The anthropocene seeks to explore the phenomenon of the “human era” and how it has manifested in different ways. How does the presence of capitalism and class in Parable of the Sower and other novels present its role in the development of the perceived Anthropocene?

The anthropocene seeks to explore the phenomenon of the “human era” and how it has manifested in different ways. How does the presence of capitalism and class in Parable of the Sower and other novels present the reality of the anthropocene?

I might have read more than I was supposed to for todays assignment so I’ll to only speak to what we read in Part 2. Unfortunately, not much has changed for me since my first blog post. I still have such a hard time following what she’s thinking and say, I find myself constantly going back and re-reading things because her thoughts jump in a way that are very confusing. However, I can definitely say that part two speaks more to the issue of climate. It is kind of hard to tell how she even views climate change until later on where we see the different fields that begin to peak her interest and that she begins to study/learn from like that of survivability. In this beginning part of the book, she instead seems to emphasize the kookiness of Sylvia’s watchers and people that take climate change to an extreme. Or maybe her mundane explanation and observation of it is indifference and i’m just inserting my own opinion. It really is extremely difficult to tell with the narrator, Lizzie. Part two also further introduces Lizzies brother, Henry, who is a recovering addict with quite an unstable past and a new life to start with his pregnant wife, Catherine. Henry’s role in this novel is quite confusing to me as well, in terms of how it connects to climate and the Anthropocene. But, he is a really important figure in the novel and in Lizzie’s life. From what we’re told and see later on in the novel, Lizzie has been taking care of Henry her whole life and it definitely has a strain on her marriage with Ben.

I was reading another blog post that I think connects this novel to our study of literature and Anthropocene, and it made a good connection. Climate in Weather explores the everyday reality of someone living during the changing climate of the Anthropocene, while learning about what climate change even means. It’s more so about how Lizzie learns about climate change and how it begins to affect her life and how she sees it, which at this point is pretty monotone, mundane, and with a lot of dark humor. This reveals a strange pessimism and indifference to the state of the world, and her life. She doesn’t see herself as someone with control over her life, let alone the world. However, not too get to ahead, she doesn’t totally succumb to this realization, but instead takes on a bit of Lauren Olamina approach in a much less extreme way since obviously their conditions differ greatly.

The anthropocene seeks to explore the phenomenon of the “human era” and how it has manifested in different ways. How does the presence of capitalism and class in Parable of the Sower and other novels present the reality of the anthropocene?

I think it makes sense to preface with the obvious, which is that this novel so far hardly mentions the environment. It focuses more so on the everyday life of an average person living in the daily presence of the Anthropocene. The narrator is a college librarian who speaks and describes life in a very dull way. Everything she says and how she says it is presented passively and a pretty boring way. Personally, I like it it just kind of feels like i’m reading someone’s thoughts. Her life is dull, she completes her tasks , her job, takes of her son and her husband, has dull conversations and honestly seems a bit depressed. I might be overthinking this but, I’m connecting her dullness and depressing narrative as connected to the name of her boss or the person she is assisting ; Sylvia.

Anyways, so the dull and depressive attitude of the narrator is tied to the anthropocene I believe and the general mood created by anthropocenic destruction. As the novel progresses, there are like elements of environmental concern sprinkled in. However, her reaction is very deadpan and monotone, not sure if those are the right words but that’s how interpret it. The first instance I noted was when she was eating a ham sandwich and an animal activist started yelling at her, “Pigs are more trainable than dogs” to which she responded with “Who asked you anyways? i think, but I leave and eat it my desk” (Offill 15). Her entire mood is set as indifferent, and when she observes any types of negative feelings, that’s all she does; observes. Another example that stood out to me that I think can be related to climate change is her “#1 fear [of] the acceleration of days” (Offill 16). Again, maybe this is far fetched but acceleration is an element of climate change and environmentalism in the way that as the days go by faster, the earth becomes more irreversible. And to some, that is what needs to happen in order for the earth to purify itself from the anthropocene – this can be understood as accelerationism which basically believes the current capitalist system should intensify until the destruction of practically everything to just kind of get it over with.

Lastly, i’m pretty sure we’ll see more direct connects to that of climate and environmentalism as the novel goes on because the person that she works for has a podcast called “Hell and High Water.” From the small details given so far, it’s safe to assume it is a podcast about climate change. The narrators interaction with environmentalism and climate change will continue to grow and will give us more insight into the important of understanding the anthropocene, as well as it’s presence in media including literature but also podcasts like the one spoken about in the novel.