Chapters 13-15 Summary

The danger in Robledo has escalated by December 2026. Arsonists set fire to homes and loot abandoned houses, while neighbors rally to put out the fires.

When the Olamina home burns down on July 30, 2027, Lauren escapes only to find all of Robledo destroyed by scavengers in an “insane burn-the-rich movement.” She joins two other survivors around her age, a white man named Harry Balter and a Black woman named Zahra Moss. Zahra tells Lauren that Cory and the Olamina brothers are dead.

Lauren, Harry and Zahra decide to walk north together toward Oregon, joining many other travelers on the California highways who are leaving destroyed homes. Lauren knows they may need to use their weapons in self-defense, but she worries that her hyperempathy will make her too vulnerable to harm anyone.

Chapters 13-15 Analysis

This section marks the point at which Lauren’s physical journey begins. Previous sections show Lauren’s interior journey of discovering Earthseed as a teenager from 2024 to 2026. Now as a young adult in 2027, her internal quest gives way to an external quest, similar to a pilgrimage or a journey with a religious motive.

In Parable of the Sower, survival and persistence in the face of change is a religious act. At first, Lauren travels primarily to stay alive. Later her ambitions will grow more concrete as she decides to build an Earthseed community in the north.

Another important aspect of survival is interdependence. She, Harry and Zahra all have different strengths and weaknesses, and each person could help or harm the group. Their alliance highlights both the importance and the risks of building community.