In Parable of the Talents, Butler reflects on how slavery is re-enacted to control people, while instilling fear among those who are “free.” For this option, analyze how slavery takes place and its many variations with an example from the novel. Use at least one example from the text to support your claim.
In Parable of the Talents, Butler stresses the importance of hope and purpose, another way of saying the will to live, for guiding people to believe in a particular way of seeing and living in the world. For Lauren Olamina, this comes in the form of Earthseed. For this option, analyze what ideas and projects Earthseed develops to explain why someone might believe in its teachings. Be sure to include at least one example from the text to support your claim.
In Parable of the Talents, Butler shows how Jarrett uses fundamentalist Christian ideas (not unlike John Doe in Seven) and paramilitary groups of law and order to justify the most heinous forms of oppression, including slavery. For this option, analyze what you think Butler is trying to convey with Jarrett’s Christian America and its authoritarian remaking of the United States. Use at least one example from the text to support your claim.