The novel The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, tells the story of Genly Ai, whose mission is to unite and convince the people of the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen. Due to the vast differences in their culture, Ai encounters difficulties adjusting and understanding the people and customs of this land. While on his journey, Ai becomes acquainted with a man named Estraven. Estraven becomes Ai’s companion, who teaches Ai what he needs to know in order to survive the perils of Gethen. As different cultures grasps knowledge from each other while also building on one another’s ideas, they grow in wisdom and knowledge, like Estraven and Ai do in this novel. This unity is expressed from beginning and further understood in the end of the …show more content…
novel by the the symbol of a keystone. The theme of this novel is presented to us in the earliest part of the novel, chapter one, where we are introduced to the tradition of the keystone. This theme lies beneath the surface of the novel, but is essentially the lesson that the surface of this novel teaches us. A keystone, made by the blood of a sacrifice in this novel, completes an arch connecting the two sides in order to make it one whole. This symbolizes the purpose of Ai’s journey, which is to create unity and achieve communication, between not only Karhide and Gethen, but Karhide and Orgoreyn, and most importantly between the Gethenians and the rest of humanity. This novel begins with chapter one, on the 44th diurnal of the Year 1491, which on the planet Winter, of the nation Karhide, is the twenty-second day of the third month of spring in the Year One. (Le Guin, 2) Genly Ai an Envoy from Earth is on a mission to unite the planet Gethen with the League of the Planets, also know as the Eckumen, for cooperation and harmony in the universe. The chapter begins with Genly Ai at a parade, full of discordant, where the musicians are playing any harmony they please, lacking a sense of unity. This is one representation of the disorderness in Gethen, which could be fixed if the universe was more in harmony. They were all squeezed together tightly on the platform. The rain was now gone, and the sun shines on him and the others. He explains it as “the splendid, radiant, traitorous sun of Winter. I remark to the person on my left, "It's hot. It's really hot.” (Le Guin, 4) Ai experiences the warmth of the sun for the first time on planet Winter, with its below zero temperatures and never-ending snow. It seems that this warmth, which might seem comforting on a cold planet, could mean that Ai is finally beginning to see the culture of these people, signifying a sense of wisdom and inspiration. However, it also could symbolize the uncomfortableness that he still has on this planet, because he is not yet accustomed to their culture. Ai is participating in this parade, which is in honor of the completion of an arch, that connects the new Road and River Port of Erhenrang.
This arch consists of a keystone, which will unite the two piers and complete the arch. This event is the movement of the entire book, which symbolizes the strive to achieve unity and wholeness. As Ai watches the King begin to mortar the long joints of the keystone, he notices that the cement is a “pinkish” color. After five or ten minutes of watching the king work, Ai asks the person to his left, "Are your keystones always set in a red cement?"(5). Ai displays his ignorance and inability to fully understand the culture of those around him. This man who Ai seeks an answer from is Estraven, the kings prime minister, and the man who will become one of Ai’s closest companion. Estraven responds by saying that “Very-long-ago a keystone was always set in with a mortar of ground bones mixed with blood. Human bones, human blood. Without the blood bond the arch would fall, you see. We use the blood of animals, these days." This line that Estraven recites is the central theme of this chapter, and most importantly ties into the rest of the novel. This is because, if the arch lacked this blood bond, the arch will not be supportive, and therefore fall. Without this bond, unity can not be achieved. Therefore, the keystone is a symbol of unity, created by the blood of a sacrifice. This foreshadows that the mission to unite the planets can only be …show more content…
completed if there is a form of sacrifice. As the novel goes on, Ai how he feels for Estraven by saying: He cannot make an empty gesture or say a word that is not listened to... knowledge gives him more reality than most people own: a solidness of being, a substantiality, a human grandeur… I don't trust Estraven, whose motives are forever obscure; I don't like him; yet I feel and respond to his authority as surely as I do to the warmth of the sun. Ai mistrusts Estraven for displaying feminine traits, which is the same reason he mistrusts all of the Gethenians. This is ironic because Estraven will become the only person in Karhide who will help Ai and take his mission seriously. Ai has difficulty in seeing the Gethenians for who they really are, androgynous beings, who can both be man and woman. Considering Estraven as a male, Ai finds his womanly side to be confusing and fake. This judgment makes Estraven seem untrustworthy, evoking a sense of mistrust in the readers. He sees the female in Estraven as such a negative trait, similarly to the way humans on earth view men who do not have a strong masculinity, but rather have a more feminine demeanor. Estraven invites Ai to dinner and at this dinner, they discus how Estraven can no longer serve as a messenger from Ai to the King. He informs Ai that some of the advises of the king, such as Tibe, the kings nephew who shares animosity with Estraven, are not content with Ai’s mission. Ai takes this in the wrong way, believing Estraven is turning against him, however Estraven himself has lost the trust of the king. This is due to claims he has made to the king, forgetting that a king "does not see things rationally, but as a king". It is here at Estraven's home, that Ai demonstrates his inability to appreciate and understand the one person in all Karhide, who respects the purpose of him being on this land, and who actually treats him like he is worthy. -------- (New ) As the novel continues, Ai is called to meet King, to discuss if Gethen will join the Ekcumen. He soon learns the Estraven was accused of treason and was exiled from the country. As as the King calls him in to speak with him, the king mentions that Estraven has been against Ai this entire time. The king says, “I’ll tell you what he's been saying to me about you, if you've an interest in knowing. He's been advising me to refuse you audience, keep you hanging about waiting, maybe pack you off to Orgoreyn or the Islands”. (chapter 3) The readers may have been stunned by this news, however they also might believe that Ai was right about his judgment of Estraven after all. As they continue to talk, The King refuses to join the Eckumen, he states that “But I do fear you, Envoy. I fear those who sent you. I fear liars, and I fear tricksters, and worst I fear the bitter truth.” This disappointment from the King, and the lost of one of his main supporters, Estraven, is overwhelming for Ai. This evokes a sense of empathy from the readers because it feels as if Ai has failed. However, this failure leads to the realization that he cannot rely on help and acceptance from the king and authority of Karhide. However, now he must rethink his mission, explore new parts of this land and learn more about this planet in order to save his mission. As Ai begins to embark on the beginning of the new chapter of his mission, he leaves Karhide to visit other parts of the country. Ai visits the Fastnesses, home of the foretellers, who predict that Gethen will join the Ekumen in five years. This information presence is a sense of closure for the readers, because we have hope that Ai will in deed fufill his mission. However, it raises a sense of wonder of what obstacles and turmoil he will have to endure throughout these years to accomplish this success. Ai then receives an invitation to Ororgyen, which is proposed by Estrven to the three members of the council, Shusgis, Obsle, and Yegey, who are particularly supportive of him. Estraven gets Ai an invitation by informing the members of the council of the current political situation the new prime minister is causing. Tibe is trying to change the way the government is set up, which could disrupt the balance of power, since Gethen is divided between two countries ruled by opposite regimes. While Karhide, although ruled by the King, is anarchic, Orgoreyn, is ruled by a government of thirty-three official Commensals, a totalitarian, with an active secret police and an inspector. This political setup corresponds to LeGuin's philosophy of the co-existence of opposites, which can only exist if both sides hold balance. This balance will be disrupted by Tibe, who wants to change the anarchic regime to become like Orgoreyn, which is more centralized and efficiently ruled. (Rebecca Rass, Analysis of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand Of Darkness). This foreshadows the disorder that will arise if Ai does not get the plants to become in harmony. When Ai comes to speak to the council, Estraven warns him that he should no put total trust in the Orgota leaders, since they have secret police that control the land. Since they are treating Ai so lavishly, he continues to mistrusts Estravne, ignoring his warning, and Ai is sent to a labor farm where he nearly meets his death. It is absurd how as much as Estraven does for Ai, Ai continues to not see Estraven for who he really is. Instead, Ai makes false judgments and is so grasped by the lies of the Orogeny’s that he ignores and is ignorant to the honesty and care that Estraven exhilarates. Ai can not seem to come to a realization that like Ai, Estraven is embarking on his own mission, which is also to bring peace and tranquility to Gethen, which is threatened by the wrongdoings of Tibe and the evil Orgoreyn rulers. Chapter fourteen of the novel, The Escape, begins a beautiful relationship between Esrtaven and Ai, where the begin to build a bond after Estraven saves Ai from the camp.
They are finally in a vast area, alone and secluded which allows them to explore each other and form mutual understanding. When the begin to talk about what was truly occurring in Kahride Estraven comes to notice the ignorance Ai was exhibiting, he says "All this I thought you understood, and in that I erred. Now Ai can begin to understand what was occurring and is building trust for Estraven. Following this they entire a storm together where Estraven must hunt for food for them, for Ai is to weak. Estraven compensates for the both of them, showing much compassion, even giving Ai more food because Estraven has learned what it is to starve. When Estraven goes to hunt, Ai mentions that Estraven is the first Gethenian he has ever seen “with blood on his hands.” (chapter 15, page This relates back to chapter one, when Estraven tells Ai that the blood bond is most importantly used to keep the keystone in the arch. As their journey goes on, Ai finally is beginning to understand the culture of the Gethians. As he sees Estraven go into kemmur, he demonstrates a sense of gentleness, especially since Estraven is catching deeper feelings for Ai. By chapter 18, Ai has grown in wisdom and maturity, finally respects Gethenian sexuality, which deepens the relationship between Ai and
Estraven. As the novel comes to an end, we begin to greatly see the connection it has to the first chapter. As Ai and Estraven face obstacles in the storm, they take care of one another. As Estraven tries to reach the border, he is gunned down, and dies within the arms of Ai, who has grown to love him so dearly. The story is now relating back to the placement of keystone, in the arch, that we see in the first chapter of the novel. It finally explains the meaning behind the important phrase that Estraven says in the chapter “Without the blood bond the arch would fall “. Ai and the readers finally understood that since a sacrifice has finally been made, the arch can now be completed. Ai can build unity between the planets because Estraven sacrified his life for this to be accomplished. Estraven’s blood is a symbolic representation of the bond , which will be created between League of the Planets and Gethen. Finally in the end of this novel, Ai is summoned by the king. The king says “. "I am no longer afraid of you, Mr. Ai". ( Le Guin 292) This correlates with the beginning chapter when the king in fact feared Ai and his mission. Wee can see now how communication and trust has grown stronger throughout this novel. the King accepts to join and the universe is united and in harmony. Every deed comes with a price, and here we see that this price was Ai’s greatest companion, someone who he grew to love and respect. For universal peace to be achieved, blood must be shed. This helps relate the readers to ther own lives, in our world today. This ending brings mixed emotions of sorrow but also success and happiness that Ai has finally completed his mission.
In Elie Wiesel’s Night, he recounts his horrifying experiences as a Jewish boy under Nazi control. His words are strong and his message clear. Wiesel uses themes such as hunger and death to vividly display his days during World War II. Wiesel’s main purpose is to describe to the reader the horrifying scenes and feelings he suffered through as a repressed Jew. His tone and diction are powerful for this subject and envelope the reader. Young readers today find the actions of Nazis almost unimaginable. This book more than sufficiently portrays the era in the words of a victim himself.
According to the definition, inhumane is described as an individual without compassion for misery or sufferings. The novel Night by the author Elie Wiesel, illustrates some aspects of inhumanity throughout the book. It is evident in the novel that when full power is given to operate without restraint, the person in power becomes inhumane. There are many examples of inhumanity in this novel. For instance, "Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky." Through this quote Elie is explaining his first night at camp and what he saw will be in his head forever - unforgettable. In my opinion, the section in the novel when the Germans throw the babies into the chimney is very inhuman. An individual must feel no sympathy or feelings in order to take such a disturbing action. In addition to that "For more than half an hour stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed." This is also very inhumane example since the child's weight wasn’t enough to snap his neck when he was hung and so he is slowly dying painful death as all Jewish people walk by him, being forced to watch the cruelty.
Eliezer Wiesel loses his faith in god, family and humanity through the experiences he has from the Nazi concentration camp.
very hard to get into her world from the first chapter, Winter, Hainsh Cycle 93,
The relationship between Elie and his father was important because of the help, protection and care for each other. Throughout the book Night Elie Wiesel and his father build a great relationship, and despite all the bad things that happened they still stuck together. Did you know that one out of three children or 24 million kids in the United States live in a home without their biological father? As for the kids in the Holocaust they lost their fathers and had to survive on their own with none to get out of it with. As for Elie and his father they stuck together to survive and built a stronger relationship.
The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson Works Cited Missing The insight on life can be influenced greatly on past experiences and those experiences that one only dreams about. These perceptions are windows into our thoughts about life. In the story "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson, Jackson develops the idea how one perceives the world can have a great impact on her beliefs and values.
The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas is a short story written by Ursula Le Guin. In her story, Le Guin creates a model Utilitarian society in which the majority of its citizens are devoid of suffering; allowing them to become an expressive, artistic population. Le Guin’s unrelenting pursuit of making the reader imagine a rich, happy and festival abundant society mushrooms and ultimately climaxes with the introduction of the outlet for all of Omelas’ avoided misfortune. Le Guin then introduces a coming of age ritual in which innocent adolescents of the city are made aware of the byproduct of their happiness. She advances with a scenario where most of these adolescents are extremely burdened at first but later devise a rationalization for the “wretched one’s” situation. Le Guin has imagined a possible contemporary Utilitarian society with the goal to maximize the welfare of the greatest number of people. On the contrary, Kant would argue that using the child as a mere means is wrong and argue that the living conditions of the child are not universalizable. The citizens of Omelas must face this moral dilemma for all of their lives or instead choose to silently escape the city altogether.
There is a palpable existence of cultural and ideological disconnect woven throughout Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. Such disengagements are generated by a distortion of our own perceived conventions of sex and gender through the perspective of the main character, Genly Ai. Le Guin employs Ai and his own assumptions of sociocultural and gender norms as a reference point for what occupies the established and biological conducts of Gethenian life, yet he finds their mindset difficult to navigate. These disassociations are supported in the conjectures of the following theorists: Judith Butler, Joseph Culler, Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman, and Steven Seidman.
Mary Wroth alludes to mythology in her sonnet “In This Strange Labyrinth” to describe a woman’s confused struggle with love. The speaker of the poem is a woman stuck in a labyrinth, alluding to the original myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The suggestion that love is not perfect and in fact painful was a revolutionary thing for a woman to write about in the Renaissance. Wroth uses the poem’s title and its relation to the myth, symbolism and poem structure to communicate her message about the tortures of love.
To the alien race of Gethen in Ursula Le Guin’s speculative novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, gender is not so much a construct as it is an absence. Gethenians ignore it save for during a fraction of their monthly sexual cycle, and as such, figures into their lives as a mere footnote rather than a guiding force. This concept of gender’s absence is not unnoticed by the reader, though, because it is instead brought to the forefront through the eyes of a human emissary named Genly Ai. Sent to the planet to understand more about its people and to invite it into a multi-planet alliance, Genly only achieves full success in the latter. His shortcomings in the former objective are largely due to his inability to unlearn the social constructs he harbors,
Ursula Le Guin’s use of writing through her characters’ hero’s journey illustrates that duty is comparable to the responsibility that an individual’s has to themselves and the public. For example, in The Left Hand of Darkness, Genly Ai’s journey commences as his call to action consists of being an representative of Ekumen and an excursion facing obstacles such as convincing the government to join or being taken to a forced labor camp. Lastly, Ai finally faces the biggest ordeal yet: the Gorbin Glacier, describing his trek as, “We had, roughly, eight hundred miles to go [and] there is nothing, the Ice says, but Ice” (221, 249). Beyond being called a traitor, Estraven and Ai, mentally and physically tortured, still traveled across the mountains
In 1969, Ursula K. Le Guin penned the novel known as Left Hand of Darkness. Not only is the novel an excellent example of science fiction, it also provides a fairly revolutionarily view on gender relations for the time. While the science-fiction novel utilizes its pages as a platform for a treatise on gender relations and traditional power structures, it also comments on the structure of power and violence itself by framing the alien culture as at first completely counter to our own but at the a deeper level sharing many similar traits with each other underneath the surface.
The "Heart of Darkness," written by Joseph Conrad in 1899 as a short story, is about two men who face their own identities as what they consider to be civilized Europeans and the struggle to not to abandon their themselves and their morality once they venture into the "darkness." The use of "darkness" is in the book's title and in throughout the story and takes on a number of meanings that are not easily understood until the story progresses. As you read the story you realize that the meaning of "darkness" is not something that is constant but changes depending on the context it used.
A difference between the quests of Marlow and Jack is the kind of knowledge they seek. Jack desires knowledge about taboo topics, such as death, and traditional knowledge. He seems to value these types over the knowledge that can be gained from experience. This is due to the fact Jack believes “all plots tend to move deathward” (Delillo 26). Jack is not allowed to act due to his fear of death. Marlow seems to value intellectual knowledge as well. Marlow has “street smarts” and a experiential knowledge, to a certain extent, but desires to attain higher thinking. He is also the same as Jack in the respect that he is not an action taker and is portrayed as a cowardly man. Additionally, he does not seem to want to gain knowledge acquired through
Darkness can be thought of in a myriad of ways. One way to interpret is as a source of blindness. With darkness, there is no light, consequently providing the lack of sight. Another way to interpret darkness is that something that is hidden in the dark is mysterious, dangerous, and evil. The first reference to darkness can imply how one 's environment can blind them which causes them to lose their senses, be thrown into a state of confusion. In that state, they can be influenced or even just desire corrupt actions.