Exercises

What is a utopia?

  • What comes to mind when you think of utopia? Make a list of the words you associate with utopianism.
    • Looking at your list, are more of the words positive or negative? And does this reflect how you feel about utopianism?
  • Try to think of some utopian texts. This is likely to be more difficult than thinking of dystopian texts.
    • Why do you think dystopianism tends to be more popular than utopianism?
    • Are there any overlaps (texts which are both dystopian and utopian)?
  • Looking at this list, consider whether you think Parable of the Sower is a utopia
    • Which aspects of the novel feel utopian to you? And which don’t?

What is an anti-utopia?

  • For each of the following characters in Parable of the Sower write down what you think the main feature of their personal utopia would be:
    • Lauren’s friend Joanne
    • Lauren’s step mother Cory
    • Lauren’s father
    • Lauren’s brother Keith
    • The ‘paints’ who break into the neighbourhood
  • Now label each utopia with its main flaw. You can use the categories I have highlighted (authoritarian, nostalgic, bordered) or create ones of your own.
  • Which of these kinds of utopia do you find most appealing? And which do you think is the most dangerous?

What is the difference between dystopia and anti-utopia?

  • Look at the definition of dystopianism you wrote in the Genre exercises (or write a quick definition for yourself now). Now work out what the opposite of that definition would be.
    • Does your new definition work as a definition of utopia?
    • What would you change about it to make it fit better?

e.g. If you wrote ‘Dystopia is the worst possible world’ now write ‘Utopia is the best possible world’.

  • In Parable of the Sower Lauren is interested in critiquing the utopian dreams of her friends and family but she is also interested in creating her own utopia.
    • Read through the Earthseed verses at the start of each section of the novel and pick out which seem most important to you when thinking about utopianism.
    • What do you think is missing from Lauren’s vision? Try creating an Earthseed verse of your own which might fill in this gap.
  • Imagining better worlds is difficult and takes practice. By yourself or with a friend practice this skill by playing a game of We Have the Square [LINK]
    • You could choose either to play as your own community, as Butler’s imaginary community of Robledo or of Earthseed, or as another imaginary community.
    • As you play think about the pros and cons of being in a situation of crisis. Can crisis help to create change? Or are the drawbacks always greater than the possibilities?