Feb 18 2008
Parable of the Talents
As any mother would say, “I would do anything for my family.” Any good mother/wife would do what was possible to protect their family. That is apparently not the case with Lauren. First, she refused Bankole’s persistent suggestions to move to other towns. Then she refused to convert to Christianity to aid in her search for her only daughter.
Knowing that there is continuous danger with living in Acorn, Lauren still insisted on living there. Rather than move to the many other communities, including Saylorville, Halstead, Coy, that Bankole suggested, she persistently refused. When he first suggested it, Lauren just said that she was content with where they were. She said that if they continued to live there, a good thing will arise, meaning more Earthseed followers. Before the birth of baby Larkin, Bankole again brings it up, saying that the town of Halstead wants him to become their full-time doctor. Bankole said that “he’s an old man” and “he’s got to think of the future, and [Lauren]’s got to think of the baby” (144). She believed that all Bankole saw was “was he called [her] immaturity, [her] irrational, unrealistic faith in Earthseed, [her] selfishness, [her] shortsightedness” (145). A week after the birth of Larkin, Bankole mentioned moving away from Earthseed to Halstead. And just like all the other times, Lauren said that Acorn is her home and that she cannot leave. But this time Bankole wanted to know what her plans were for Acorn. Lauren told him her plans: to continue to grow as a community, to prepare for the Destiny, and to spread Earthseed to other communities. She believed that without her, Acorn would crumble.
Even after the attack on Dovetree by the radical group, Jarret’s Crusaders, she refused to leave. She heard the accounts of what happened by the Dovetree attack survivors, with the men in “belted black tunics” and the “big white crosses on chains around their necks” (19). Even if the Dovetrees weren’t attacked because of their religion, Lauren must have known that the attackers where in connection with the new Christian America movement. She must have been aware that Acorn was a possible target, especially since they did not practice Christianity but Earthseed. When Bankole presents the possible danger of the newly elected President Jarret, she said that “[Acorn is] nothing to him, so small, so insignificant” (194).
When she took back her freedom from Camp Christian, Lauren was determined to find Larkin. She went to Eureka-Arcata, hoping to work and to hear any rumors about adoptions or foster children. During her stay, she sat through a sermon by her brother Marc, who was now a minister of the Christian Church of America. She contacted him after wards, hoping for some help in finding her child. He left her with no advice or helping words. She tried to contact him again but he had already left for Portland, Oregon. One of Marc’s friends gave Lauren a letter, saying that he was sorry and that if she really wanted to find her daughter, she should join Christian America. It would have been the best, safest way to find her only daughter yet she rejected his advice. If Lauren truly did want to find Larkin, she should have joined CA, like her brother suggested, despite her different beliefs. She should’ve become a Christian, for the time being, and put Earthseed to the side.
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I completely understand what you are saying - but in Lauren’s mind isn’t she doing what she thinks a good mother should do? She believes whole-heartedly in Earthseed and whether or not that belief is misguided, she is convinced that the best thing for her daughter would be to grow up in the Acorn community. Lauren did nothing but follow her typical pattern of behavior and while it was certainly the wrong path in our opinion, to Lauren it was her way of protecting her family.
I agree with j.raines comment. I dont think that Lauren’s a bad mother. When you are fighting for a belief that you feel so strongly there is nothing that can get in your way…mentally. Of course, they were stopped by Jarrets army but she still wouldnt give up on Earthseed. If I believed in something that a majority disagreed with, I wouldnt submit just because im on the losing side. This is what Lauren did. Im sure if she knew that would have happened to Acorn she would have taken her people to safety, but submission shouldnt be the option.
Also, I wanted to mention how Butler implies how religion is merely here to make people happy, gives people a purpose, and makes them do “irrational” things in the name of religion. Thats why Lauren made Earthseed a religion. Because it will provide happiness and allow people to do crazy things for her purpose, even though it has nothing to do with religion. So in away both Christianity and Earthseed is no different in novel because they both have similar agendas. Does anyone agree or am I just wrong? lol
Let me throw this out in order to complicate this a little further:
what is the definition of “mothering” we are working from here? Where do we get this definition? What kind of logic/power structures underlie/inform this logic and should we possibly question those? In other words: if we begin to question traditional definitions of mothering and fathering, how might our reading of the novels change? And: do the novels work toward a critical examination of these traditional definitions? Do the novels seem to suggest a revised definition (that is, if the novels contain a strong element of social critique in this respect, what is the solution the novels propose/argue for)?
So what the book is implying is that since many of the older traditions didn’t work including being parents because they weren’t able to protect their children from the world and do whats best for you’re children even if it means breaking old traditions like the mother and father roles.
if we question the traditional definitions of mothering and fathering, there is a possibility that the reading of the book would change. But how would we define these roles? Typically in society today, we see the mother as the nurturer and giver of life, the baby does grow inside of her. Fathers are seen as providers. Bad fathers are seen as sperm donors. So we can flip the script on Bankole and Lauren… to change the meaning. In this case, the mother, Lauren, would be the provider, the sperm donor(for lack of better term). Bankole on the other hand would be the kind, nurturing one. Now, we have a new perspective. Bankole wanted to leave Acorn for the safety of his child, so she could grow up in semi-safety, in a more secure place than Acorn in the wilderness. He was willing to leave his land for her, a sacrifice Lauren just couldn’t make. Lauren on the other hand had provided a place for Larkin to grow for 9 months, but just like a sperm donor, she didn’t feel it necessary to look out for the best interests of her daughter. She stuck to her guns and saw Lauren as an addition to what she was already doing, not a lifestyle change. Bankole was ready for the lifestyle change. For the most part, we see mothers who change their lifestyles when they have a child, but fathers who continue on the same path with this little person in tow. Lauren now had a little person in tow… possibly a successor to lead the people of Earthseed…. just like how a king passes on the crown to his oldest son perhaps?? So, if we consider Bankole as the “mother” and Lauren as the “father,” than what we read is what we might expect from those traditional roles.