Butler's Parable of the Sower is showing the community that Lauren and her family is in slowly falling apart. Her younger brother Keith has run away from home after a falling out with his father, and has made a life for himself outside of the city walls by helping the illiterate to read, a skill which Lauren taught him. Keith no longer lives in the house, but visits when his father is not home to give money to Cory and gifts to Bennett and Gregory. Keith realizes that Lauren wants to get out of Robledo, but unfortunately loses his life the the very thieves he lived among. The death of Keith helps Lauren further contemplate the merits of leaving home, but not before she recognizes that Keith is to blame for causing major unrest amongst the family. Cory acts cold towards Lauren during Keith's funeral, and when Keith first went missing for a few days, Cory blames the Reverend Olamina for not finding Keith right away. Cory says that if it was Lauren missing, he would have found her right away. I suspect with Keith dead, larger rifts will form in the Olamina family
In the year 2026, Earth's order is crumbling down. Thievery and deceit run life outside of the walled communities. The robbers, once weary to enter Robledo, brutally murdering Keith. Is this Butler's way of telling us that legal order will totally break down in a society at wits end? I believe so. In the world Lauren is living in, police officers are as corrupt as some of the more extreme citizens. As our water supplies dry up, the world will become this major hostile environment where laws will not matter. People will do anything for the most precious, and overlooked, natural resource that we have. Water conservation is a major concern of mine, and some of what Butler writes about is already happening around the world. These 40 pages we read show the tragedy that could very well happen if and when order falls apart.
I definitely agree that Keith's death is a major part of the novel. I also agree when you say his death will cause major rifts in the family. I think the lack of stability with her family and her community will force her to be on her own very soon in the story. The negative family tensions after Keith's death will not be healed easily
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