Reference no: EM133203475

A Good Community and Survival 

PROMPT Parable of the Sower is a novel about survival and what is necessary to survive in a collapsing world. In our early discussion of the novel (and in Paper 3), we discussed skills and resources that might help a person to survive individually. However, one of the key insights of Parable is that survival is a communal project--that to survive, humans must do so as part of a community. In this essay, you should answer the following prompt question: What is necessary to produce a community that can help people to live well in a dangerous world? In answering these questions, you will need to consider: the many different definitions or versions of "community." Community could be a small group of strangers briefly sharing a goal. Or it could be a tight-knit family. Or it could be a larger organization that shares deeply held values. All of these types of communities may promote survival in different ways. Some might be more effective than others. the types of people, beliefs, strengths, skills, behaviors, rules that make up a strong or effective community. the many different ways of understanding of what it means "to live well." The most basic sense is in survival--avoiding immediate threats to our physical safety. That's fundamental, of course. But there are other requirements that people seem to consider essential to living well and thriving, including (for example) health, pleasure, expression, meaning, purpose. Your analyses will rely almost entirely on Parable of the Sower for evidence, so that novel will clearly have a strong influence (and constraint) on your argument. The novel offers a number of different explorations of community that you may write about, including Lauren's original neighborhood and the community that she attempts to build later in the novel. However, this paper is not just a summary or explanation of the novel. Rather, this paper is an exploration of your own ideas about the importance of community that uses Parable of the Sower as evidence to support them.