Water is the most abundant source of life on this planet. Not only did the first living beings emerge from its depths, but it possesses the ability to keep every living thing alive. Powerful as it is, water takes on whole new meanings in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. In this novel, the journal entries of Lauren Olamina tell her story as she, literally and figuratively, navigates the world around her. The dystopian America Lauren lives in is practically void of a reliable source of water, especially in Lauren’s case as she lives in southern California, an area known for its long periods of drought. These circumstances highlight the symbolism of water in the novel. In Butler’s Parable of the Sower, water represents wealth, life, and …show more content…
Heavy themes such as poverty, racism, and violence are all prevalent during this novel. However, there are certain times when lightheartedness and general liveliness can seep into the story, usually attached to scenes concerning water. For instance, when it begins to rain, after raining for six years, Lauren describes how she feels when the rain hits her skin: “It was so wonderful. How can [Cory] not understand that? It was so incredible and wonderful” (48). Lauren is characterized as a serious and intelligent girl, yet in this moment, seeing the water outside her house, she becomes a new person. Disregarding the consequences and disobeying her stepmother, Lauren stands outside until she is soaked in dirty rain water. These actions are not of someone who is trying their best to be seen as an adult and to survive in a dangerous world, they are actions of a teenager who wants to enjoy her life. A similar event occurs later in the novel when Lauren, Harry, and Zahra are at a beach. They are completely surrounded by potentially dangerous strangers in unknown territory, but this is the first time any of them had seen the ocean, so again Lauren disregards the consequences of her actions and actually lives her life. Her and Zahra, neither knowing how to swim, walk into the ocean and “threw water on each other...let the waves knock [them] around, and laughed like crazy people,” Lauren even claims it was the “best time [she’s] had since [they] left …show more content…
But, at the ocean, there is an odd sense of understanding among the various groups, as if no one wants to disturb the peace the water created. Consequently, the characters feel safe here, safe enough for them to play in the ocean and enjoy themselves. The other place the characters experiences some safety was at the lake. Once they arrived at the lake, Lauren remarked that none of the people living there shot at them or bothered them at all as they made their way to a campsite (259). Additionally, the group was able to find a remote campsite where they could relax safely. Lauren even had the opportunity to spend all day “talking, writing, reading, and making love to Bankole” (268). Both the time spent at the ocean and the time spent at the like are indicative about how being surrounded by water calms even the most barbaric people, creating a safer environment. The symbol of water in Parable of the Sower represents wealth, life, and safety. Because of its high price, those that can afford the basic necessity of water are seen as wealthy. Moreover, the tranquility created by water allows for the characters to relax safely and enjoy themselves. Not only is water essential to survive, but to these characters, water is essential
The rain isn't never-ending but symbolizes and emphasizes that
Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” tells the story of a self-regulating house that is all that is left of the world. Through the use of diction, the reader is able to understand the shifts in tone throughout the story. In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the house. Bradbury uses terms such as “ruined city,” “radioactive glow,” and “rubble and ashes,” (Bradbury 1) effectively creating a dark and forlorn atmosphere. The author’s word choice creates an image in the reader’s mind of how desolate the house’s surroundings are, ultimately contributing to the somber tone.
At the tree, Gene is reminded of Phineas, his old friend. While reveling in memories at the tree, Gene makes a subtle note that he is drenched in rain. This moment established water as a symbol in the story. Clean water, dirty water, snow, and bodies of water all encapsulate different parts of Gene’s adolescence. The frequent comparison between
The author utilizes multiple metaphors in the poem to create vivid imagery in readers’ mind about the poem. Additionally, John Brehm widely utilizes nautical metaphors to bring out its intentions. For instance, the poem is entitled “the sea of faith.” The term “Sea” is used to show how deep, broad, and everlasting the act of “faith” can be.
In her poem, “Crossing the Swamp,” Mary Oliver uses vivid diction, symbolism, and a tonal shift to illustrate the speaker’s struggle and triumph while trekking through the swamp; by demonstrating the speaker’s endeavors and eventual victory over nature, Oliver conveys the beauty of the triumph over life’s obstacles, developing the theme of the necessity of struggle to experience success. Oliver uses descriptive diction throughout her poem to vividly display the obstacles presented by the swamp to the reader, creating a dreary, almost hopeless mood that will greatly contrast the optimistic tone towards the end of the piece. While describing the thicket of swamp, Oliver uses world like “dense,” “dark,” and “belching,” equating the swamp to “slack earthsoup.” This diction develops Oliver’s dark and depressing tone, conveying the hopelessness the speaker feels at this point in his journey due to the obstacles within the swamp. As the speaker eventually overcomes these obstacles, he begins to use words like “sprout,” and “bud,” alluding to new begins and bright futures.
Giving the impression that she purposely lives her life submerged from the rest of the world. Since it could be the first time Dina had someone revealing something so personal to her, in the original version, she realized that she might not be the person that she thinks she is, but it is clear that she is
These events that contains water help the reader to comprehend Mrs. Pontellier’s logic behind her actions. Water is the most prominent symbol in the novel because it directly affects Mrs. Pontellier. For example, the two lovers and widow symbolize components of Edna’s life that she may feel she is lacking; however she never interacts with these characters. Mrs. Pontellier repeatedly comes into contact with water and it modifies her character each time she experiences it. This is why water stands out as a symbol as opposed to the other symbols featured in the story.
A four letter word effects humans whether awake or asleep, fear. Fear has multiple forms depending of the focus of the person. A few of the possibilities are fear of water, heights, and fearing future choices. Some as the fear of the water could easily be defeated while others are harder to truly find the source. The child in Alden Nowlan’s “Aunt Jane” mysteriously describes fear, both current and future, during an aunt’s last decade in life.
A sense of life symbols is created in, “Where the family got drinking water” (…). Myop’s jocund jaunt through the forest is described using flowery imagery and symbolism, “an armful of strange blue flowers with velvety ridges and a sweet suds bush full of brown, fragrant buds”. The strange blue flowers hold symbolic meaning as it represents Myop’s innocence, and ultimately the loss of innocence. Such an exploration of the confronting nature of discoveries seeks to evoke a sense of empathy and reflection in the audience (this can be a link to the next paragraph) An individual’s perception of the world can be shattered by unexpected provocative discoveries.
You don't need water to feel like you're drowning do you ? That is a question that many people ask when they are going through many obstacles and can not seem to overcome their problems. The water is used to represent isolation, loneliness, and alienation. To be isolated, alienated, and lonely you can either push yourself away from people or someone is making you be alone. Suffering from these things you may have some issues that make you feel that way.
Family members and close friends impact people’s lives in immeasurable ways. Octavia E. Butler uses this to develope Lauren in Parable of the Sower through interactions with the people around her. Growing up in a bleak area of a now dismal United States, her faithful upbringing contrasts with the necessary survival mentality demanded by the outside world. Two effectual characters in Lauren’s journey are her father, Reverend Olamina, and her younger brother, Keith. These two characters represent extremes of both devotion and destruction as they influence Lauren to choose her own path as an adult.
Doctorow’s use of imagery, simile, and cataloging helps set the scene and lets the reader imagine a storm settling into the beach. Doctorow firsts
One of the main goals of humanity is to ensure that future generations will be able to survive, and that is a major factor, especially, when government bodies make decisions. This concept is also presented in the novel when Lauren said, “a community’s first responsibility is to protect its children-- the ones we have now and the ones we will have." (Butler 365). This idea drives the concept of change and adaptation, which is evident in Lauren and her Earthseed verses. Lauren demonstrated that besides living in the present, we have to look forward and plan ahead in order to survive.
The use of imagery in "Storm Warnings" conveys the literal and metaphorical meanings of the oncoming physical and emotional storms. Rich uses to imagery show the anxiety she is feeling about the storm in the beginning. For example, "The glass has been falling all the afternoon," and, "gray unrest moving across the land. " Both of these images have negative connotations, which show what she is feeling and what she sees.
The idea of preserving water is a debatable subject. However, humans should stop wasting water and should not take it for granted in order to survive with a healthy body, and reduce health risks. The most important reason why people should conserve clean water is to survive. In other words, water equals life. Without clean water, we will pass away in just a few days.