Gethen Culture

The Gethen culture is really talked about throughout the whole novel, so I guess I will just go back to the first myth to begin with. In chapter two, the kemmering sibling story is told between, Hode and Getheren. They are forced to separate after their kemmering cycle together, and Hode “commits suicide” which is one of the worst things to do in Gethen culture. Although we find out later in that chapter that the siblings eventually find each other again in the cold storm when the other brother, Getheren, decides to abandon his homeland.

This was when genders and the whole idea of kemmering was first introduced to us. But where we are now in the novel, we are assured by the myth and by the novel that when siblings kemmer, they are not allowed to vow to each other. So that is what went wrong in their situation. Not only that, but Hode’s pretend action of “committing suicide”  led Getheren away from him completely. I think the Gethen culture is something we are definitely not used to, it is foreign to us. But it displays the morally right way that Gethian people believe in. 

In terms of the actual novel regarding Genly Ai, that myth has many connections to what eventually happens. 

One of the connections that I managed to find was when Genly gets taken to the ‘Farms’ and meets the elder, Asra, he gets to a comfortable relationship with him. They try not to focus on the idea of death, so that is when he tells Genly dozens of myths about the Gethenian culture. And I think that is where all of these small chapters are coming from. These stories are all told by Genly’s point of view, so he must of gotten all these myths from his source of his elder friend at the farm!!

Did anybody else catch this when they were reading chapter 13? What else did you guys connect about the myth and the novel?

Wave 3: Myths and Legends

OK, Bloggers:  time for the last wave of discussion for this unit.  Here is your prompt:

REFLECT on the myths presented in the various chapters of Left Hand of Darkness.  Consider them as little symbolic parables and ask yourself:  what does this myth tell you about Gethen culture? Some of the myths make direct connections to the plot.  Discuss some of the Gethen myths and folktales.  How do such stories function in a culture

Remember, the following people need to post, and your post is due by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6.  ANYONE can comment, and everyone needs to comment at least twice over the course of this unit.

Wave 3 Bloggers: Mya O., Amanda R., Marquee R. ,Israel R., Milli R., Tim S., Justin S., Arely V., Londone W., Ryan Y., Jether Y.

Isolation in Left Hand of Darkness

Genly is kind of an outsider so far, which makes sense, he is from another planet.  This makes him stick out in this world as he is not suited for the harsh climate of Gethen, therefore hampering him against making a real connection with the people.  He is constantly cold and this leads to him being lonely as everyone else around him is able too stay warm, leading him to feel left out.  Some other reasons he is left out is due to his height as well as him atually having a set gender in this world of neutral people.

Snow,Snow Go Away..

The constant cold of Gethen definitely contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness in The Left Hand of Darkness because at the beginning of the novel Genly Ai states that he doesn't feel like he really belongs. Genly is already feeling secluded because he is a stranger to the new lifestyle on Gethen. He looks different and has different mannerisms than the Gethenians and most of us can understand that not fitting in can make you feel like an outcast which can also bring feelings of loneliness. To continue, living in freezing temperatures 24/7 can put an automatic damper on your mood and increase a feeling of isolation as we have witnessed Genly Ai experience in this novel.

Constant Cold

Throughout the whole novel the constant cold plays a huge part in isolation and loneliness. While Genly has been on Gethen for a while now he is still not used to harsh cold weather of the planet while the others are used to this weather. While I was reading chapter 15, I found it interesting on how it mentions that Genly would still wear his huge thick clothes seeking warmth and Estraven would be the opposite not affected at all by how cold the weather is. Many when thinking of the cold, tend to feel cold when we are more isolated and alone. In contrast, while you are with company or people you tend to feel more warm as you completely forget that you are currently feeling cold.

Winter on Planet WInter

Isolation and loneliness are big factors in the book Left Hand of Darkness. In my opinion, although the planet and its population have major characteristics of helping each other, looking out for one another, and working together, the cold weather makes all these actions look gloomy. It's almost as if the actions aren't exactly being done out of the goodness of people's hearts, rather it is done for an ulterior purpose,
Now if we look at the ACTUAL fact of this planet being cold, we can see how isolating the weather can be. As Genly is not even from the same planet, the harsh cold weather makes him feel extremely left apart from the Gethenians who are used to the weather and are adapted to survive in it. Considering he looks different, the coldnesws just adds onto his already outcasted persona.

Wintertime Sadness

The constant coldness and isolation helps contribute to the Left Hand of Darkness theme in the light of the fact many of the characters in the novel are extremely dull. Throughout the book, there are not many, or if any characters, that are described as electric, fascinating, and out of the ordinary. Each person as Genly Ai comes across, since he is the Envoy, seems ordinary and or  plain. This can relate to the weather since many times a new person one encounters can be said to have different personalities that can be used metaphorically with the weather. If someone is happy and amicable, they can be described as "the sun" for their shiny personality. Not only does the coldness and isolation help the theme in for the people of Gethen, but it can help readers understand the point of views of Genly and Estraven. Because Genly is away from home on an alien planet where he feels he has no place or friends and how Estraven, despite on his home planet, is declared for exile to want to secretly help his planet be apart of something bigger than themselves can be viewed as cold and isolated from the people around them.