Reflections to "When It Changed"

At the beginning, I thought the story was going to be about some sort of journey or some kind of trip. But that actually had nothing to do with the main focus at all. The narrator of the story keeps mentioning "three duels" but I'm not too sure what it means. Can anyone please clarify for me?



As for my thoughts on the story, I primarily thought that this was a society that I was used to and considered "normal." Later, I realized the truth that gender is again the removed social construct as in The Left Hand of Darkness. I felt that it was strange to have a gender completely eliminated and nonexistent in a society. Apparently, the male gender died out for six hundred years and since then, the women renamed their planet in order to forget about the loss of the other gender. I find it somewhat strange to think about my gender dying out. I also understand that it would be even stranger to have a missing gender return after six centuries. Still, I guess as a male, I can't help but to see from a point of view that is similar to that of the men from Earth in the story. I can't see a society with only women, reproducing with other women, to be normal or natural. Actually, I never even thought that kind of reproduction ("merging of ova") was possible. But then again this is science-fiction we are talking about.

Reflections for 3/25/2009

It finally comes down to the 5th and possibly last blog for reflections on The Left Hand of Darkness and I actually feel like I'm going to miss both blogging and reading the book. I would certainly like to continue blogging in the future, but hopefully not every night. I felt sad that the book came to an end, though I didn't even really understand the ending. While we were discussing in class today, we came up with ideas as to what the ending really means. Some people said that it meant that Genly finally encountered someone (Estraven's son) who finally asked about Terrans and life on Earth. Others thought it connected to the Handaratta belief of ignorace is bliss, that ignorance has ended and questions started to arise.

This book has taught me many important lessons. The first and foremost of which is: "Don't judge a book by its cover, but most importantly, don't judge a book by its first few chapters." I remember hating the book when I first started to read it. I felt completely awkward reading about their kemmer cycles and gender fluidness. After a while, however, I got used to it and began to accept it as part of their society. I guess you could say I went through the same change of thought Genly experienced. In the end, I felt like the book was hard to put down. This lesson also has a figurative side. Genly's distrust in Estraven in the beginning was due to prejudice and first impressions. He should have taken time to understand Estraven more before he jumped to conclusions. I feel that everyone in the world should learn that lesson - get to know someone before you conclude anything about them.

Having read up to chapter 17, I have to say...

The book got quite interesting with all the escaping action, but somewhat died down a bit in the chapters I've read more recently. I find the topography of Gethen ever more interesting. I can't believe they have volcanoes, and active ones at that, in an icy cold planet in the midst of an Ice Age. I'm also amazed at the glacier (Gobrin Ice) that sits several thousand feet (was it?) above sea level. I've always imagined glaciers to be close to the level of the land around them, but never considered an area at which the glacier seems to be a wall or mountain itself.

One of the chapters I've most recently read, chapter sixteen, was also interesting for the comparisons between Earth and Gethen, and between the people that reside within each respective planet. I liked how the chapter was written in a journal entry form. Though it seemed to give more minute details, I felt that it gave me a different perspective of the story. I felt as though I were part of the story, side by side with Genly and Estraven as they travelled. I admit reading every single detail about their trip got boring and repetitive after a while (since Estraven just kept mentioning the weather and the travel conditions), but it was a nice change in point of view from somewhat being all-seeing to getting personal. Estraven even enters kemmer in the chapter, and I was certainly glad that he wasn't all over Genly like the Gethenian in the truck on the way to the Orgota farm. Estraven seemed to have control over his kemmer, despite the fact he admits that he gains a lot of spontaneity and starts to ask weird questions.

Chapter seventeen just seemed confusing to me. I wasn't too sure what the meaning behind it was except that it was probably a myth or story of how Gethen was created. The ending of the chapter seemed very pessimistic, however, with Edondurath's kemmering saying, "In the end when were are done, the sun will devour itself and shadow will eat light, and there will be nothing left but the ice and the darkness."

Reflections 3/13/09

Chapter Fourteen in The Left Hand of Darkness was amazing! It is undoubtedly my favorite chapter in the book so far. Estraven went through a lot of adventure and a lot of risks for Genly. I enjoyed reading about Estraven's plots and schemes, his fast thinking and reaction, and his willingness to sacrifice himself for Genly. While reading his actions, I was able to get a feeling of his strong friendship with Genly. I found it saddening and ironic, however, reading the part where Estraven tells Genly that he is the only person on Gethen who believed Genly, yet he was also the only person Genly completely distrusted. I was glad to see this distrust and misunderstanding slowly melt away in Genly; otherwise, all that Estraven did for him would have been pointless. In fact, I was so affected by this part of the chapter because I felt that this connected to myself a bit. Personally, I feel that sometimes I too take some risks for the benefit of my friends. Yet I have come to realize that sometimes no matter what I do for others, I could never gain their trust. Not only that, it seems the more I do for my friends, the more distant they become. For this, I have to say that I feel dumb and stupid. Yet when I ask myself if the risks I take for my friends are worth it, I tell myself "yes" every time. With this connection to my life in mind, I really hope that Genly starts to trust Estraven more and not let all that Estraven has done for him go to waste.

Reflections 3/9

As i continue reading the book, i feel more and more comfortable with the vocabulary and ideas. Although i still feel quite awkward when i read about things like their sex cycles, i can now take it as part of their culture and accept it. I feel extremely glad that while the author discusses the issue of gender quite a bit, she also goes into describing the two nations of Karhide and Orgoreyn. They seem more and more like two, at least different if not opposite, systems of government to me; Karhide seems to be becoming a dictatorship under Argaven's cousin Tibe while Orgoreyn has maintained a socialistic/communistic society. I could be just imagining things, but this difference in the societal systems makes the book extremely interesting and that much more captivating to me. I originally thought that the book was going to be about a single alien society with everything same and equal throughout, as with the gender issue.

I am also liking the mysterious effects the author creates. I can't help but to ask myself questions such as:
- Is Estraven really a traitor to Karhide?
- What is the real intent behind the Ekumen's uniting of mankind?
- Will Orgoreyn and Karhide accept Genly's proposal? Or will Genly have to return in another generation?

Although i am enjoying the book more and more, i am beginning to think that i need more time to digest the information. I am happy with the weekend assignments of reading 20+ pages over three days, but during weekdays, reading 25 pages or so in one night can sometimes leave some parts unclear. But i guess that's what the class discussions are for...

Reflections 3/1/09

In the beginning, when Ms. Aaland said that this book was going to contain certain activities between aliens [and humans] as in Bloodchild, I was shocked and disgusted. I was worried that i would not enjoy reading this book at all. But after reading the first few chapters, i learned that the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" really is true! I started to find the plot and setting very interesting. I liked the parts with flashbacks and historical stories that helped me understand the plot. The only thing i dont like while reading The Left Hand of Darkness is the Karhidian vocabulary and measuring systems (time, places, names, etc). They make the book more convoluted than it needs to be and confuses me while i am trying to read it.

I found that reading this book becomes more interesting if i imagine viewing the scenes with my own eyes, similar to what we had to do in class with the storyboard worksheet. While i read, i also try to imagine being in the characters' places and to imagine the courses of action they are going to take. It makes reading more interactive and less like a boring chore. Although i am not a big participant in class, I really hope that we can discuss the book more in detail so that i can get my classmates' points of view about the text and use it to add to or modify my own ideas. I have a feeling that will enhance my comprehension of any confusing parts/names in the book that tend to throw me off while i'm reading.