Of Gifted Children and Gated Communities: Paul Theroux's O-Zone and Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower

Abstract

The article focuses on the concepts of giftedness, education and utopia, with reference to the works of American fiction writers Paul Theroux and Octavia Butler. It highlights the education of gifted children Fizzy Allbright in Theroux's "O-Zone" and Lauren Olamina in Butler's "Parable of the Sower." In their text, both writers examine the way in which schools and parents fail the most gifted students who often have the potential to change society in utopian ways. It describes the way in which Bulter illustrates for readers both the perils of being gifted and the way in which gifts can ultimately serve humanity.