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Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Mars Is A Rock:
Following the death of Alicia Neal in Chapter 3, Lauren writes about the potential in space exploration. She believes "space exploration and colonization are among the few things left over from the last century that can help us more than they hurt us." However, she uses metaphor to express the idea that Mars is too close to be humanity's "heaven":
Mars is a rock—cold, empty, almost airless, dead. Yet it's heaven in a way. We can see it in the night sky, a whole other world, but too nearby, too close within the reach of people who've made such a hell of life here on Earth.
Lauren presents Mars as a metaphor for the failed versions of "heaven" that humanity has established thus far, both literal and figurative. These old versions of heaven are "cold, empty, almost airless, dead," which justifies the need for Earthseed as an alternative.
Lauren's own visions of heaven, being further away in space, are based on the belief that current religious models are missing truths that she is able to perceive. Put differently, others are looking "too nearby" for solutions to the problems of Earth, while Lauren will be able to gaze farther out in space and think of entirely new modes of survival. This is her role as the creator of Earthseed: to guide people far away from those who have made "such a hell of life here on Earth."
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Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Planting Earthseed:
The name Earthseed, in reference to seeds, is itself a metaphor for the process of regeneration and rebirth. In the following passage from Chapter 7, Lauren explains how she first decided on naimg her religion "Earthseed":
[Seeds] have no ability at all to travel great distances under their own power, and yet, they do travel. Even they don't have to just sit in one place and wait to be wiped out...
Earthseed.
I am Earthseed. Anyone can be... And I think we'll have to seed ourselves farther and farther from this dying place.
"Earthseed" is a metaphor for how small ideas and small groups of people can slowly transform themselves into something greater. All cultivation has a beginning, and sometimes, seeds/people must "travel great distances" in order to fulfill a new generation of creation. This metaphor reflects a core tenet of Earthseed that claims people must travel far away from what is known in order to find hope for the future. The sentence "I am Earthseed" is also a metaphor. That an individual person within the religion can represent its core tenet by acting as the spark of a new generation, community, or environment is reflective of Earthseed's regenerative ideals.
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Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Wrapped in Illusions:
In Chapter 12, Lauren's father goes missing when he fails to return home from his job. The community organizes a search party, which Lauren joins, but they are ultimately unable to find him. She uses imagery and metaphor to describe the search:
We never found him. We found human bones and animal bones. We found the rotting corpses of five people scattered among the boulders. We found the cold remains of a fire with a human femur and two human skulls lying among the ashes. At last, we came home and wrapped our community wall around us and huddled in our illusions of security.
The book employs very little figurative language but does often provide direct, detailed images of the apocalyptic world. Since the level of destruction Lauren and her community live within is foreign to the reader, these stark images of human remains are crucial to establishing an atmosphere that makes Lauren's turn to religion understandable. In this passage, Lauren lists "rotting corpses," human bones such as a "femur" and "skulls," as well as animal bones. These details make clear how the sites of violence and destruction are so widely available in this apocalyptic world.
In the final line, Lauren compares the boundaries of the community to a blanket using an implied metaphor. She describes the party returning to be "wrapped" and "huddled" in the "community wall," draws an image of the community coming together for comfort and consolation. As Lauren notes that this is merely an "illusion of security," this moment of comfort is undercut by the harsh reality of violence that lies just beyond their walls.
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Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—A River Flows:
During her journey north, Lauren meets Travis Charles Douglas and his family. She begins to discuss the tenets of Earthseed with the group and claims Travis Douglas is her first convert in Chapter 18. This gives Lauren hope that the future of Earthseed is beginning, and she uses a metaphor to express her hope to meet and influence more converts on her journey:
Earthseed is being born right here on Highway 101—on that portion of 101 that was once El Camino Real, the royal highway of California's Spanish past. Now it's a highway, a river of the poor. A river flooding north.
I've come to think that I should be fishing that river even as I follow its current. I should watch people not only to spot those who might be dangerous to us, but to find those few like Travis and Natividad who would join us and be welcome.
Lauren uses the metaphor of a river to describe the flow of people heading north up the California coast, just as she is. Comparing the people within the river to "fish," she wonders if she should be trying even harder to recruit more members into Earthseed. The choice of the river and fish as images is significant because they are images commonly employed in Christian theology. Through this metaphor, Butler draws parallels between Christianity—the religion Lauren was raised with—and Earthseed. This helps the reader better understand Earthseed's origins and Lauren's strategy as a religious leader.
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Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—Insatiable Hunger:
In Chapter 23, two people sneak into Lauren's group camp at night. She discovers upon waking that the two intruders are a young woman and a child. Here, the book uses the metaphor of hunger to represent not only a physical hunger for food but also a hunger for intangible things:
They sat where they were and watched us with hungry, hungry eyes. There was more hunger in those eyes than we could fill with all our food.
As Lauren declares the hunger she sees in the woman and child insatiable through figurative language, she implies that the two have witnessed and experienced tragedy or destruction that have left them wounded or "hungry" in ways food cannot remedy. Lauren notes that even with "all [their] food," the woman and child would not be made whole. This implies an emotional hunger—perhaps for feelings of comfort, safety, or normalcy—that cannot be filled due to their apocalyptic environment. As the reader is very likely to have experienced the physical sensation of hunger for food, this metaphor makes it easier to understand the woman and child's emotional distress.
By conflating physical and emotional needs via the metaphor of hunger, the novel makes clear that Lauren's world is lacking—not only in resources for physical survival, but also in emotional safety. While issues such as lacking food or water might be more obvious, the need for emotional fulfillment is also acknowledged in this apocalyptic setting.
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