Q. It is significant, because Butlers discussion of hyper-empathy is a metaphor for the extreme amount of empathy children of addicted persons must extend to those around them. Even if someone is not an addict, being the child of an addict can make people psychologically vulnerably and needy, and more sensitive to the feelings of others. In contrast, people around Lauren are much more closed off to the emotions and needs of others.
Lauren cannot tell others about this, however, because she lives in a violent world where people are more apt to attack one another as a way to survive. It is significant to the story because it allows her to read the emotions of others. While unreliable narrators are often closed off to the emotions of other people, Lauren is a supremely reliable narrator in the sense that she is so tuned into the world around her, including the perspective of people different than herself.
Q2. People, including Jo, are frightened by change. As people who have been struggling to survive under terrible circumstances, any proposed changes are...
The idea of being better prepared as a community is also threatening, because within the community, people do not
trust one another.
Lauren lives in a community where people have been trying to survive...
…another morally, rather than relying upon past mythology and lore.
Q4. I do agree that this vision of America is very close to our own, when I see incidents such as mass shootings (and a lack of willingness to enforce reasonable gun control), unchecked police brutality, and greater tolerance of racism. The divide between the rich and poor has been growing, and even middle-class people fear that they will have worse rather than better lives than their parents generation. Access to education is also becoming more limited and unaffordable to the poor, which does not bode well to future generations making intelligent leadership positions. By 2025 I fear America will be more like the world of the novel.
Works Cited
Butler, Octavia. The Parable of the…
