Parable of the Sower

     Parable of the Sower is a collection of diary or journal entries by a fifteen year old girl named Lauren Olamnia. Lauren is the daughter of a minister and was raised with two brothers and no mother. Her mother had died while giving birth to Lauren due to her drug abuse. Her drug abuse has also taken a big toll on Lauren in causing her to have hyperempathy syndrome, which means that she feels what other people feel whether it is good or bad. These diary entries talk about her life, past and present, and describe her experiences in life. Octavia Butler writes this piece in first person which helps the reader connect with Lauren and understand her thoughts better. Now the way that Butler goes about wording these entries, and her tone, make Lauren out to be a slightly depressed person who has a negative attitude towards most things. She seems to stand by her own beliefs and not let anyone else's opinion effect her views. Butler also makes Lauren seem very mature for her age by the style of language she uses in the diary entries.

     In my opinion this is clearly seen when Lauren is talking about the time her father had her, her brothers, and some neighborhood kids baptized. Lauren keeps going on about how her father's god is not her god and how she does not want to be baptized. How she does not understand the reasoning behind baptism. The tone Butler uses in this instance makes Lauren come off as if she is not accepting anything that is not what she believes in. I would not say that Lauren comes off as stubborn, but she definitely sticks by what she believes is right. Also, in this scene as well as all other scenes, Lauren talks as if she is at least seventeen. She does not come off as your typical fifteen year old, and it would be difficult to tell that she is fifteen if the book did not tell you. Butler chose a very mature vocabulary to use for Lauren, which helps attract a more mature reading audience and makes it easier for the intended audience to relate to a fifteen year old girl. That being said, the tone and vocabulary style that Butler uses definitely shows that the book was intended for a more mature audience, but helps a mature audience relate to and connect with a young person such as Lauren.