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Tone
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Because the novel is narrated via Lauren's first-person diary entires, the reader is only privy to information Lauren chooses to write about. This makes Lauren an unreliable narrator—the reader cannot trust that what Lauren chooses to write is equivalent to her reality. This following passage from Chapter 10 makes explicit Lauren's own hesitation about her writing:
I haven't been able to write a word since Wednesday. I don't know what to write [...] I don't want to write about this, but I need to.
Here, Lauren's enthusiasm for writing appears to falter as she faces her brother's Keith's disappearance and death. Her lack of authority in this moment interferes with her ability to write and, thus, the reader's knowledge of what she experiences.
In this next passage from Chapter 11, Lauren reveals one of her motives for writing. She has just decided to travel north to start Earthseed and so she must complete her writing of the scripture:
I'm trying to speak—to write—the truth. I'm trying to be clear. I'm not interested in being fancy, or even original. Clarity and truth will be plenty, if I can only achieve them.
While Lauren declares that her motive is to write "the truth," this wording should remind the reader that Lauren's "truth" is still subjective and one-sided. Furthermore, her goal to spread belief in Earthseed by writing persuasive scripture should make the reader wary of the influence of Lauren's language.
Writing is also a mode of confession and comfort for Lauren. In Chapter 5, for example, while having a conversation with her best friend, Joanne, about Amy Dunn's sudden death, Lauren confesses there are certain things she can only write about:
I felt on the verge of talking to her about things I hadn't talked about before. I'd written about them. Sometimes I write to keep from going crazy. There's a world of things I don't feel free to talk to anyone about.
On one hand, this passage encourages the reader to find Lauren's writing credible as she will write about things she cannot "talk to anyone about." Conversely, Lauren's subjectivity as a human prone to error is extremely evident—especially as she sometimes feels to be "going crazy."
While Lauren may be an unreliable narrator, her first-person perspective gives the reader insight to her feelings and logic—especially pertaining to Earthseed—that makes direct the experience of the novel's apocalyptic setting. Additionally, the ability to read Lauren's own words leads the reader to have empathy for her, reflecting Lauren's own hyperempathy.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis:
Because the novel is narrated via Lauren's first-person diary entires, the reader is only privy to information Lauren chooses to write about. This makes Lauren an unreliable narrator—the reader cannot trust that what Lauren chooses to write is equivalent to her reality. This following passage from Chapter 10 makes explicit Lauren's own hesitation about her writing:
I haven't been able to write a word since Wednesday. I don't know what to write [...] I don't want to write about this, but I need to.
Here, Lauren's enthusiasm for writing appears to falter as she faces her brother's Keith's disappearance and death. Her lack of authority in this moment interferes with her ability to write and, thus, the reader's knowledge of what she experiences.
In this next passage from Chapter 11, Lauren reveals one of her motives for writing. She has just decided to travel north to start Earthseed and so she must complete her writing of the scripture:
I'm trying to speak—to write—the truth. I'm trying to be clear. I'm not interested in being fancy, or even original. Clarity and truth will be plenty, if I can only achieve them.
While Lauren declares that her motive is to write "the truth," this wording should remind the reader that Lauren's "truth" is still subjective and one-sided. Furthermore, her goal to spread belief in Earthseed by writing persuasive scripture should make the reader wary of the influence of Lauren's language.
Writing is also a mode of confession and comfort for Lauren. In Chapter 5, for example, while having a conversation with her best friend, Joanne, about Amy Dunn's sudden death, Lauren confesses there are certain things she can only write about:
I felt on the verge of talking to her about things I hadn't talked about before. I'd written about them. Sometimes I write to keep from going crazy. There's a world of things I don't feel free to talk to anyone about.
On one hand, this passage encourages the reader to find Lauren's writing credible as she will write about things she cannot "talk to anyone about." Conversely, Lauren's subjectivity as a human prone to error is extremely evident—especially as she sometimes feels to be "going crazy."
While Lauren may be an unreliable narrator, her first-person perspective gives the reader insight to her feelings and logic—especially pertaining to Earthseed—that makes direct the experience of the novel's apocalyptic setting. Additionally, the ability to read Lauren's own words leads the reader to have empathy for her, reflecting Lauren's own hyperempathy.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Because the novel is narrated via Lauren's first-person diary entires, the reader is only privy to information Lauren chooses to write about. This makes Lauren an unreliable narrator—the reader cannot trust that what Lauren chooses to write is equivalent to her reality. This following passage from Chapter 10 makes explicit Lauren's own hesitation about her writing:
I haven't been able to write a word since Wednesday. I don't know what to write [...] I don't want to write about this, but I need to.
Here, Lauren's enthusiasm for writing appears to falter as she faces her brother's Keith's disappearance and death. Her lack of authority in this moment interferes with her ability to write and, thus, the reader's knowledge of what she experiences.
In this next passage from Chapter 11, Lauren reveals one of her motives for writing. She has just decided to travel north to start Earthseed and so she must complete her writing of the scripture:
I'm trying to speak—to write—the truth. I'm trying to be clear. I'm not interested in being fancy, or even original. Clarity and truth will be plenty, if I can only achieve them.
While Lauren declares that her motive is to write "the truth," this wording should remind the reader that Lauren's "truth" is still subjective and one-sided. Furthermore, her goal to spread belief in Earthseed by writing persuasive scripture should make the reader wary of the influence of Lauren's language.
Writing is also a mode of confession and comfort for Lauren. In Chapter 5, for example, while having a conversation with her best friend, Joanne, about Amy Dunn's sudden death, Lauren confesses there are certain things she can only write about:
I felt on the verge of talking to her about things I hadn't talked about before. I'd written about them. Sometimes I write to keep from going crazy. There's a world of things I don't feel free to talk to anyone about.
On one hand, this passage encourages the reader to find Lauren's writing credible as she will write about things she cannot "talk to anyone about." Conversely, Lauren's subjectivity as a human prone to error is extremely evident—especially as she sometimes feels to be "going crazy."
While Lauren may be an unreliable narrator, her first-person perspective gives the reader insight to her feelings and logic—especially pertaining to Earthseed—that makes direct the experience of the novel's apocalyptic setting. Additionally, the ability to read Lauren's own words leads the reader to have empathy for her, reflecting Lauren's own hyperempathy.
Related Themes:
