It is possible to interpret the Biblical Parable of the Sower in multiple ways. However, the most prominent interpretation is that the parable emphasizes the importance of having a good heart or mindset (the “soil” from the parable) in order to receive Jesus’s message and have faith in God. In the context of the book, then, this meaning must be slightly reinterpreted—the “faith” might mean Earthseed, and having a good and open heart is shown to be all the more difficult in the harsh, post-apocalyptic world of the novel.