Heaven Symbol Analysis

Religion plays a very prominent role in the novel, and so do ideas about heaven. This is particularly true because there is so much death in the narrative, and because the world of the novel is so miserable. An important question the novel asks is whether or not the characters—who suffer so much in the mortal world—have any hope of finding relief and joy in the afterlife. Raised as a Baptist, Lauren is taught to believe in the traditional Christian version of heaven. Theoretically, the promise of the Christian heaven gives believers hope and motivation to adhere to moral principles during their time on earth. However, it is clear that in the apocalyptic climate of the novel, the abstract promise of a Christian heaven is not enough in the face of the immense suffering and destruction that occurs in the mortal world. This is evidenced when the deeply religious Mrs. Sims chooses to commit suicide even though she believes that this will mean she is sent to hell. It is also revealed when Lauren hopes that her brother Keith will “rest in peace—in his ashes, in his urn, wherever.” Lauren’s ambivalence about the afterlife shapes the development of the Earthseed concept of heaven. Within Earthseed, heaven is literalized in time and space—Lauren writes that it is Earthseed’s “destiny” to “take root among the stars.” Lauren hopes that Earthseed communities will eventually be able to exist in the literal heavens—outer space. She argues that the promise of this real, physical heaven is better than the abstract promise of a Christian heaven, which does not arrive until after death and which no human can be sure even exists.