The Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler, presents a seemingly unlikely heroine. Not only is Lauren Olamina a young, black woman, but she also has a disorder called hyper-empathy. Hyper-empathetic people feel other people’s pain. They feel the pain as if it is their own. This pain is so real that it can cripple a “sharer”, just as it could cripple the actual person in pain. In the world of Parable, there is an unbelievable amount of pain, both physical and emotional. Therefore, sharing is a great burden to those with hyper-empathy. With this troubling disorder, it would be completely understandable if Lauren was a weak person, greatly depressed, and without hope. Yet quite the opposite was true. Lauren’s hyper-empathy did not hold her down, rather it drove her onward in her hopes of building a peaceful community. It prepared her for the hardships she will face on her journey. It strengthens her desires and will. In order to survive, to lead the exodus out of Southern California, hyper-empathy was needed.In the world presented by Butler everyone feels great pain. The life of each person is a struggle. They know great poverty; they see suffering and death on a daily basis. The pain this causes them creates in them a desire, a hope for a better life. “The adults say things will get better, but they never have” (Pg. 13). They believe things will get better, but they don’t do anything to ensure that it does. They sit and wait, idle. But Lauren’s pain is stronger. She feels not only her own pain, but the suffering of everyone in the tiny, walled community. Her pain, her suffering is the hardest to bear. She is, therefore, more willing to do something to ensure her survival and a better life. She tried to convince the others that something had to be done, but her ideas were rejected. She prepared herself to leave, putting together a pack of necessities. She practiced the scenario of leavi...
