CUNY Lehman College Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler Argumentative Essay

Length 7-8 pages Times New Roman size 12 font, double spaced.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/upshot/coronavirus-prediction-rise-poverty.html

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/parable-times

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/phil_of_religion_text/CHAPTER_6_PROBLEM_of_EVIL/Process_Theology.htm#:~:text=Process%20theology%20(also%20known%20as,of%20persuasion%20rather%20than%20force.

https://www-jstor-org.mec.ezproxy.cuny.edu/stable/20719920?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Novel: Parable of the Sower By Octavia Butler

Prominent themes that exist in Butler’s novel are:

Community
Change
Religion
Poverty
Race
Utopia/Dystopia
Philosophical Viewpoints
Disability
Climate Change
Perseverance
Slavery
Compassion and Forgiveness
Dreams, Hopes, Plans

Final Argumentative Essay

Students will commit to using 3-4 of the listed sources in their final argumentative essay. There are multiple ways to approach this assignment, but the easiest way would be to identify 1-2 themes that exist in the work and create an argumentative thesis statement regarding their function and significance to the text.

Examples

For example, you may question the role of the protagonist’s Lauren Olamina’s disability, hyperempathy, and develop an argumentative thesis statement regarding why her condition is significant to the story.

OR

You could create an argumentative thesis statement which analyzes Lauren’s new religion Earthseed. You could explore things like, how do her ideas about God challenge the Judeo-Christian epic? Is there anything about it that you think could be described as comforting? Or liberating? Do you believe that God has a consciousness?

Of course you are NOT limited to the above topics, they are merely suggestions to get you thinking. There are a multitude of themes to be explored in Butler’s novel (some which may not be listed above) and a myriad of ways to approach them.