Parable of the Talents

“I must try because I need to understand myself, and she is part of me.”

This quotation situates Larkin’s motivation for constructing the narrative and telling the story of her biological mother. Although she is deeply ambivalent about her mother, Larkin recognizes the inescapable bond between herself and Lauren Olamina. The quotation also reveals that because she was torn away from her family and grew up missing part of her identity, Larkin has never felt completely whole. She may be angry with her mother, but she also longs for her.

“These days when more than half the people in the country can’t read at all, history is just one more vast unknown to them.”

Lauren bitterly comments on why she thinks Jarret has risen to power: Lack of education has left people unable to accurately understand the past. Therefore, they are vulnerable to individuals misleading them and misrepresenting facts about America its history. This comment is important because it shows one of Lauren’s key values and a key tenet of Earthseed: the importance of literacy, education, and critical thinking. It also shows her compassion and awareness of human psychology, as she doesn’t think that all of the individuals who support Jarret are necessarily bad people, but she does see that they are vulnerable to being deceived and manipulated.