On Gethen, the theme of isolation and loneliness are displayed by the cold weather. Genly is on a foreign planet with no one to help him and where he is a complete different race. The cold affects Genly more because he isn't built the same as the Gethenians and can't stand the cold like them. The author uses the cold to describe Genly's feeling of isolation when Estraven is banished and he is left alone with no one to help him complete his mission.
     It also amplifies his differences with them because Genly is constantly a male, while they are gender less beings. This causes them to view him differently because he is seen as an outsider and is not accepted into their society fully.

How the cold weather of Gethen changes the story's vibe

In Gethen, the weather is freezing all year long with no stop to it. The planet has the nickname winter, which it was given by Genly's people since it is so cold there all the time. This planet of cold does however create a certain theme that we experience while reading. In all great books, there is always a hidden theme that you can pick up on, which makes the story better. So with all this cold weather in the story, I believe that it tells us that the planet has a vibe of isolation and loneliness. When most of us think of cold, we think about being alone, huddled up in a blanket, isolated in a room somewhere. I know that is what first comes to mind when I think of freezing cold weather.

So, this year-round cold weather gives off the sense that many people on this planet are going to be isolated and lonely. I am sure that everyone on Gethen is not isolated and lonely, but there is a chance that everyone could be. This can also contribute to Genly feeling out of place when he is on Gethen. Genly has not adapted to the constant cold, so he most likely feels the need to stay isolated from the rest of the people since he does not fit in with all these locals who do not notice the cold. This book does take over a theme that is a little depressing, and I think that is why the planet Gethen has this year long cold climate, to make the reader feel the setting a little better and understand the story better. The author I think does a great job with the theme and setting of this book, which makes it more enjoyable to read. To wrap things up, the cold weather has so much to do with the theme of this book.

Cold

The cold that is constantly brought up throughout the novel plays an essential role and contributes to the theme of loneliness and seclusion. The cold is always brought up in a tone of sadness and desperation. When the cold is talked about it's never in a time when things are on the up and up, it is usually when Estraven and Genly are in a tough time. Throughout the novel we are constantly reminded of how alone Genly feels and then soon after about Estraven once he is banished. During this time we often hear about the cold, cold is always associated with loneliness. The cold is used to emphasize how different Genly is from everyone and his desire to fit in.

Gethen is cold constantly, from which the indigenous species (people of Winter) has adapted to the cold temperatures to have a higher survival rate, Genly on the other hand is not made to withstand the harsh temperatures of Winter. He therefore must go through obstacles to stay warm which in part is a major separation between him and everyone else on the planet, thus making him feel alone and isolated. While not only is the planet's temperature cold the people are as well. Gethenians are themselves a very reserved and poker face type of people. They are hard to read and understand unless you know how they speak. They are often referred to in the novel as cold from here we can see again that cold is used as a feeling. The cold is used as if an emotion in this book, almost as if the characters are feeling emotionally cold. Obviously the characters can’t feel an emotion of cold but that is what the author has taught us to associate it with.

How Does the Constant Cold of Gethen Contribute to the Theme of Isolation and Loneliness?

                The idea that cold weather brings about feelings of loneliness and isolation is not an uncommon idea. Feelings of being cold are often experienced in times of social rejection, social isolation, and even those times when everyone around you is busy. Being cold seems to have a direct relation to feeling lonely or isolated. Many studies have been made on this topic. Many of them reach similar conclusions: people who are asked to describe or remember feelings or times of isolation/loneliness reported that they felt cold when explaining these times. In other studies, people who were at a place that was cold would report feeling lonely or even depressed. Knowing this, it’s easy to imagine how Genly must feel on a planet like Gethen.  

                Genly is already considered an outcast simply because Gethen, its culture, and the population is so different and unknown to him compared to where he had come from. He is taller than most of the people there, has a permanent gender whereas everyone around him is genderless, and everyone sees him as "the Envoy" eliciting immediate wariness of him. On top of that, the cold provides more differences to encourage Genly's loneliness and isolation. Everyone around him has adapted to the persistent freezing weather on Gethen, but Genly is affected more by the cold. “Brought up in the wide-open, free-wheeling society of Earth, [Genly] would never master the protocol, or the impassivity, so valued by Karhiders.” Genly was isolated when he came to Gethen and probably feels the need to continue being isolated because he is so different from the rest of the locals.

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness?

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness?

The constant cold of Gethen contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness because Genly does not fit in. The weather adds an additional degree of the coldness and overall detachment of Gethenians. In this world Genly is very lonely he has been away from his homeworld for most of his life as an envoy doing missions for the Ekumen and even though he looks no more than 30 he is, in reality, one-hundred twenty years old. He is very tall and his looks make him stand out way more. I think the author made the planet cold show how the people of gethen doesn't have any emotions. On Earth, there are four different seasons, all in which Genly has already experienced. However, Genly is a foreigner so he is not used to the weather being cold all the time. The cold weather builds onto the cold emotions of the Gethenians by adding the extra sense of solitude for Genly, making it twice as hard for him to achieve his mission due to the additional obstacle.  The constant cold of Gethen also contribute the mentality of Genly as well, throughout the book, we are given an explanation as to the normal weather patterns through the eyes of someone who is fairly used to temperature like those of Earth. Genly states that the temperature of Gethen seems to stay below even that of our subarctic regions.  Because of this, Genly must act and respond different due to the extreme temperatures of Gethen, which in turn sets him apart from the residents of Gethen.

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness?

The never ending blizzard  has one of the largest roles of how the society on Gethen is formatted. The weather conditions have created a somewhat independent/ individualistic kind of society. There is no playing of children outside, no interaction upon the streets, and the constant importance of surviving. The cold physically and mentally instills in each Gethenian a life of isolation. It is much like Elsa's struggle of isolation because of her magical ice powers. Except in this case, there is no controlling it and, for the most part, no warmth. Physically it separates them by its bitter and deathly grip. While, at the same time, mentally isolating them by giving them nothing but itself to think about. For Genly, this cold adds to his extreme loneliness because he, unlike the Gethenians, can't handle the cold which automatically secludes him from the rest. It adds to his miserableness of being the only gendered individual as well as being human.

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness?

   The idea of the constant cold on Gethen portrays the isolation and loneliness that Genly Ai has to cope with because he is from a world much different from his own. In addition, his physical qualities and his gender define who he is and how Genly is seen as an alien to many of the inhabitants. Everyone on Gethen is very similar without a male or female gender and no categorization between the two whereas Genly has a gender. Therefore showing that Genly seems to be alone. Partly why Genly remains alone is that people fear who Genly is and the unknown world he comes from. Apart from his differences as an envoy, the climate plays an important role to Genly's attitude. As opposed to his warmer Earth-like planet, Genly has been placed on a planet completely opposite from what he is familiar with and is no longer in his comfortable.
    Because of the coldness on Gethen, Genly is a stranger to the planet and the people. And with the King instilling fear within the country and its people, it is quite difficult for the people to befriend Genly leaving him in a lonesome state. Furthermore with Estraven banished from the country, Genly suffers without the only person that he understands and can communicate with. All in all it has influenced Genly to feel excluded from their society and continue to live in a state of solitude.

Coldness and Isolation

The weather in Gethen is extremely cold and icy with a lot of snow fall. Gethenians have grown use to the weather and do not seem affected by it too much. On the other hand, Genly Ai comes from Earth and is not used to such freezing weather and it can become difficult for him to handle sometimes. Genly Ai may feel like he is alone on Gethen because of his gender role in a world with permanent genders. However, the coldness also contributes to the themes of isolation and loneliness.  

One way I think it can make Genly feel isolated is because everyone seems somewhat tolerant of the weather, while he on the other hand seems like he is freezing to death. He has to work on his mission and work on surviving the cold weather. Genly Ai explains,”Winter is an inimical world; its punishments for doing things wrong is sure and prompt: death from cold or death from hunger” (99).  Not only does the climate make Genly Ai feel isolated and lonely, but it also isolates Gethen in general. In Gethen everything is very slow paced, “Winter hasn't achieved in thirty centuries what Terra once achieved in thirty decades. They don’t care much about making progress and aren’t really advanced. In my opinion, the coldness plays a major part in this factor and isolates Gethen from others. It kind of makes me think like the coldness is freezing their progress in a way. What do you guys think?

Rain Dove: New York's Androgynous Supermodel

Genley has expressed his discomfort with Karhide's genderless society. Despite the amount of time he has been on this planet, when he encounters  "a pregnant man" or another normalcy on this planet he still seems to be baffled and even amused. This just goes to show how much genders play part in how a individual is perceived where Genly is from. Genley's attitude towards androgyny mirrors the attitude toward androgyny in modern society, Androgyny is something that has been practiced and seen throughout the years, and i still see people labeling others as gay, or lesbian just because of the way they

carry themselves, or the way they look. And DON'T GET ME WRONG there is nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian, but it is just an example of how our society is set on labels.  Why can't an individual wear what they please because they like it? Our society is so hung up on labeling individuals , the second they see something different or "out of the norm" they go on labeling it . Cant we simply just... BE, because we like who we are? This video was in my recomendations on youtube and it really got me hyped because it has so much to do with "the left hand of darkness". Rain Dove is such a good example of someone that is so comfortable in her own skin and is proud of who she has become and how she carries herself, and it really frustrates me  to know that there are so many others like her who are being  "labeled" and harassed because they are merely being who they want to be.

 If you are a girl and you like wearing slacks and baseball caps by all means WEAR IT! If you are a boy and you wanna try a make up look DO IT! No one should dictate how you live your life because they think it is weird or abnormal. Wear what you like, Do what you like . Live how you like. 

K bye.

[KC]: LHoD WAVE TWO Discussion Question

Wave Two:

Here comes the prompt for the second wave of blogging for The Left Hand of Darkness. Wave Two Bloggers must post in response to this prompt by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 30.  As before, anyone can comment on any post (Wave 1, 2, or 3), so by the time the unit is complete, you should have posted once, and commented twice. Remember, we are always looking for students who are working ABOVE AND BEYOND the minimum requirements.

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness?

Reminder, your post should be between 250-300 words long. Anything shorter will not be effective. Also, include page numbers when you reference the text.


Who shall post:
Jennifer Garcia, Samantha Guerrero, Ryan Hamilton, Elizabeth Kearney, Peter Kerlagon, Bryan Le, Kenny Luna, Emanuel Martin, Devin McAlister, Nick Moore, Samantha Morris, Uche Nlemuwa

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

The type of world Genly lives in is a very gender oriented society: people are born with a certain gender and cannot change their gender. It is a society very much like our own, where gender usually determines how people should look, act, dress, and work. However, in Gethen the people there have not specifically gendered; in fact they usually do not have one present, unless one is in kemmer with another individual, in which case the individuals will become male or female based on what the other kemmering ends up being. Because of this absence of gender, gender discrimination is not a thing in this society, as there are no genders to discriminate against, and there is no involuntary sexual intercourse or rape as individuals must be in kemmer to do that sort of thing. For Genly, this type of behavior seems very odd, especially for those he perceives to have masculine features like King Argaven, who doesn't seem very manly and may even appear to be a bit feminine. With us being from a similar world to Genly's, imagining what a gender less person would look like is very hard. Not only that, the fact of someone being able to give someone their child then have one themselves seems crazy for any of us. It's especially amusing to see when the Gethenians see Genly as a pervert because of his state of "permanent kemmer" and constantly producing dominant male hormones, causing other individuals in kemmer to become female. If anyone here was desperate for a partner, they may find one on this planet a bit more easily. Maybe.

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Throughout the novel, it is abundantly clear just how much of an outsider Genly Ai is. From our first impression, we as readers understand the complete and utter loneliness felt by our initial narrator, surrounded by a species so painfully similar to his own, yet in complete isolation. Through his mission on Gethen, Genly goes through a culture shock, really continuous shocks as he is introduced to new things so foreign to what he is used to. Permanent kemmering is his natural state whereas on Gethen he is seen as a pervert. The various spiritual and cosmic connections of and with the Foretellers are WILDLY out of place for him and something he needs to adjust to, but for people on Gethen, it's commonplace. I really think this heavily reflects the culture shifts and shocks between societies and groups here on Earth with humans. Differences in cultures and beliefs have started quarrel since the beginning of civilization, really, and the fact that the author so clearly highlights the foreigner's impression and initial shock at the different cultures (as well as shows him adapting) is incredibly insightful.  Because we as readers get to see this complete outsider learning and growing, as opposed to disregarding and remaining ignorant. And as a member of a peace and unity mission, that's incredibly important. 

Wave 1 : Karhide or Orgoreyn ?

In Gethen we are presented with two very different large nations that are mainly in control of the cold planet for the most part. These two nations have differ in many aspects. The main difference between them being their form of government. Karhide is a traditional monarchy run by King Argaven, a man who is not fond of change and not open-minded. When it comes to Genly Ai's proposal to join the Ekumen, The king wants nothing to do with it and is convinced that he will lose his power and the nation he loves if he chooses to join. The people of Karhide are fairly happy with the way things are. The people live their lives slowly and without haste or urgency.The Orgoreyn government is very different. They seem at first glance to be your basic, good ol' fashioned democracy, but later in the story the true colors of the government is revealed, and it seems more like a communist government. The “Scarf” are your basic secret agents that ensure that everything in Orgoreyn stays under control and loyal to the very shady government. Which of these countries would you rather live in? If you were Genly Ai, which of the two poisons is easier to deal with? In my opinion, I think that I would go the same way he’s going now with trying to persuade the people of Orgoreyn instead of the arrogant people Karhide. I would probably still get sent to labor prison too, but I mean anything is better than wasting your breath with an old king that is too hard headed to listen to what you have to say right? I challenge you, my fellow classmates, to share your answer and opinion

Wave 1 Response

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Genly struggles to see Gethenians as they see themselves because in Winter, there are no genders. However, where Genly comes from, it is the complete opposite and totally different. Genly is used to seeing genders in his life, but when he comes to Winter, it is hard to grasp the idea of there being no genders and what the state of "kemmer" is. He refers to them as "he" because it's easier. Gethenians also struggle to see Genly as he see himself. They can't grasp the idea of him always staying one gender and he is seen as a pervert and always being in a state of kemmer. This makes Genly feel like the odd one out of the bunch, which he technically is, and a bit strange. Looking at the Gethenians culture and comparing a his culture, he barely sees any comparison, other than facially.

Genly is open to their culture and he is actually interested in learning about their culture because he is the only different one. His curiosity reveals that the world Genly comes from is curiots about things. You can even tell this by seeing how his people decided to explore Winter even before Genly came. This shows the Genly's world is an adventurous, curious world and also is gentle and friendly because Genly came by himself to show that they were not trying to be hostile.

Wave 1 Response

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

 Winter is a place where every human is genderless, so Gethenians find it normal to not have any set gender.  In my opinion, Genly Ai struggles to see Gethenians as they see themselves, because he is permanently a male.  Where he comes from, every human has a set gender and can not switch off whenever there is sexual arousal.  Genly Ai is seen as a pervert on Winter, by King Argaven, because he has a set gender.  Gethenians only have a gender when they are going through kemmer or are sexually aroused.  This might make Genly Ai feel a bit strange and out of place, because he is not like the rest of the humans around him.  He does not mean to offend anyone by permanently being a male; in other words, he unintentionally seems like a pervert.  He is also used to referring to humans as he or she, but he has to go through the struggle of not knowing what to call Gethenians, because they have no set gender.  They could be a male or a female when they go through kemmer.   Genly Ai's attitude reveals that the world he comes from is more like the world we are from, Earth.  We, as readers, can connect with Genly Ai and can understand how he must be feeling because we are more alike to him than we are to Gethenians. Where he comes from, everyone has titles and are known by them.  Also, Genly Ai makes it clear that where he is from it is not always cold like it is on Winter.

Wave I Response

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?
  Though we have a wide variety of cultures on Terra, the most immediate difference between our cultures and the cultures on Gethen revolves around gender.  On Terra, one's sex is the physiological characteristics that define men and women, and this remains universal to all cultures.  However, one's gender refers to one's sense of oneself as male, female, or nonbinary, and with these labels comes various gender roles that vary from culture to culture.  Whereas, Gethenians have neither sex nor gender unless amidst kemmer.  The process of kemmer doesn't allow prejudice or bias from nature or man.  Notice when I use the word "man".  Although the word is used to label humans, regardless of sex or age, chances are you are picturing an adult male.  It's just how we are programmed on Terra.  Now Genly, being from Hain (also known as Davenant, the ascendant of Terra) is programmed the same way.  So when people use words like "man, he, him, his, brother", it's easy to forget that they're genderless.  Several times Genly associates people as male or female because of their expressions or physical features that are stereotypical for that specific gender.  The only exception to this are the words "mother" and "father" because these are people who are/were in kemmer and therefore are/were gendered.  Gethenians are not programmed or raised to make these mistakes, because to them, it's the norm.  In fact, they literally call permanently gendered people "perverts", since the ability to er 'mate' at any given time is seen as foreign and rather repugnant.  All told, I think Le Guin successful caused her readers to look at and question the sexist culture we live in.  Gethen literally has never had a war.  Ever.  Well so far at least...  Coming from Terra, I'm just as baffled as Genly, and that's actually really sad if you think about it.  What do you think says about the world we live in?

Wave 1

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

I believe that Gently has a hard time seeing Gethenians as them selfs because he is pretty much alone and most of the people he meets, ends up being a bad experience. Since he has no one to connect with or someone he could trust, he has a hard time trying to understand them. Especially after Estraven leaves him, as he was the only one there for Gently. Besides that, he comes from the earth where everything and everyone in society has to have a name or belongs to a certain group. So growing up his whole life seeing opposite genders and wars to solve the conflict and then all of the sudden going to the world where everyone is equal, is a little bit mind-boggling. 

  As far as Gently's attitude, he seems to want to understand and he is filled with curiosity and wonder; however, he gets frustrated for the same reason that he does not understand Gethenians. His loneliness doesn't help either, as he feels like he is being used, in the book he even talks about how he," (Doesn't) want to play, and is used to the volcanic Karhidish tempers by now" (ch, 8 Pg. 105). He is annoyed, and throughout the chapters, he starts to speak more of his mind instead of just being courteous and continuing on with the conversation.

Wave 1: Response/Thoughts

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Coming from this question I feel that Genly Ai's struggles to see Gethens as they see themselves because where he comes from (earth) in our society we have labels. That's probably why in the book he always has a gender prefrence?(which is always a "he"). It kind of reflects on him of what our society does to others. Organizing one by one into categories. I maybe wrong but it's an opinion. On the other hand his attitude is always sort of questioning. What I mean by that is Genly is always observing the culture on Genthen life, and sort of announcing to him self that there culture is totally different from Terran life (or what I like to call Mid-Guard/Marvel reference). It sort of reveals that humans can be misogynistic, that we are cruel and demanding in different ways. Others can see that in chapter one when Genly is having dinner with Estraven.

Going back in with Genly's struggle I want to maybe address that it might come from him getting use to Karhide. It's almost like a kid entering a new school, or that saying "old habits die hard" you hardly even recognize that your saying or doing things because its a habit. Then his attitude could also be on the way he was raised?(I really don't know by this point I have run out of ideas. This is also my attempt of getting 250 words on a screen.) Then there is this random point I just got in my head right now is that maybe people around him on earth might have influenced his attitude/ struggle and outlook on life.

Thoughts?

[KC]: LHoD WAVE ONE Discussion Question

WAVE ONE:

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Reminder, your post should be between 250-300 words long. Anything shorter will not be effective. Also, include page numbers when you reference the text.

Wave 1 responders, you have until 6:00 pm Monday, January 23th to post your response to this question. All other students in the class may comment on any of the LHoD posts at any time.

Who shall post:

Luke Araiza, Hayley Barajas, Gio Barreta Sosa, Niko Billew, Robert Camberos, Suelen Castillon, Daniel Delgado, Joey Enzmann, Karen Espitia, Bahman Farihi, Caitlin Fisher, Jimmy Flores

Remember, anyone can comment on these posts.  The total requirement for this novel is ONE blog post and TWO comments, and as always, I hope some students will EXCEED EXPECTATIONS and go ABOVE AND BEYOND this 1:2 minimum requirement.

[KC]: LHoD Blog Instructions ...

Hi students! Here's the formalized posting for this unit on the blog ...

The class will be divided into thirds; three groups of responders: Wave 1, 2, and 3. For this blog session (meaning, by February 6th) each student will be expected to post 1 response and 2 comments total. -- Of course, you are always welcome to comment more than the required amount :]

Each wave of blogging will involve responding to a thought- provoking question that I will post to the blog related to LHoD. The students assigned to that group are expected to respond before the deadline, which will be posted along with the question. Everyone else is expected to comment twice over the entire blogging period for this unit.

Here are the deadlines:

The first question--the one that Wave 1 participants will be expected to respond to--will be posted to the class blog by Tuesday afternoon, January 17th. Wave 1 responders will be required to post their responses by Monday, January 23rd.

The second question--the one that Wave 2 participants will be expected to respond to--will be posted to the class blog on Tuesday, January 24th. Wave 2 responders will be required to post their responses by Monday, January 30th.

The third question--the one that Wave 3 participants will be expected to respond to--will be posted to the class blog on Tuesday, January 31st. Wave 3 responders will be required to post their responses by Monday, February 6th.

When it is not currently your wave, you should be reading responses and commenting along the way.

Wave 1 Participants:

Luke Araiza, Hayley Barajas, Gio Barreta Sosa, Niko Billew, Robert Camberos, Suelen Castillon, Daniel Delgado, Joey Enzmann, Karen Espitia, Bahman Farihi, Caitlin Fisher, Jimmy Flores

Wave 2 Participants:

Jennifer Garcia, Samantha Guerrero, Ryan Hamilton, Elizabeth Kearney, Peter Kerlagon, Bryan Le, Kenny Luna, Emanuel Martin, Devin McAlister, Nick Moore, Samantha Morris, Uche Nlemuwa

Wave 3 Participants:
Keith Pascual, Miracle Richards, Astrid Rivas, Daniel Salazar, Josh Salgado, Jada Simms, Kyle Small, Tena Spoolstra, Sarah Ssentongo, Miranda Tedsen, Jenna Yeaman