Parable of the Sower Characters

Lauren Olamina

Narrator Lauren Olamina is a Black teenager living in Southern California. The novel, structured as her journal, follows Lauren from ages 15 to 18 during the years 2024 to 2027 as poverty and violence threaten her neighborhood, Robledo. Lauren has hyperempathy syndrome, the ability to feel others’ pain and pleasure. Dissatisfied with her father’s Baptist beliefs, Lauren founds her own belief system, called Earthseed, based on the power of change. She eventually travels to Northern California and founds the first Earthseed community.

Lauren’s father

Lauren’s father is a Baptist minister and leader in Robledo. He’s devoted to protecting his family and community. Lauren admires him, though they disagree on many issues. He disappears in November 2026 during a journey outside Robledo.

Keith Olamina

Keith Olamina is Lauren’s arrogant younger brother, whom she dislikes. As a teenager, Keith leaves the family to live with scavengers outside the city. He dies a violent death in 2026.

Joanne Garfield

Joanne Garfield is Lauren’s best friend from childhood. She’s smart and caring, but she lacks Lauren’s independence and initiative. She moves to Olivar, a company-controlled town, with her family.

Cory Olamina

Cory Olamina, a Mexican American teacher, is Lauren’s stepmother. She struggles to defend her family and household against theft and violent attacks. She is presumed dead when Robledo burns down in July 2027.

Harry Balter

Harry Balter is a young white man around Lauren’s age in Robledo. He survives Robledo’s burning and travels to Northern California with Lauren. He’s compassionate and trusting but prone to violence.

Zahra Moss

Zahra Moss is a young Black woman around Lauren’s age. She survives Robledo’s burning and travels to Northern California with Lauren. She has sharp survival skills after a childhood in poverty.

Taylor Franklin Bankole

Taylor Franklin Bankole is a Black doctor in his 50s who travels to Northern California in 2027. He and Lauren begin a romantic relationship. Bankole is wise and cynical, often comparing chaotic events in the 2020s to similar events in past decades.

Travis Douglas

Travis Douglas is a young Black man who travels to Northern California in 2027 with his wife and son. The self-educated son of a cook, he’s smart and curious.

Natividad Douglas

Natividad Douglas is a young Latina woman who travels to Northern California in 2027 with her husband and son. She’s kind, caring and maternal.

Allie Gilchrist

Allie Gilchrist is a young white woman who escapes sexual slavery and joins Lauren’s group traveling to Northern California. Hostile at first, she eventually warms to the group.

Jill Gilchrist

Jill Gilchrist is a young white woman who escapes sexual slavery and joins Lauren’s group traveling to Northern California. Generous but naive, Jill is killed saving a young child.

Emery Solis

Emery Solis is a young woman of multiracial heritage. She escapes debt slavery with her daughter and joins Lauren’s group traveling to Northern California. Emery and her daughter, Tori, both have hyperempathy.

Grayson Mora

Grayson Mora is a Latino man who escapes debt slavery with his daughter and joins Lauren’s group traveling to Northern California. Grayson is unfriendly and solitary, but he’s a devoted parent to his daughter Doe. He has hyperempathy.

Doe

Doe is Grayson Mora’s daughter. Like her father, she has hyperempathy.