Previous Next

“I have a wife and five children,” he said. “I will pray for them all. I’ll also see to it that they know how to defend themselves. And for as long as I can, I will stand between my family and any intruder.”

While Reverend Olamina preaches a doctrine of nonviolence due to his Christian beliefs, he is not naive about the dangers facing his family and community. This quote in Chapter 4 shows that he believes in using self-defense in any way necessary, including in the killing of attackers. Reverend Olamina cites passages in the Bible to prove nonviolence does not mean you must simply allow yourself to be hurt or killed when faced with danger. These passages embolden him to arm himself and teach his children how to shoot. While some others in the neighborhood are hesitant to learn self-defense, Reverend Olamina recognizes this reticence as denial of reality. He encourages his community to learn to fight, as he knows there is no doubt they will one day need to fight for their lives.

It’s better to teach people than to scare them, Lauren. If you scare them and nothing happens, they lose their fear, and you lose some of your authority with them. It’s harder to scare them a second time, harder to teach them, harder to win back their trust.

When Lauren first begins spreading her Earthseed doctrine to the people in her Robledo neighborhood, she is met with fear and disbelief from Joanne and the Garfield family. Reverend Olamina agrees with Lauren that people need to be more prepared for disaster—particularly, for the destruction of the neighborhood. However, he explains in Chapter 6 that when we attempt to push people into action by scaring them, we run the risk of being seen as crazy, unwise, or unfit to lead if those fears never come to fruition. If Lauren wants to be a leader, she needs to learn how to bring people to her cause without relying on fear. Later, Lauren uses her father’s approach as she begins to build her own community by sharing only the lightest, most positive passages of the Earthseed texts with skeptical newcomers.

Dad never shed a tear. I’ve never seen him cry in my life. Today, I wish he would. I wish he could.

Although Reverend Olamina is a loving and devoted father, his trauma and burdens have made him unable to express emotions that are natural and necessary, as mentioned in Chapter 10. In his position as the leader of his family and community, he utilizes techniques of stoicism and strict control over others. When Keith returns from his first adventure outside the neighborhood, Reverend Olamina beats him severely for the fear and pain he has caused. While Reverend Olamina may see this punishment as an act of protection for his family and even as an act of tough love for his son, it damages their father-son relationship forever. When Keith dies, Reverend Olamina cannot even properly mourn him, showing that his stressful leadership position takes a negative toll on his personal life.

Freedom is dangerous, Cory, but it’s precious, too. You can’t just throw it away or let it slip away. You can’t sell it for bread and pottage.

While Cory wants the family to investigate moving to Olivar, a town recently purchased by a corporation, Reverend Olamina disagrees. He’s rightfully suspicious that KSF’s promise of safety and paid work is a scheme to create indentured servants who are increasingly indebted to the company and can never stop working. Although Olivar might provide protection from the violent outside world, Reverend Olamina believes that freedom is ultimately more important than security. This quote from Chapter 11 shows that as a Black American man, Reverend Olamina knows his ancestors suffered greatly for the freedom he now has, and he will not betray them or his own values for the promise of protection from corporate masters.

Previous section Lauren Olamina Next section Taylor Franklin Bankole

Take a Study Break