or maybe it's Lauren's ideology that makes this book dystopic and not apocalyptic. That's a common thread amongst all the dystopian "heroes" we've read about: Lauren, Winston, and John all harbored a feeling that something about the way society was going was wrong, and something had to be done about it. Lauren's religion gives her an ideological objection to society, and perhaps that strengthens the idea that the individual-vs-society narrative is what's important to a dystopian novel, regardless of the power structure of the society that's being resisted. 

Do Dystopias require Cataclysms? (Ch. 20-23)

 This isn't really related to what's in these chapters, but it's what we've been talking about in class: can you have dystopian literature that isn't post-apocalyptic? In my opinion, cataclysmic events aren't necessary for historical or nonfiction dystopias, but they are vital when the dystopia is set in the future and is meant to represent a society that we're familiar with. Simply put, this is because we don't live in a dystopia. Our world is actually doing pretty well, especially when contrasted with the societies of Sower, Brave New World, and 1984. When dystopian books are trying to represent our society in some twisted future, they need to include some reason as to why our institutions have dissolved and the world has descended into chaos. Thus, a cataclysmic event is required for a dystopian society like we've read about this semester to take hold. And isn't that the whole point of dystopian literature? All three books that we've read this year see themselves as a warning about what could happen in society if we let technology rule our moods, if we let technology rule our lives, or if we let climate change continue to destroy. I think powerful dystopian literature has to be centered around our own society, or else readers won't be particularly moved - and because our society isn't currently a dystopian hellscape, these books need a cataclysmic event to explain how it becomes one. 

Off to a good start (Ch. 17-20)

It seems to have been a good couple of days for Lauren and Earthseed. A few chapters ago, I thought it was very possible that Lauren and the other two remaining community members wouldn't survive the end of the book, because they were often narrowly escaping death and making some serious mistakes. Now, though, I think we can probably assume that the group is going to make it to the north, because they've swelled in size and ability. They were even able to fend off an attack by a large group of people after they rescued the two sisters from the collapsed building. The group seems like it's in a good place moving forward, with many capable and trustworthy people who will protect each other (and also are starting to believe in Earthseed). 

On a completely unrelated note, Laruen is an interesting religious leader. Like most people who found religions, she seems to have a mystical ability, her hyperempathy. Usually, this mystical ability is related to the religion (like, for example, it's granted by God), but I'm having trouble connecting Lauren's empathy to Earthseed. Maybe she can feel the change in other people's feelings? Please comment something if you can think of a better connection haha. Anyway, her hyperempathy seems like it's not that useful to her anyway, so maybe it's not as big a deal as it seems (though as she says, if everybody in society had it, the violence that plagues them would go away).