Writing, Books, and Scripture Theme Analysis

The novel consists of a series of diary entries by Lauren, and thus the entire narrative is mediated by the act of writing. Although her diary entries are highly detailed and seemingly comprehensive, Lauren draws attention to the gaps and biases within them. For example, the entry for Wednesday 26th August 2026 is only one line long: “Today, my parents had to go downtown to identify the body of my brother Keith,” and in the next entry four days later Lauren admits: “I haven’t been able to write a word since Wednesday.” Sentences like these remind the reader that although Lauren makes an effort to accurately capture the world around her, her writing will never provide a truly objective picture.

One of the most important thematic questions in the narrative concerns the extent of the power of writing, books, and scripture, particularly in the context of a chaotic, brutal environment. What is the place of the written word in a world where most people must focus all their energy on surviving each day? Can writing and literature have any impact on such a world? For Lauren, the act of writing helps her to make sense of the world around her. After Keith dies, she writes: “I don't want to write about this. But I need to. Sometimes writing about a thing makes it easier to understand.”

Reading literature also helps Lauren and other characters navigate their way through the horrifying and often bizarre reality in which they live. Lauren notes that her grandmother left a bookcase of science fiction novels when she died, explaining that these novels help her to understand certain aspects of 2020s America, such as the “company-city.” Of course, this passage contains a clever twist, as The Parable of the Sower is itself a science fiction novel which in reality was written during the time Lauren’s grandmother is supposed to have lived. Through meta-fictional gestures and references to real works of literature, Butler blurs the line between fiction and reality. The world in which Lauren lives was considered to be the stuff of fantasy by the generations preceding her, and this acts as a warning that the real world could in turn come to resemble the dystopia depicted in the novel.

Scripture also plays an important role in the novel, and is particularly relevant to the question of the power of the written word. Although Lauren has renounced Christian belief, Biblical passages feature prominently in her thoughts, conversations, and diary entries. The most obvious example of this is Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, which appears in both the title of the novel and on the last page. There are many other Biblical references scattered throughout the narrative, suggesting that even as Christianity becomes less and less relevant to the characters’ lives, the Bible continues to play an important role in how they understand themselves and the world around them. In this sense, the Bible appears as a cultural object as much as a religious one, and Biblical references help illustrate the way the dystopia of 2020s America came to exist.

Even more important than Biblical passages, however, are the Earthseed scriptures which Lauren composes herself and eventually decides to call Earthseed: The Book of the Living. The fact that Lauren scatters passages from the Book of the Living throughout her diary entries gives this book a sense of authority, despite the fact that Lauren wrote it herself. Just as people quote Biblical passages in other pieces of writing, so does Lauren quote her own words as a kind of counterpoint to her diary entries.

At the same time, Earthseed scripture also differs significantly from the Bible and sacred texts of other religions. Whereas sacred texts tend to prominently feature stories, Earthseed scripture has no narrative elements. It is written in the style of poetry and is straightforward in both its informational and instructive aspects. Another distinction between the Book of the Living and mainstream religious texts is that Earthseed scripture is notably abstract. While this at times makes it seem vague and confusing, it also means that Earthseed scripture can be considered “literally true” in a way that is not possible for other religious texts. In this sense, the novel suggests that there is a kind of higher truth to poetry and literature that is not the case for other forms of communication. Writing, books, and scripture help people to access the truth not through their comprehensiveness or detail, but rather through an abstract and poetic form of honesty.