Parable of the Sower Themes

Adaptation and Persistence in the Face of Change

Lauren Olamina believes “God is Change, and in the end, God prevails.” Change is a constant force that will continue no matter what humans do. Adaptation—working with change, not against it—is crucial for survival in Parable of the Sower.

The novel’s most sweeping change is the ongoing impact of climate transformation. Extreme weather events in 2024 and 2025 show Lauren how human industrial development has damaged the planet’s ecosystems beyond repair. This change, in turn, threatens human life by depleting natural resources, leading to hostile competition for food and water. Earthseed’s solution to planetary destruction is to embark on the biggest physical change yet—migration to new planets.

The quote beginning the year 2025 describes intelligence with images of “ongoing, individual adaptability.” Lauren’s knowledge of biology and the process of evolution confirms this belief for her: plants and animals endure through multiple generations by adapting to their surroundings. Survival includes planning ahead for worst-case scenarios. In Chapter 14, Lauren realizes her family never picked an emergency meeting place, an omission she calls “poor Godshaping.” Humility, flexibility and resilience after setbacks also become critical skills for Lauren, Harry Balter and Zahra Moss as they leave Robledo in Chapter 15. Lauren learns survival tips from Zahra, and Harry learns to be cautious about whom to trust on the road.

But survival isn’t enough by itself. For humans, adaptation and persistence mean envisioning positive change and making it happen. Frustrated with her neighbors’ willingness to accept poverty and misery, Lauren says in Chapter 6 that her community will fall apart “if that’s the shape we give to God.” Her radical decision to form an Earthseed community on Bankole land, after a fire destroyed its property, shows a commitment to creation in the wake of destruction.

Race, Poverty and Social Power

In Parable of the Sower, race informs characters’ lives and tethers them to the past. The history of slavery in the United States haunts the Black travelers when they run into people who have escaped debt slavery. Zahra mentions that racially mixed couples “catch hell out here” in a world where difference can incite violence. When they seek allies on the road, they’re drawn to other people of color, like Travis Douglas and Natividad Douglas. This focus on interdependence strengthens the group as they fight for survival.

Structural racism presents itself in the book as well. While a wealthy corporation buys the small seaside town Olivar, guaranteeing residents jobs, nearby Robledo is left on its own. Lauren’s father uses the words “too poor, too black, and too Hispanic” to describe Robledo as of no interest to corporate sponsors. The people of color who do end up working for corporations, such as Emery Solis and Grayson Mora and their children, are likely to be exploited. Bankole mentions farmers trapping Black and Hispanic workers in debt slavery in the 1990s, showing how past and present racial inequality intertwine.

Group identity provides social power for the Earthseed community. For others, group identity fuels hatred of outsiders. Arsonists attack “anyone who looks or sounds foreign or racially different,” Lauren observes in Chapter 13. One way the powerless gain power is by finding a common enemy. The roving groups of “paints” destroy Robledo citizens’ homes because they associate property with wealth, even though Robledo residents are barely getting by themselves.

The Role of Religion and Belief in Difficult Times

Lauren is initially unsure about calling Earthseed a religion since she associates religion with overreliance on supernatural figures. But her Baptist background and her conversations with fellow travelers help her understand how important religious faith can be to its followers. Butler herself believed religion was such a strong force in humanity’s past that it would inevitably shape the future. Belief systems in Parable of the Sower offer comfort in a bleak existence and a moral code for troubled times.

“People forget ideas. They’re more likely to remember God,” Lauren tells Travis, explaining why she uses the term God to describe the impersonal force of change. Her neighbors in Robledo turn to religion when they face tremendous loss. Unlike the Christian God her father believes in, Lauren’s God doesn’t protect people from disaster or promise life after death. Her God, “Change,” often creates disaster. But Lauren finds comfort in comparisons drawn from Buddhism, which connects suffering to an unrealistic desire for permanence. By accepting that every aspect of her life will change, Lauren can cope when her neighborhood burns down in Chapter 14. Later she tells Bankole that Earthseed gave her the strength to survive the loss of her family.

Religious beliefs also guide ethical action for many people. In a cutthroat environment, some characters, like Keith, will easily harm others to survive. Even characters with strong moral codes, like Lauren and her father, struggle to act according to their beliefs in life-threatening situations. In Chapter 6, Lauren’s father and Cory Olamina debate whether they’d be willing to kill intruders. Lauren and Harry later wrestle with the biblical commandment not to steal. Lauren replaces the commandment with her own ethical code, saying, “I intend to survive.” According to Earthseed, she must adapt to change and steal if it’s necessary to save her life.