Language is one of the most important things that human beings use to communicate. Even before there were written words, people communicated through gestures and pictures to explain important things in their lives. Language helps us track human progress throughout history, because language evolves as complexly and rapidly as human culture and society. Through changes in language, we can observe how our world has grown and evolved over time and learn new things about human behavior. We use language not only to teach and protect, but also to share feelings, express thoughts, and transmit ideas from one person to another. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Octavia Butler's 1993 novel Parable of the Sower, language is a critically important element in the story. In a dystopian future wracked by chaos and destruction, most people struggle to find basic necessities like food, water, and shelter. From inside a walled community, Lauren, a young woman, sees the disparity of her situation. Although she is safer than average, she has no prospects inside the walls and comes face to face with her pious father when she no longer wants to follow his religion. When Lauren is forced to venture out into the world, she begins building a new religion, Earthseed, and harnesses the power of storytelling to create a set of ideals that other people can also believe in. Lauren realizes that even though the world is a harsh and unforgiving place, every person deserves the chance to have their voice heard because everyone has experienced things in a different way. In Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, Butler repeatedly uses the words "write" and "stories" as well as other allusions to writing and reading to convey the importance of the individual in the narrative of one's own story or perspective on life, and how the power of language can bring people from varied and diverse backgrounds together. In a society where there is little government and virtually no laws saying what people can and cannot do, power is incredibly sought after. In order to live a comfortable life in the world of Parable of the Sower, the characters must accumulate enough power to obtain the things they desire. Language is a form of power that people can harness. Those who can read and write have control over others and, because they are more educated, they have more opportunities in life. According to Lauren Lacey, “To work with power rather than be controlled by it, Butler's protagonists engage in a constant process of adaptation and becoming. » Lauren knows she must adapt to her new world to gain power, and she does so through her mastery of language. By creating a new religion and writing scriptures, she leverages language in her favor and becomes a leader to many people. Her mastery of the written word proves that she is intelligent and capable, and it is for this reason that people trust her to make good decisions. She describes people by saying, "They don't have the power to make their lives better, but they have the power to make others more unhappy." And the only way to prove to yourself that you have power is to use it” (Butler 143). In a world where education and literature have become less important due to people's attention tosurvival necessities like food and water, the ability to read and write became less common. By harnessing this, Lauren gains immense power as she now stands out as an individual. Thanks to Earthseed, she can now tell her story and help others tell theirs, and they will know that their story will not only be lost to time, but will be written and preserved forever. In this case, Lauren plays the role of the hero of her own story, a concept that was slowly lost as the world deteriorated. She says that “my grandmother left an entire library of old science fiction novels. The corporate-town subgenre has always seemed to remain a hero who outwits, overthrows, or escapes "the corporation"...And what should I do? What can I do?... To start Earthseed, I will have to go out... Next year, when I turn 18, I will go. That means I now have to start planning how to deal with this” (Butler 123-124). Lauren realizes that she must take control of her story if she is to achieve her goals, and she does so by using her religion to tell her story and the stories of those she meets. The relativity of language is what allows Lauren to succeed in her endeavors, and without it, she probably would never have made it through the walls. Language also has a big influence on how we respond to catastrophic events. When terrible things happen, humans find comfort in sharing their experiences with others and being reassured that life will go on and everything will be okay. After tragedies, the amount of art, literature, and music produced often increases. Indeed, our reaction to negative events is to share our feelings with the world, and we could not do this without language. According to Jerry Phillips, "Lauren's Books of the Living strongly affirms the value of a transcendent consciousness, which sees a possibility of hope in the deadliest of seemingly arrested states...Nevertheless, in its indictment of existing barbarism, The Parable of the Sower offers a vague blueprint of what, ideally, should be. Bad things are definitely happening in Lauren's world, but she knows she has to respond to them in a positive way. She says: “The world is full of painful stories. Sometimes I feel like there is no other, and yet I found myself thinking how beautiful that reflection of water was through the trees” (Butler 263). Although her situation is not ideal, Lauren uses the power of storytelling to rebuild herself after the chaos. By creating Earthseed, she gives herself and others something to hold on to in an often unpredictable world. It was only through language that Lauren was able to transform the catastrophe of her world into a bright light and an example of greatness for the future. Community is also very important to Lauren. When her home is destroyed and her family is killed, she feels like she has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. As she ventures out with strangers, she is forced to form new bonds with other survivors and find a new place where she can thrive. The support of her new community is what allows Lauren to successfully create Earthseed, as she has people to talk and chat with. She can learn about the opinions and experiences of others as well as her own, and by gathering the stories of everyone in her community, she gains a more complete perspective on what her religion should be. Mathias Nilges argues that "the ideal on which Lauren bases a new progressive community is the conscious interdependence and agreement of its members, whichmust know each other, trust each other and be able to work with each other.” Although many of the people Lauren meets throughout the book disagree with her views on life and spirituality, they recognize that she does a good job engaging the community and giving people something in what to believe. Lauren says: “I try to speak to write the truth. I'm trying to be clear. I'm not interested in being sophisticated, or even original. Clarity and truth will be enough for me, if only I can achieve them. If there happen to be other people out there preaching my truth, I will join them. Otherwise, I will fit where I have to, take the opportunities I can find or seize, hang on, gather the students, and teach” (Butler 125). Without the ability to communicate through language, teaching would be almost impossible. Lauren knows that through her Earthseed teaching, she can connect with other people in the world who are also struggling with their spirituality. Through Earthseed and her storytelling abilities, Lauren is able to easily connect with others and form a new community even after the old one is destroyed. People are willing to follow Lauren because they trust her; she offers them something of value, and they can tell that she is an honest and good person because she tries to pass on her teachings to others in order to help them. Without community, Lauren's language couldn't take her very far. But by using it to connect with others and build trust, she becomes more enlightened than ever. Besides the challenges that come from her environment, Lauren also faces other unique struggles due to her position as a Black woman. In the novel, women are often exploited for sexual purposes, and Lauren is wary of men who might overpower her. . She is also a racial minority, which makes it difficult for her to be taken seriously by many people. Others see her as weak not only because of her hyperempathy and femininity but also because of her darkness. Her father was a powerful religious figure and a black man, and although she did not agree with his religious views, it seems that Lauren admired her father for his conviction and for his strong and influential presence in their society. Inspired by her father's passion and belief in making his voice heard, Lauren often remembers her home and family after their murder. After returning to her old home and seeing the burned remains of her community, Lauren says, “I have to write. I don't know what else to do... There's nothing familiar left for me except writing. God is change. I hate God. I must write” (Butler 158). Through her writing, Lauren ensures that her lineage and the story of her past and ancestors will not disappear. Although the place where they once lived is gone, she and her family can continue to live thanks to Earthseed. The idea of ​​being able to create something special and unique for yourself is important in the novel because Lauren is always looking for a religion that she can truly connect to. Madhu Dubey writes that “The Parable of the Sower similarly exposes the emptiness and duplicity of recent American ideologies of urban development. The novel takes as its point of departure a strangely believable future in which the ideals of the American city as an artifact of consumption have transformed into a precarious urban order based on economic and racial inequality. Lauren proves that even if there is no longer "urban order" as Dubey says, she can share her ideologies and help other minorities like Zahra and well.