Multiethnic Literatures in the U.S.

In the first chapter of Parable of the Talents, by Ocatvia E. Butler, Lauren has a conversation with one the surviving members of the Dovetree family, Aubrey. They talk about the attack on the Dovetree’s house, killings, and the destruction. Aubrey started talking about the description of the attackers and the way they acted.

“…attackers were men, but they wore belted black tunics – black dresses, she called them – which hung to their thighs.”
“They all wore big white crosses on their chests – crosses like in church.”

These two phrases sound all too familiar. They sound like a description of cloths that Ku Klux Klan wear, however, it is not. The current Ku Klux Klan is white robes with a variation of red or black cross on the chest or back area. The people who Aubrey talks about were black tunics with red crosses. This illustrates to me that the whole country, nation, is back to where we were when the Ku Klux Klan could walk the streets and literally kill people who they thought were not fit in their society. However, this might be not be the case since these people wear black tunics, which might show that it is similar to what has happened in our history, it is not the same, but very closely related. I once heard someone say something similar to, “For every country to move forward, it needs a revolution once in a while.” Revolutions happen when something drastic happens where people do no like what is being done (in a simple way). “Desperate times call for drastic measures.” When there is a revolution the nation is pretty much is set to the beginning. New rulers need to be put in place, new laws have to created, and new ways of living have to be established. In Parable of the Talents, this isn’t the case. Even thou they don’t call the people who attacked Dovetrees Ku Klux Klan, they are. We are back at the begging and things are going to go bad again. This is another circle of life which repeats itself, different time same concept.

“Jarret insists on being a throwback to some earlier, ‘simpler’ time. Now does not suit him. Religious tolerance does not suit him. The current state of the country does not suit him. He wants to take us all back to some magical time when everyone believed in the same god, worshipped him in the same way, and understood that their safety in the universe depended on completing the same religious rituals and stomping anyone who was different. There was never such a time in this country.”

There was a time when all this was considered the right thing to do, however, it was never established as a law in a society we live in today. Taking this phrase and looking at the present state of the United States religion, there is no way US will ever be “taken back to that magic time of one religion.” US is one the religiously diverse nations and that cannot be taken away from a nation like the United States of America.

Octavia Butler leaves off in a very solemn, almost pessimistic mood in Parable of the Sower.  It is somewhat disappointing, because we want to see some good happen to the Acorn community.  Parable of the Talents starts off five flourishing years into Acorn.  Compared to other nearby towns, Acorn has the most diverse groups of people.  There is a mixture—Black, White, Latino, and Asian—kind of like how it is in the city.  Interracial families are a norm in Acorn.

Jarret is the new president.  He wants sameness—everyone believing in the same God and worshipping in the same way—anyone who was different would be stomped on.  Jarret’s followers are burning people and cutting off women’s tongues, because that is how much women should be obedient and submissive to men.  Word on the streets is that Earthseed has been viewed as some sort of ‘cult’.  Will President Jarret be a threat to the Acorn community because they’re ‘different’? 

Bankole insists on moving to an already established community because it’s safer than Acorn.  He knows his age; therefore, he just wants to provide a future for Lauren and their daughter.  But his cynicism angers Lauren, and a lot of their arguments stem from this.  Their disagreement becomes worse when Bankole actually receives an offer to be Halstead’s doctor.  Do you think Lauren is being stubborn by not moving to Halstead?  I think it is very difficult to leave a community behind, especially one that you helped build and organize yourself.  Lauren’s leaving is like their leader abandoning them.  Will Acorn be as thriving as it is now, even if Lauren leaves?  There is more pressure on Lauren to stay strong, because there are so many people in Acorn that she sometimes loses sight of what she stands for.

In a happier note, Lauren finds her brother Marcus, who was thought to be dead for five years.  Initially, Marcus is unresponsive to his sister.  He’s been through so much that we can’t really blame him.  Lauren finally learns of how her family died, and it was a miracle that Marcus has lived through it.  Marcus was adopted by the Duran family, who took care of him since the massacre in Robledo.  He also preached to the poor and his ‘other family’.  It is sort of ironic how both Marcus and Lauren were ‘preaching’ to others around the same time but in different places.  Their father must have been alive and strong within them.  To fill their father’s shoes, do you think they felt responsible to take the role as a leader?  We also learn of a new device, the Collar.  This was just another way for people to stay in control and to control their ‘property’ (aka boys and girls).  This is such a frightening thought—to inflict pain on to others by just a press of a button.

During Gatherings, there is still a lot of discussion about Earthseed.  The newcomers, especially, question its meaning or simply ask, “Do we have to join your cult?”  I think it’s harder for people to grasp the idea of Earthseed, because there is no ‘physical God’.  God is change, and only the individuals can mold and shape change.  That is why everyone in Acorn helps each other out, whether it’s planting, harvesting, salvaging, building, repairing, educating, keeping watch, and helping the sick and wounded.  Education seems like the key to survival, besides Earthseed.  According to Lauren, the more they learn and educate one another, the more likely they are to survive. 

In the Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler introduces new points of reference through the journal entries written by other characters. Among one of the new points of reference in the book is Lauren’s daughter. Through her journal entries, Butler tries to continue to show how there is no true difference between Lauren and the other characters that seem to oppose her. She sets this up through the less biased point of view of Lauren’s daughter, since she seems to not be a believer in Earthseed or any religion. She starts off by having Lauren’s daughter points out weakness in Earthseed. Then through her entries, Butler does a great deal a comparison between different religions and religious leaders in an effort to show differences and faults in Earthseed.

In one instance on page 63 Lauren’s daughter compares Earthseed’s God to the God in the Jonathan Edwards sermon as a way to show why a person would choose one religion over another. Then in another instance Lauren’s daughter compares Lauren’s belief in Earthseed and Marc’s beliefs focused around stability. Butler uses these comparative journal entries to further push home the point she is trying to make about the horrible dangers of people seeking leadership and stability during times of chaos. Through the comparison made by Lauren’s daughter and those made by Lauren about Earthseed and President Jarret, Butler is showing that there is no real difference between all of these perspectives. To Butler, there is no difference between Lauren, President Jarret, or Marc’s religions and points of view. They are all offering some shade of leadership, stability, order, and sense of safety in a time of chaos.

Though Butler has a point in terms of what all the three different characters are offering, the stance she is taking seems to be very black and white. The fact that Marc, Lauren, and President Jarret are providing the same leadership and stability in different shades during a time of chaos cannot be argued. However, it seems a bit one sided the way she makes it out to be such a dangerous occurrence. She puts it in such a context that there seems to be only two sides of the situation, those who don’t really choose a side/religion and those that do choose a side/religion are some form of zealots. A perfect example can be seen in the way Acorn and Earthseed are presented together. The way that Butler has portrayed Lauren is that she gives a form of ultimatum for people to join Earthseed. People can be a part of Acorn, but if they do not believe and join in Earthseed they do not profit as much as those who decide to join. Then there is the way she portrays President Jarret and his followers as crusaders drying to rid the country of people who do not believe in Christianity.

Butler seems to be casting such a negative light on finding guidance and stability through religion. It is neither absolutely the right nor only way to go, but what is actually wrong with finding leadership and stability during a time of chaos? Though change is all far and good, stability and consistence whether found in religion or some other form is not that bad either. Even when you look around today, there are a great many freedoms and changes that are occurring in the United States. With the advancements that are occurring and the improvements in the quality of life, there are also negative factors. Between the mass amounts of safety issues involving the internet and the progressive downturn of the environment, there is enough danger and chaos that exist today. Is it honestly such a bad concept to have something, whether religion or leadership, to center a person’s life and the way they choose to live it?