Parable of the Sower

Early in the book, Lauren lunches with her friend Joanna and eats a piece of acorn bread, which she calls her “favorite” (65). In this world of want, acorns are an overlooked food item, but acorns are a sign of sustenance, growth, and renewal; squirrels hide them to get through the winter, and the ones they lose track of grow into resilient oak trees. This highlights a parallel: In a world so decimated by natural processes and phenomena, it is also dependent upon them. Acorns appear throughout the narrative, and at the very end of the book, Lauren and her Earthseed group plant acorns to commemorate their dead loved ones and create a new community around her philosophy. Burying and memorializing the dead is a ritual of renewal, something that allows them to move into the future. Their enduring hope is symbolized by their choice to name their new commune Acorn.

In this society, guns offer protection and are a necessity of life. The young people of Robledo learn how to use them starting at a certain age—when they are responsible enough. In that way, they are also a symbol of power and status because not everyone can afford them and not everyone can use them. Those who don’t have them, like Keith Olamina and Grayson Mora, covet them. When Bankole urges Lauren to purchase a valuable and expensive rifle, he reminds the group that being able to pick off invaders and enemies at a distance can be helpful, giving them an advantage over others.

Dogs are dangerous in this world. Only the elite can afford to have them as pets because they use up valuable resources. This means that most dogs have turned feral. This society makes life hard for both people and animals, so these former pets must also figure out ways of surviving. Because they compete with humans for food, they can be enemies. Dogs pop up throughout the book, but especially in the beginning when Lauren must shoot one. This event is important because Lauren realizes that although her hyperempathy will hurt her, she will survive.

Walls represent safety because they can keep out the pyros and paints out of Robledo. For a long time, Lauren and her neighborhood feel safe within their walls, but the walls also keep them from understanding what’s truly happening outside. People like Joanna and her family can pretend nothing bad is taking place because they are shielded from reality. However, violent factions can broach the wall, showing that this barrier is not as strong as it appears. Physical walls eventually fall, as shown by the sacking of Robledo and other walled communities the group encounters on their journey.

The violence in the world is set within a natural landscape that is both devastating and beautiful. Throughout the story, readers see glimpses of the world they might recognize as sunny California—beaches, trees, hills, freeways. Some moments of languor and rest take place in natural spots. However, nature has a certain negative power here, too—water is scarce, and weather is capricious for farming and growing food. The dystopian nature of the book has climate change as its catalyst, which means that the idea of nature as a tumultuous force is always present. This force may also impede the future of humanity, as the group at Acorn must consider the negative effects of the climate on their crops and whether Earth is still hospitable to human life at all.