Religion in Octavia Butlers Parable of the Sower

The main reason why Octavia Butler’s 1993 dystopic novel Parable of the Sower is being commonly referred to, as such that represents a high literary value, is that the themes and motifs, contained in it, are discursively relevant. That is, they do reflect people’s anxieties, in regards to the challenges of a post-industrial living.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Religion in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of these challenges is the fact that, as time goes on; the religious appeal of Christianity to Americans continues to become ever more undermined. This simply could not be otherwise, because for even mildly intelligent people, the Biblical fables about Sun standing still in the sky, talking donkeys and Saint Mary becoming impregnated by the ‘holy ghost’ appear rather unconvincing, so say the least. The same can be said about the p rovisions of Christian morality, based upon the vicious assumption that there are ‘chosen people’, favored by God, on the one hand, and ‘infidels’ that will be eventually thrown into the ‘lake of fire’, on the other. At the same time, however, the overwhelming majority of Americans continue experiencing an urge to be spiritually guided. In its turn, this causes many people to think that there are now objective preconditions for the creation of a new religion, which would be both: thoroughly humanistic and conceptually consistent with an ongoing social, cultural and technological progress. This is what Butler’s novel is all about. In it, the author provided readers with an insight as to how religion and science could be successfully combined together – hence, creating a ‘spiritual product’, thoroughly adjusted to the challenges of modernity. Nevertheless, even though that, as it will be illustrated later, the fictious religion of Earthseed (described in the novel) is in fact scientifically legitimate, there are still a few discursive shortcomings to how the author went about reflecting upon this religion’s social implications. Probably the most important qualitative aspect of Butler’s novel is that, even though that its plot unravels in the dystopic future, readers nevertheless do emotionally relate to the characters’ experiences of living in the ‘godless’ universe.Advertising Looking for term paper on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After all, just as it happened to be the case with the novel’s main character Lauren Olamina, they do often experience the disturbing sensation that there is too much injustice and violence in this world. Such their sensation, of course, contradicts the Christian dogma there is all-loving and omnipotent God, who answers people’s prayers. Yet, as it was illustrated in the novel, it is not only due to the ‘classical’ God’s de facto absence that spiritually sensitive people find it hard to deal with the objective reality’s emanations, but also due to their own intellectual inflexibility. As Lauren noted: A lot of people seem to believe in a big-daddy-God or a big-cop-God or a big-king-God. They believe in a kind of super-person. A few believe God is another word for nature. (8) These Lauren’s words, of course, reveal her as a pantheist, who knew perfectly well that there is very little rationale in believing that God is an individual, capable of experiencing the human emotions of love, fear and anger: My God doesn’t love me or hate me or watch over me or know me at all, and I feel no love for or loyalty to my God. My God just is. (22) At the same time, however, it could not escape Lauren’s attention that there is an apparent order in the universe, which given the main characte r’s perceptual idealism, was causing her to consider the possibility that, even though there is no ‘big-daddy God’, the ‘divinity’ is still there. Lauren revealed the true nature of ‘divinity’ in what can be well defined as the ‘manifesto’ of her newly found quasi-religion of Earthseed: All that you touch, you Change. All that you change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change. (51)Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Religion in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What gives Lauren a particular credit, in this respect, is that the earlier mentioned theological provisions of Earthseed are fully consistent with the most recent breakthroughs in the fields of biology and physics. After all, today’s scientists are thoroughly aware of the fact that, while remaining in the state of a const ant transformation (due to the forces of gravity), the chaotically dispersed universe’s matter has a tendency to self-organize itself into complex structures. As one of the 20th century’s most prominent scientists Alan Turing pointed out: Chaotic substratum, although it may originally be quite homogeneous, may later develop a pattern or structure due to an instability of the homogeneous equilibrium, which is triggered off by random disturbances. (37) The full soundness of this statement can be well illustrated in relation to the grains of sand in the desert, which never cease self-organizing themselves into ripples, waves and dunes – quite contrary to the fact that these grains have no awareness of the shape they become a part of. This also explains the seemingly intelligent design of organic life-forms – this design comes as an ultimate result of a physical matter/energy, on the one hand, and the forces of gravity, on the other, continuing to interact fo r the duration of billions and billions of years. What it means is that there is indeed no God, in the traditional sense of this word. What causes the universe to be observably complex and even ‘intelligently designed’ to an extent, is the never-ending flow of energy from the universe’s ‘energetically rich’ regions to the ‘energetically poor’ ones, which will eventually result in the ‘energetic death’ of the universe – the so-called state of ‘universal entropy’. Nevertheless, even though that we are now well aware that there is no ‘big-daddy God’, we cannot help but to experience awe, while exposed to the wonders of the universe. This sensation of awe, on our part, is where the ‘divinity’ actually resides. Therefore, Lauren’s suggestion that God is Change is thoroughly valid – Change is what causes Complexity, and Complexity is what we commonly perceive in terms of God.Advertising Looking for term paper on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This, of course, implies that we should not seek God up in the sky, but rather within. The fact that we, as the representatives of Homo Sapiens species, have evolved to the point that we now understand the universe’s mechanics, without having to evoke the notion of ‘big-baddy God’, makes us nothing short of semi-gods ourselves. As such, we have the responsibility to act ethically – even in times when this undermines our chances of a physical survival. Hence, the Earthseed’s foremost ‘commandment’: The weak can overcome the strong if the weak persist. Persisting isn’t always safe, but it’s often necessary. (79) Apparently, Lauren knew that, in order to encourage people to behave in a socially appropriate manner, they should not be constantly reminded of the prospect of being sent to hell, on the account of their ‘sins’, but that they should instead be provided with incentives to remain fully aware of the behavi oral implications of their basic humanity. Nevertheless, as it was mentioned in the Introduction, Butler’s vision of the ‘future religion’ cannot be thought of as such that represents an indisputable truth-value. This is because; there are a number of good reasons to think that, even if Lauren did succeed in setting up the communities of ‘earthseeds’ across America, her newly founded ‘Church of Earthseed’ would not remain functional for too long. After all, throughout the course of the novel, Laura continues to position herself as a somewhat socially-withdrawn person, who believed that the pathway towards making people more gentle towards each other is being concerned with suppressing the truth about the fact, in the biological sense of this word, they are nothing but hairless primates. For example, Laura does not seem to understand that people’s endowment with the sense of greed cannot be dealt with mechanistically, because being primates; it is in our very nature to act selfishly. This is the reason why there are strongly defined Communist overtones to her concept of a ‘spiritually rich’ communal living. As Phillips noted: According to Lauren, the moral destiny of earthseed is ‘to take root among the stars’†¦ But this spiritual and political ideal is rendered impossible by a social order based on stark economic polarities. (304) Yet, according to the laws of nature, which define the qualitative dynamics in just about every human society, without ‘polarities’ (inequality), the continual flow of energy that enables Change, in the first place, would have been impossible. After all, the notion of equality is synonymous with the notion of entropy (chaos). In other words, the way in which Lauren went about conceptualizing how the communes of ‘earthseeds’ should operate, contradicted her own understanding of Change, as the driving force of ‘divinityâ €™. There is also another reason to think that the religion of Earthseed would have proven short-lived – while elaborating on the proper ways of a ‘spiritually rich’ living, Butler never ceased to promote the idea that, as compared to what it happened to be the case with men, women are better suited to act as the community’s leaders. This explains why Parable of the Sower has been traditionally referred to as an unmistakably feminist novel (Miller 337). Nevertheless, it does not take a scientist to understand that promoting philosophies that add to already existing tensions between the representatives of opposite genders can hardly be deemed socially productive. The fact that even today, the feminist movement continues to be strongly associated with the notion of mental deviation (which explains this movement’s marginal status), substantiates the validity of this suggestion. Thus, it will only be logical to conclude this paper by reinstating onc e again that there is indeed a good rationale in referring to Butler’s Parable of the Sower, as an intellectually enlightening novel. This is because, as it was shown earlier, Butler’s idea, as to what the ‘future religion’ should be all about, does adhere to what today’s scientists know about how the universe actually function. Unfortunately, as it appears from the novel, the sheer strength of Butler’s prophetic powers, as an advocate of the new post-industrial religion, does not seem to correlate with her somewhat undermined insightfulness, as an individual who understands the qualitative essence of dynamics in just about every human society. Works Cited Butler, Octavia. Parable of the Sower, New York: Warner, 1995. Print. Miller, Jim. â€Å"Post-Apocalyptic Hoping: Octavia Butler’s Dystopian/Utopian Vision.†Ã‚  Science Fiction Studies 25.2 (1998): 336-360. Print. Phillipsï ¼Å'Jerry. â€Å"The Intuition of the Future: Utopia and Catastrophe in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.† Novel 35.2/3 (2002): 299-311. Print. Turing, Alan. â€Å"The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis.† Philosophical  Transactions of the Royal Society of London 237.641 (1952): 37-72. Print. This term paper on Religion in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower was written and submitted by user Hulkl1ng to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

3 Types of Unnecessary Hyphenation

3 Types of Unnecessary Hyphenation 3 Types of Unnecessary Hyphenation 3 Types of Unnecessary Hyphenation By Mark Nichol An extraneous instance of hyphenation occurs in each of the following sentences. Discussion after each example explains the error, and revisions illustrate correct treatment. 1. Those organizations that adapt will be able to excel in the long-term. Some pairs of words closely associated because they commonly appear together as phrasal adjectives are often unnecessarily hyphenated when they do not serve that grammatical function. Though long and term frequently serve together as a phrasal adjective, as in â€Å"long-term goals,† in this sentence, they are an adjective and a noun, respectively, and hyphenating them is an error: â€Å"Those organizations that adapt will be able to excel in the long term.† 2. NASA officials recommend viewing the eclipse through specially-made glasses to prevent eye damage. What is perhaps the most common type of error of intrusive hyphenation is as a result of confusion between phrasal adjectives and phrasal adverbs. When two or more words team up to modify a noun, the modifying terms are usually hyphenated to signal their teamwork, as in â€Å"four-legged animals.† (Otherwise, the implication is that the phrase refers to a quartet of animals with legs.) But when the first word is an adverb ending in -ly, that ending sends an obvious signal that the first word modifies not the noun but the accompanying modifying word, as in â€Å"NASA officials recommend viewing the eclipse through specially made glasses to prevent eye damage,† where specially modifies glasses (and, in turn, the two words provide additional information about the glasses.) However, for the sake of clarity, flat adverbs- those lacking the -ly ending- are hyphenated, as in â€Å"high-pitched voice.† 3. After two weeks, it turns out letting strangers in has been the least-troubling part of the experience. . . . There are certainly less-invasive ways to keep packages safe, like lockboxes or shipping to the office. Similarly, do not hyphenate modifying phrases that start with least or less (or most or more): â€Å"After two weeks, it turns out letting strangers in has been the least troubling part of the experience. . . . There are certainly less invasive ways to keep packages safe, like lockboxes or shipping to the office.† However, a phrase beginning with â€Å"less than† or â€Å"more than† is hyphenated when the string of words provides more information about a noun that follows the phrase: â€Å"Less-than-optimal terms can result in future costs that reduce the benefit of a lower purchase price.† But note that stand-alone phrases beginning with less and the like are sometimes mistakenly hyphenated, as in â€Å"Some people were less-than-thrilled to see the giraffe in the indoor pen.†Ã‚  Here, â€Å"less than thrilled† is merely describing a reaction, not modifying a noun, so omit the hyphens: â€Å"Some people were less than thrilled to see the giraffe in the indoor pen.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?

Organizational Change Interview Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Change Interview Paper - Essay Example Schuh (2000) has mentioned the needs of differentiation strategy for successful marketing. In his opinion, â€Å"using a common product, price, distribution and promotion program on a worldwide basis--does not seem adequate considering the differences in market conditions† (Schuh, 2000). In order to realize the extent of changes happening in the organizational world, I decided to interview a top official in Coca Cola Company. One of my friends is currently working in Coca Cola Company’s marketing department and he helped me in meeting, Jack Nicholas, one of the sales managers of Coca Cola Company. This paper is written based on my interview with Coke’s sales manager, jack Nicholas. My first question was about the mission, vision, and values of the Coca Cola Company at present and in past. Jack told me that the vision and mission of Coke has changed a lot over the past five years period. Earlier, Coke had a standardized vision and mission statement for the entire world. However, Coke realized that keeping same vision and mission for the entire world is meaningless since the requirements of different regions or countries are different. Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners, Get out into the market and listen, observe and learn, Possess a world view, Focus on execution in the marketplace every day, Be insatiably curious etc are some of the values strictly kept in the market by Coke (Vision, Mission and Values, 2011) Jack explained the above point more in detail. He told me that most of the global countries and regions are different, politically, economically, culturally and socially. In other words, the requirements and the purchasing abilities of the people are different everywhere and it is illogical to keep same mission and vision for the extremely diverse population in the world. It was difficult for Coke to operate in communist countries earlier because of the strong opposition Coke faced in those countries bec ause of its origin in America. For example, China was reluctant in allowing American companies to enter its soil earlier. However, at present China is accepting foreign direct investments with both hands. The above changing foreign policies and economic policies of China cannot be neglected by Coke. In short, political and economic climate in the world are facing drastic changes at present which forced companies to change their vision and mission to cater the needs of the changing world. My second question was about the major determinants of change in Coca Cola Company. Globalization was the major cause of changes happening in Coke according to Jack. He has told me that the business principles changed a lot as a result of globalization. Currently Coke is trying to expand its territories with the help of modern business principles and merger and acquisition is accepted as the major mode of entry to foreign countries. For example, Coke acquired ThumsUp from India as part of their busi ness expansion in India. Coke realized that local knowledge is essential for conducting successful business in a foreign market. In order to acquire local knowledge, acquisition or merger is accepted as the best strategy by Coke. Political, economic and legal climate are other major determinants of change accepted by Coke to expand its business in different territories. Jack