What would you do?

During class discussion, we pondered over the question of "would we put in all the effort Lauren does to survive if you resided in the world featured in 'The Parable of the Sower?'" My first reaction to this question was, "absolutely not, thats way too much effort!" But then, I thought about the environment Lauren has been raised in. She doesn't know anything other than the hard, survival lifestyle she lives.  Given that we are a product of the environment we are raised in, it is hard to imagine a scenario in with Lauren would just give up fighting for her life - just as it is hard for us to imagine ourselves in her position.

This thought stayed with me throughout the day, and I began to think about the implications of this in other texts. For example, in the handmaids tale, if we were raised in that society would we become complacent with the way that society works? Would we allow women to be marginalized and our freedoms to be taken away? I think that the fundamental different between the environment in "The Parable of the Sower" and "The Handmaid's Tale" is that the people in "The Handmaid's Tale" we not raised in that type of society. There was a radical change that occurred fairly recently - so recently that Offred often refers to her prior life. They can acknowledge a different type of lifestyle, thus spawning the resistance which has the sole purpose of gaining their past lives back. In "The Handmaid's Tale,"  the people are not completely complacent.

Reflecting on the "Brave New World," maybe the society never needed genetic modifications in order to create a caste system. What if the government suppressed the population until their society became "the norm." That way, people would still retain the ingenuity and innovation they should, whilst also being complacent in society. This would create a population that could innovate more and further technology and sciences, creating an overall better society. What do you guys think? Could you see yourself in Lauren's position / what would you do if you can? Do you think that "Brave New World" could have constructed a better society? Let me know!

How is Parable of the Sower different from the other books we've read?

We just started reading Parable of the Sower not too long ago, and I think that the differences between it and the other books can already be seen.  I think the fact that this book is set in the sort-of-near future, as opposed to (relatively) far off like in 1984 and Brave New World, contributes to making the setting creepy and unnerving.  Like the rest, there is a general apocalyptic theme that exists in this book, but it's more plain to see in this book's setting than in the others'.  The communities where people live are walled off for protection against drug addicts, squatters, and other potentially dangerous people from the outside.  Arsons are frequent and sporadic, as is robbing, pillaging, and other horrifying crimes.  This society is much more chaotic at the level of people’s everyday lives than in the other books, where there is more of a sense of tight control over the populace.  

Another aspect in which Parable of the Sower differs from other dystopias is the impact of drugs.  Drugs are a huge problem in Parable of the Sower.  For example, there are frequent incidents in which people burn down things due to taking drugs.  Even the main character is affected by drugs - her biological mother's drug use led to her "hyperempathy" condition.  In Brave New World, however, drugs are used to wild abandon - specifically soma, which does not seem to have any adverse side effects.  Most, if not all, citizens use it whenever the situation calls, and the story doesn’t ever describe any adverse effects occurring directly from usage of the drug.  

The last difference that I would like to point out when comparing Parable of the Sower to the other dystopias (particularly 1984 and Handmaid’s Tale) is that in Parable of the Sower, the government is not nearly as abusive or controlling to its citizens.  In 1984 and Handmaid’s Tale, the governments mistreat the citizens severely and cause them to be unhappy and live in fear.  In all three, the governments control every single aspect of the populace’s lives.  However, Parable of the Sower has a ruling body that is more similar to the one familiar to us, and that I think makes things scarier.

What do you think?  What are some other things that set our newest book apart?