StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Left Hand of Darkness - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Sexuality and gender is the substantive theme in the novel The Left Hand of Darkness, and the title points out an ancillary subject matter. “Left Hand” relates to something sinister and the qualifying word is “Darkness”. …
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
The Left Hand of Darkness
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Left Hand of Darkness"

Essay, English Literature ic and Modern) Topic: Essay on The Left Hand of Darkness Sexualityand gender is the substantive theme in the novel The Left Hand of Darkness, and the title points out an ancillary subject matter. “Left Hand” relates to something sinister and the qualifying word is “Darkness”. The author seems to be confused in negativity while articulating the development of the characters. Whether Ursula K Le Guin is confused or whether she deliberately tries to puzzle the readers is the question for examination. In any case, the novel is not a straight reading and the author raises several questions and leaves it to the judgement of the reader to seek the suitable answers. Here is an example of such a paradoxical statement: “To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness” (Le Guin 153). The question is whether it is the skill or the will of the author is the subject matter for further examination? The same trend of writing style and discussion continues as the author deals with sex, gender and political issues. Notwithstanding the pursuit of any political philosophy by those who ruled the society whether it is capitalists, communists, socialists, democrats or theocrats, the author argues that sex and gender has shaped and continues to impact individual views and the societal norms. Genly Ai is the key character and he equates his own sexuality, that of being a male, to the sexuality of every other being, all of whom are androgynous. He leads the intricate, richly themed story of the novel that works towards its intended objective through different levels. Turn the pages of human history, politics and sexuality have been the inseparable allies and they continue to be so even now. The issues of the female gender have always been the same. Genry Ai is the ambassador from Ekuman, which is an association exceeding eighty planets and his destination is Gethen, the planet covered with ice. The dwellers of the member worlds are identifiably human. The scientists of anthropology hazard the guess that they are from one home-world but are dispersed all over the galaxy since time immemorial, may be several eons ago. In some of the planets the occupants are inherently changed. This is true of the occupants of the Gethens and since all of them are androgynous, their sexual status is not permanent. They are neither male nor female. Thus the author introduces sexuality to build further complexities to develop this theme. Much difference exists between the sexual trends on Planet Earth and Gethens. Their complicated sexual cycle duration is for roughly one month. As such, for major part of the year they are sexually dormant. They experience what is called the kemmer phase which is for the limited period. When their bodies undergo hormonal changes, they become female or male and develop intense sexual urges. This transformation is involuntary and the change is influenced by the other partner close by. Two Gethens both undergoing the experience of kemmer together will harmonise mutually and will become female and male respectively, but this change is not with individual choice. With this explanation as for the societal structure, the author intelligently introduces the political system prevalent in the society by which it is governed. The physical aspect of the system of procreation is strange and it has the bearing of the social structure of the Gethens and also has implications on their psychology. Sexual violence and tension are the dominant features of the society to which Genly Ali belongs, but with the Gethens no sexual pressure exists, it is not a male-dominated society and the childbearing responsibility is not restricted to female alone. But the society has its own quota of tensions in other areas, incidents of murder happen and hostilities between neighbouring countries and border conflicts take place often, but there has been no major war. Highlighting this type of political relationship, Estraven reports to Genly Ali, “You know that Karhide and Orgoreyn have a dispute concerning a stretch of our border in the high North Fall near Sassinoth” (15).The political element is equivocally mentioned with the philosophy of communism in back of the mind, by the author. Even though they are all androgynous societies, even amongst them difference (of opinion and interests) exists. The metaphor of sexual identity is mentioned to highlight political differences within the practitioners of the same political philosophy. The King mentioned in the observation by Estraven in the following sentence implies the dictatorial attitude of the top leader in a communist country. He tells Genly Ali, “I forgot, being too interested myself, that he’s a King, and does not see things rationally, but as a King” (17). This means no transparency in administering the affairs of the country is practiced, and the King’s style of functioning is autocratic. The difference in identity is also highlighted in sexual terms, which means the society practices different social values. Karhide is questionably more female, more Yin. They are controlled by a complicated system of talking and decorum known as shifgrethor and Genly Ali fails to comprehend its mystic importance. He has come on an important mission but is confused to encounter the diffident attitudes of the concerned authorities about his perspectives. The attitude of Orgoreyan varies much in comparison. The leaders talk liberally, show lots of enthusiasm as for the mission of the ambassador from a different world. But he soon identifies the politics behind their dispositions. The silence of Karhide is more meaningful implied with compassion, and the apparent frankness of Orgoreyn has some hidden agenda and they lack humanity and take to deceitful ways. They wear a ‘mask’ to hide their real identity. The characters created by the author seem to go in tandem with her personal belief systems. This articulation defines her inner confusion and her desperate struggle to come to terms with her convictions. She argues, “I talk about the gods, I am an atheist. But I am an artist too, and therefore a liar. Distrust everything I say. I am telling the truth. The only truth I can understand or express is, logically defined, a lie. Psychologically defined, a symbol. Aesthetically defined, a metaphor” (Front Matter). I am not willing to put this book in the genre of science fiction. It is rather spiritual fiction and the analysis of the gender roles. This is spiritual fiction because her spiritual understanding is not perfect, and she tries to knock the portals of spirituality from the final frontiers of mind. At the superficial levels it appears like the science fiction, but actually the author tries to delve in deeper investigations. The author depicts how the political situation changes with the changes in the political hierarchy. Estraven ceases to enjoy the confidence of the King and is expelled from Karhide. The King’s new adviser has different ideas. He is not inclined to join the Ekumen and is intent upon provoking a war with the neighbouring police state of Orgoreyn. Genly Ali moves to Orgoreyn thinking that he will have more luck with its “commensals”. He has a meeting with the exiled Estraven who counsels him that no one is interested in the Ekumen. They all function with their own motivated political interests. When they fail in their objectives Ali is arrested and transported in a ship to a “Voluntary Farm”, where he is drugged and interrogated on a continual basis. About his experiences in the jail he states, “Among my fellow prisoners I had also for the first time on Winter a certain feeling of being a man among women, or among eunuchs. The prisoners had that same flabbiness and coarseness…” (p. 176). The tension related to the gender issues is thus highlighted. There is also an important discussion specifically about the gender issue between Estraven and Genly Ali. Estraven questions whether the women differ from men at mental level, if they are a different species. Genly answers, “The difference is very important. I suppose the most important thing, the heaviest single factor in one’s life, is whether one’s born male or female. In most societies it determines one’s expectations, activities, outlook, ethics, manners—almost everything,” (234). This is true of most of the cultures even today and the plight of the female gender is correctly depicted. Conclusion The entire plot of the novel is about the figurative examination of our own society, relating to gender issues, and the political tussles between countries which practice more or less the same ideology. The world with no gender can be compared to the classless society articulated in the philosophy of communism, but one cannot say with conclusive evidence whether communism alone is the accepted political system for governance in the eighty countries mentioned above. Works Cited Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. New York: Ace Books, 1987. Print. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Left Hand of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1479742-essay-on-the-left-hand-of-darkness
(The Left Hand of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1479742-essay-on-the-left-hand-of-darkness.
“The Left Hand of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1479742-essay-on-the-left-hand-of-darkness.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Left Hand of Darkness

The Use of Metaphors in the Book, The Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin

Light is The Left Hand of Darkness, how did it go?... The book left hand of darkness is a mind blowing extrapolative piece of work that looks into the themes of gender, politics, duality and climate by the female writer, Le Guin.... Le Guin talks metaphorically about suppression of darkness as a time of days which symbolizes period of great tragic happenings.... Later he discovers the darkness, which is the dirty deeds by the same government he so much admired....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Genly Ai is a Sexually Biased Character

The acclaimed sci-fi novel “The Left Hand of Darkness” authored by famous novelist Ursula K.... In the left hand of Darknessthe, gender biases prevailing in the mind of Genly are expressed through masculine pronouns.... The objective of this paper is to prove that Genly Ai is a sexually biased character who could not relate to the unorthodox idea of sexuality and gender mutuality that prevailed in Gethen....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Mote in Gods Eye and The Left Hand of Darkness

The Mote in God's Eye and The Left Hand of Darkness The Moties are certainly a fantastic contribution to the world or fiction.... In The Left Hand of Darkness, Genly Ai, and Estraven, are found to live as aliens in the planet called Gethen.... To begin with, both the stories are set in an atmosphere beyond our reach, but the point is whether both the authors have reached their intuition as exactly what they had in their mind's vision....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Characters of Paradise Lost and Heart of Darkness

The paper "Characters of Paradise Lost and Heart of darkness" highlights that in the novel “Heart of darkness” the narration of the central character, Marlowe is used to present the spirit of Kurtz while in the epic poem “Paradise Lost” the poet himself is recounting the tale of Adam and Eve.... he two characters that make one feel sympathetic towards them are Kurtz in the novel, “Heart of darkness” and Adam in the poem, “Paradise Lost”....
8 Pages (2000 words) Literature review

The Role of Women in Science Fiction

These are The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin and He, She and It by Marge Piercy.... In the research paper “The Role of Women in Science Fiction” the author tries to gain a better understanding of gender and the role of women in modern science fiction.... Femme Fatales can stand side by side in a story and be appreciated for what they are....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Heart of Darkness /Metmorphsis , Tonio Kroger/ The Stranger

The heart of darkness symbolizes the horror within Africa that is unknown to the people in Europe.... Beneath the surface, there is Gregor who feels sad about his inability to work and support the family, yet the family, on the other hand, only considered him a burden....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The theme of three pomes

The poem “When I was a Child” describes the memories of the past and Keating tried to remember the old good days during the present days of darkness.... Bridget Keating has created the first book which is full of poems.... The book reveals the human myths, which was observed by Keating and elaborated using the devotional poetry....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Left Hand of Darkness

In “The Left Hand of Darkness”, an envoy from Earth is sent to a distant planet called Gethen (also called Winter) in order to persuade its people to join the league of Planets for the purpose of sharing communications, knowledge and trade.... Both “1984” and “The Left Hand of Darkness” illustrate how humans relate towards themselves, friends, families and humanity as a whole.... In “The Left Hand of Darkness” Ai knew that eventually the people of Gethen would accept the truth, but it would only take time....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us