Hyperempathy in the Beginning of Parable of the Sower

 First of all, I just wanna say, this book is so refreshing in so many ways. The main character is so much more relatable and different from stupid misogynistic white men- and I love it!

So basically so far we have been introduced to the main character and her living situation in a Dystopian 2021 where America has basically fallen. She is a black young woman who is "disabled"- and that alone gives for a new take on such an old Dystopian trope. 

So- hyper empathy- what is it? Well, it is described as what happened when her mother, who was long gone by the time the book starts, was a drug addict. So it was a leftover effect of her mother doing drugs while she was pregnant with her. Hyper empathy is exactly what it sounds like. She has the ability to be able to feel all the pain and joy a living thing feels. Everyone seems to treat her like this is a bad thing, and I mean in some ways it kind of is. She is living in a place that is literally crawling with suffering people- on the way to her baptism she saw more than 10 people all suffering from different ailments. So, unfortunately, she is basically suffering constantly because of her hyper empathy. So much so that she has to purposefully ignore living things that are suffering in hopes she will not feel the pain.


I can't help but see myself in her in a way. My whole life people have told me I am too sensitive and too empathetic. (I actually can't watch movies or tv shows too much because I get too emotionally attached to the characters and cry so hard I get migraines.) But I actually think there is value in my empathy. It means I am able to connect with so many different kinds of people that I would much rather be too sensitive than become apathetic to the world. I find my empathy grounding and important. It is what connects me to the world.

Unfortunately, because our main character is living in a Dystopia, she rarely gets to experience the good parts of her hyper empathy and is usually too caught up in the pain. It is also important that everyone in her life also tells her there is something wrong with her and views her hyper empathy as a really bad thing. 

Anyways, I am super excited to see where this story goes in terms of her abilities!

Question: Would you want the hyper empathy ability? Why or why not? Would your circumstances change your answer?

Comments

  1. L. MoffittApril 9, 2021 at 7:11 AM

    Tough question. On the one hand, I think a life without empathy would be terrible, for the individual and everyone around them. On the other hand, hyper-empathy seems like it could be debilitating. I suppose if I had to go with one, I'd take hyper-empathy. At least I'd be aware.

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  2. Anna ParkApril 9, 2021 at 7:21 AM

    I don't think I would want hyper empathy, but I also wouldn't want to be apathetic. I think empathy is so important as you said because you can understand other people's pains and joys better but personally I think experiencing EVERYONE'S pain and happiness would be a sensory overload and I don't think I could mentally, emotionally, or physically handle it.

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