The Novel, Parable of the Sower had a major influence on social justice and climate change. Climate change is very a prevalent topic and it affects the world population day by day which is why this Novel is what I found the most interesting. Dystopian fiction, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic fiction has always been the genre that is very alarming but intriguing at the same time. The protagonist, Lauren is a resilient, intelligent, and well spoken girl who is a leader. She fought very hard to keep her circle safe. Octavia Butler was brilliant to mention “earth seed” in the novel meaning “god is change”. Lauren used “ Earth Seed” intending to restore humanity and bring faith back. In the Novel, it states that “ We do not worship God. We perceive and attend God. We learn from God. With forethought and work, We shape God. In the end, we yield to God. We adapt and endure, For we are Earthseed, and God is change “(3, Butler). Lauren had always been passionate about her religion and this made her stronger and able to find passion for survival. In the city where there is an apocalypse, you have no choice but to fight for survival. She ended up doing unimaginable things like killing people and fighting other people. It also states that “ I am Earthseed. Anyone can be someday. I think there will be alot of us. And I think we’ll have to seed ourselves farther and farther from this dying place. I’ve never felt that I was making any of this up – not the name, Earthseed not any of it. I mean, I’ve never felt that it was anything other than real : discovery rather than invention, exploration rather than creation” (8, Butler). She knew that the planet was deteriorating and the arsonists started burning the cities, but she still had hope which is what matters. As readers, we get to experience the beauty and power of reading Novels, and fiction is one of the genres that improves empathy. This makes people think about the future and makes us become critical thinkers and analyzers because we as people, imagine ourselves in that situation, and what would we do if the worst comes to worst. If there was to be an apocalypse, we would treat it as a fight for our lives because that would be the most important thing. This will have us scavenging for food, water, and shelter. 

In the novel, “Parable of the Sower” by Olivia Butler, it tells a story of how a teenage girl who just turned fifteen comes to a realization about how the environment is slowly deteriorating. Nature itself is very important because our forests, rivers, oceans, and soils give us the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we need to irrigate our crops. Nixon’s “slow death,” Haraway’s “Chthulucene,” or Lemenager’s “everyday Anthropocene,” all explained the severity of Climate change and accurately described the damages it causes, giving readers a sense of empathy. Since Climate change is the main focus of this Novel, Lauren lives through its effects in her day to day life. In the Novel it states that “ Things are changing now too. Our adults haven’t been wiped out by a plague so they’re still anchored in the past, waiting for the good ol days to come back. But things have changed a lot, and they’ll change more. Things are always changing. This is just one of the big jumps instead of the little step by step changes that are easier to take. People have changed the climate of the world. Now they’re waiting for the old days to come back” (Butler, 20) .Why is the planet slowly dying?  Why are humans the main cause? It makes people think about what has led to this unfortunate event? In the year 2024, Laura’s life has changed because she constantly has to worry about her future and how worse it could possibly get if people do not take the action to make that one change. She also noticed how people suffered and it affected their livelihood which caused emotional damages to her which made her very vulnerable but resilient. “ I can’t do a thing about my hyperempathy, no matter what dad thinks or wants or wishes. I feel what I see others feeling or what I believe they feel” (Butler, 5). Cli-fi draws empathy towards people which is important in writing novels. You want to raise awareness and make people emotional even though pictures are not involved, they will have an imagination of the terrors of catastrophes like storms, meltings of polar ice, rising sea levels which can all cause death in the animal kingdom. 

On the other hand, Nixon made a very good example of Climate change and articulated himself very well. Nixon’s “ Slow violence” was explained as slow torture, something where the pain would last longer. He stated in his book, “The long dyings—the staggered and staggeringly discounted casualties, both human and ecological that result from war’s toxic aftermaths or climate change—are underrepresented in strategic planning as well as in human memory” ( Nixon, 4). This was an issue that is present in Butler’s Novel. The deterioration of the planet. Lauren’s hometown hasn’t been the same as before, and throughout the years of climate change its decline will only get worse. It made me as a reader have an emotional connection to both Novels because this is something that is very timely and relevant to the present. The goal is to use our emotions to make a change and understand every crisis that is happening in the world. Tragedies happen, people die, drugs, animal abuse, murder, corrupt politics, financial crisis, but what can we do to make a change. Fortunately, with the help of authors like Butler, Lemenager, and Nixon they make us relate to each other in a way that we would want to step forward and make a change.

                  The three authors, Nixon, Lemenager, and Ghosh thoroughly explained the problems of climate change. With the use of slow violence, Nixon explains how violence happens slowly, including the suffering of the planet all due to climate change. The negative effect of climate change slowly results in the planet deteriorating. Because climate change disrupts the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Biological creatures are left with little to no habitat because of storms,rising oceans, etc. Nixon indicated how violence wrought by climate change, toxic drift, deforestation, oil spills, and the environmental aftermath of war takes place gradually and often invisibly. According to the book, Nixon stated that “Climate change, the thawing cryosphere, toxic drift, biomagnification,deforestation, the radioactive aftermaths of wars, acidifying oceans, and a host of other slowly unfolding environmental catastrophes present formidable representational obstacles that can hinder our efforts to mobilize and act decisively. The long dyings—the staggered and staggeringly discounted casualties, both human and ecological that result from war’s toxic aftermaths or climate change—are underrepresented in strategic planning as well as in human memory” ( Nixon, 4). This line stood out to me the most because he thoroughly explains how damaging climate change is and how this should be an eyeopener for people to take the steps on how to stop climate change. Global warming is just one aspect of climate change but what steps can be taken to stop it? Think about it. The rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere can be stopped if people take steps like caring for the environment, avoiding pollution. The use of Novel gave us readers the chance to thoroughly analyze the damages of climate change, thanks to Nixon because we have developed emotional intelligence and empathy.                 

                 Ghosh also explained the negative impacts of climate change by the use of novels. It is a crisis of culture. In the book it stated that “ Would it follow, then, on the analogy of Kohn’s suggestion in relation to forests, that to think about this era of climate change will be to think in images, that it will require a departure from our accustomed logocentrism? Could that be the reason why television, film, and the visual arts have found it much easier to address climate change than literary fiction?(Ghosh, 18)”  It is easier for people to gain empathy when watching a film, seeing images, and watching the news because they get a visual concept in their minds of the horrific events rather than just reading. Although literary fiction helps because you develop emotional intelligence due to the catastrophes being mentioned, you will think more deeply about the topic. Imagine being told the world is ending? People will develop fear and try to do what they can to be safe.This is how novels have a special role in the way we become critical thinkers.