Parallels in: Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower," Eugene Thacker's "In the Dust of this Planet," and Pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon England

Conclusion: History in the Postmodern

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower is a novel that fits into many genres: Posthuman, Science-Fiction, Science-Fantasy, Dystopian, or even Utopian Studies, but history cannot be considered one of its labels. However, Butler incorporates themes which are present throughout history and occur in many genres, from philosophy to fantasy. These are themes integral to humanity: religion, survival, and competition. Religion, whether you believe in a god or not, has become an integral part of human society. The same fear of death that haunted the Anglo-Saxons still stalks us today. It is clear that no matter what time period or genre, certain motifs are constantly, repeated, revived and revisited time and time again. However, by comparing modern novels and philosophies with cultures we now consider as undeveloped, we can now see that they were surprisingly sophisticated for their time. The Anglo-Saxons pioneered many laws and adopted many structures within their communities which we now consider a basic right, such as gender equality and an education system. 

Wars, disaster, and destruction occur frequently throughout history and fiction alike. If there is one thing they all demonstrate it is that we take the benefits of community for granted. It is not until those benefits are lost and we are left contemplating both rebuilding society and the thought of the world-without-us, that we realise how much we benefit from the societies we live in. They are the culminations of years of adaptions and influences and are not easily replaced or rebuilt. As William the Conqueror proved, one man can change a culture in the blink of an eye, but the consequences may take hundreds of years to repair. 

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