Parable of the Sower

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) was a pioneering figure in American science fiction. Her blend of speculative fiction elements, social critique, and her unique point of view as a Black woman in a field dominated by white male authors made her formidable both within her genre and outside it—in 1995, she was the first science fiction author to be awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Coming of age during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, Butler wrote novels that used science fiction conventions to explore both existing power dynamics and social hierarchies and to imagine new futures. As a result, she is considered an important figure in the Afrofuturist movement. After getting her start by writing short stories, Butler published her first novel, Patternmaker in 1976, which was the first book in the five-part Patternist series (later volumes were Mind of My Mind (1977), Survivor (1978), Wild Seed (1980), and Clay's Ark (1984)). The sprawling saga traces an alternative history from Ancient Egypt to the far future, in which humanity is split into three genetically different groups. The powerful Patternists—humans who have been bred to have telepathic powers—fight against the Clayarks, who are mutated superhumans, and dominate over the Mutes, who are ordinary humans. The series examines “racial and gender-based animosity, the ethical implications of biological engineering, the question of what it means to be human, ethical and unethical uses of power, and how the assumption of power changes people,” themes that appear throughout Butler’s oeuvre (Hine, Darlene Clark, et al. “Butler, Octavia E.” Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia).

While working on the Patternist series, Butler also published Kindred (1979), a standalone time travel novel in which a Black American woman is repeatedly transported back to a 19th-century plantation and must contend with the painful reality of her family’s history. In the 1980s, Butler began working on her Xenogenesis trilogy, which consists of Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988), and Imago (1989). Like the Patternist books, Xenogenesis centers on a hybrid form of humanity that has been interbred with an alien species.

The Earthseed duology differs from Butler’s preceding series in its realist bent; it takes place in a near-future dystopia in which looming environmental, political, and economic crises come to pass. The title of Parable of the Sower (1993) comes from a Bible story in which Jesus describes a farmer who indiscriminately tosses seeds. Many fail to grow for various reasons, but those that do “[grow] and [increase] and [yield] thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:9). Protagonist Lauren in Parable of the Sower is a redemptive figure whose following grows on her pilgrimage north. She spreads her own gospel of “Earthseed,” which states that all life on Earth—plant, animal, and human—can be transplanted, can adapt, and can grow. This provides a new hope for people living on a deteriorating Earth. The sequel, Parable of the Talents (1998), takes place five years after the first book ends. By this point, the United States is governed by far-right Christian fundamentalists who have reinstated violent practices and institutions such as slavery. Lauren’s Earthseed community, Acorn, is persecuted, and Lauren believes that humans must find a new inhabitable planet to perpetuate humanity.

Along with critical praise—Parable of the Talents won a Nebula Award and both books feature on many “best of” lists—these novels gained attention in the 21st century for their prescience. In particular, the Christian fundamentalist leader in Parable of the Talents uses the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” which has since become associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and supporters. The parallels with real-world crises come from the extensive research that Butler did for the novels, which she ultimately found overwhelming. After years of writer’s block, she published her final novel, Fledgeling, in 2005. She passed away in 2006, and her work has continued to influence writers, particularly Black female science fiction writers. She has also inspired scientists, who have named an asteroid, a Mars rover landing site, and a mountain on Pluto’s moon Chiron after her.