Fire Symbol Analysis

Fire is the most prominent force of destruction in the novel. All over the country, communities are destroyed by fires—including, eventually, Lauren’s neighborhood. Part of the significance of fire is that it can be both a natural and man-made force. Many of the fires raging across the country occur naturally, as a result of climate changed-induced drought, storms, and extreme heat waves. However, others are started on purpose by arsonists, including addicts of the drug known as pyro. This drug, which is mentioned frequently throughout the book, makes the experience of watching a fire burn “better than sex” and thus encourages addicts to burn everything in sight. The comparison between arson—an act of destruction—and sex, which (at least in a biological sense) is an act of creation, is testament to the perversion of humanity in the world of the novel.

The destruction caused by fire is generally shown to be total and irrevocable—as soon as Lauren’s neighborhood burns down, for example, she, Harry, and Zahra flee, knowing that the community in which they once lived will never exist again. On the other hand, there are also references to the idea of the “phoenix”: new life rising from the ashes of fire. This is especially true on Acorn, the Earthseed community formed on the remains of Bankole’s farmland at the end of the novel. Although Bankole’s farmhouse and family have been destroyed by fire, the community plant seeds in the land that remains, a reminder that even ash can provide the “good ground” evoked in the Parable of the Sower.