How Parable of the Sower and The Marrow Thieves Challenge Mainstream Climate Fiction

Abstract

Mainstream climate fiction has three main problems, namely a lack of diverse protagonists, its linear and temporal representation of nature, and its lack of representation of different belief systems. Therefore, I answer the following research question in this thesis: To what extent do Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves challenge the future imaginaries of mainstream climate fiction? I contend that the case studies challenge conventional climate fiction in three ways: through the protagonists’ unique characteristics, their perspective on nature, and their belief systems. The implications of these findings are that the case studies provide very necessary additions to climate fiction, and that they form examples for making the genre more diverse and inclusive.