PhoenixBlue's Blog

The Handmaid's Tale #7 Finale

2009-04-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. most people finished the book by their 5th or 6th blog, and I finished the book after my 6th blog... I must be behind or something.

Anyway, this book went a lot quicker than The Left Hand of Darkness and required a lot less class discussion. It was more straightforward. The things I wonder about are things the author purposely left out or expressed vaguely rather than confusingly in Left Hand.

I thought the ending was satisfying. It ends with Offred entering the black van that Nick insisted was safe. I thought that was a good way to end it because the rest is open to interpretation. There isn't a right answer to what happens next or a specific thing that is suppose to happen afterwards. There are so many ways the readers can imagine what happens next and how it continues.
I personally think that Offred is in good hands and somehow the government will be defeated and everyone will live happily ever after. (Also Nick used the word "MayDay" which is suppose to be the resistances' password or something, so he might know what he's doing)

Before the black van comes, Offred sits in her room and thinks about all the things she can do before she is caught, such as burning down the house, hanging herself, etc. It was sad but I also found it quite humorous because there were so many possibilities and Offred just kept listing them all.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The beginning (and some of the middle) were a little boring and repetitive but it got a lot more interesting after halfway. Yet another strange world we read about. Except one was "alien" strange and this one is more of a world we can relate to (since it's in the U.S.) but still "depressing and different" strange.

The Handmaid's Tale #6

2009-04-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

I feel that the government and society in this story is incredibly corrupted.
There was a part when they were hanging the 2 handmaids and 1 Wife and they did not mention what crimes the handmaids and Wife committed (b/c Aunt Lydia claims that it would cause more that crime if revealed) which makes me think that they are killing them for other reasons (than the ones Offred is thinking of). The handmaids and Wife may have been part of the resistance and the Guardians/Eyes found out and wanted to kill them without anyone else knowing the real reason.
I think it was proven when they brought in a Guardian and said that he raped a pregnant woman (which Ofglen later tells Offred is a lie and that the Guardian was a political and one of them). That was a lie that angers all the handmaids into killing him.

The whole society is being manipulated by the higher authorities, and the Aunts are inevitably in on it. Now I'm starting to think that most of the people hung on the Wall did not commit the crimes that were indicated on their bodies (marked with a J, etc.) but were really hung because they were part of the resistance and wanted change.

The current government seems too powerful. All possible resistance are taken down quickly, one by one, and it seems like the government cannot be stopped. They are also lying about the rebel's crimes so that no one would know that there is a resistance going on. I wish there was something the people could do about it but defeating this government seems impossible.

It was sad that Ofglen hung herself because the "black van" was coming for her. The same black van (the people inside) that kills and abducts people. This place is so horrible.. The government can kill anyone that want without any question at all.

If the government's goal was to suppress all the possible rebels and thoughts of revolting and to cover up everything that they are doing, they did a damn good job.

The Handmaid's Tale #5

2009-04-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

The story is starting to get more interesting.

Offred has been thinking about her family a lot throughout the story and when Serena finally shows her a picture of Offred's daughter (all grown up), Offred feels a sort of emptiness and wishes that Serena had never shown her the picture, which is a little ironic since Offred was longing to see it. She probably feels bad that she's not in her daughter's life anymore (her daughter grew up without her).

Later it gets more exciting when the Commander smuggles Offred into this place that used to be a hotel but is now some sort of "whorehouse" or something, forgot what it was called. And since the Commander knows about that place and has probably been there many times, that makes me think that he probably has had sex with many other women when still married to Serena. This was probably his attempt to make Offred "love" him more (and enjoy her time with him) but this doesn't really work out. When they finally go in a room, the Commander wants to have romantic, or meaningful, sex with Offred (he wants her to enjoy it) but she is still emotionless. I'm not sure if they do have sex or not since the chapter kind of ended like that but I think they did..

A big twist was when Offred reunited with Moira again. I wouldn't have thought that they would meet again (though someone's blog already spoiled it for me..). Moira tells Offred of what happened to her when she tried to escape. The first house Moira went into was a Quaker house and the family inside burned Moira's Aunt disguise and pass which I really didn't understand why. If she kept that duiguise, she could have kept going around freely without being suspected.
But Moira's failure to escape later shows how "on top of things" the Eyes were and how protective they were with all the checkpoints. One thing I didn't understand was how come it seemed like the new government and Eyes left the Quakers alone. It seems like all the women are taken, and families are split up except for Quaker couples.

I thought it was funny later when Offred makes up the story of what happened with her and Nick and then says "I made it up. It didn't really happen that way." That's probably the first time I kind of laughed in this book.
It seems like Nick doesn't want to have a real relationship with her and is just doing his job, what he's paid for. But I personally think Nick might like her. It seems like Offred likes him, since she made up that fantasy that didn't really happened. She also said she made sounds that she was ashamed of when they were doing it..

Oh yeah, and Offred will never see Moira again. :(
Though it seemed kind of weird to me when she said that because when I read this story, it seems like she's telling it as she goes along. Everything is in the present tense as it happens so how would she know that that was the last time she would see Moira?
But I'm probably just interpreting it wrong since I think she is probably just telling a story that already happened but uses present tense.

The Handmaid's Tale #4

2009-04-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

It seems like Offred is really getting comfortable around the Commander. In fact, now she feels slightly superior to the Commander. I thought that the Commander would have an important job and stuff but he seems like a normal guy and his job (as Offred finds out) is not very interesting. I think the Commander really does like Offred and is disappointed when Offred has no opinion about what has happened between them.

Right now, I'm still wondering what happened to Luke and Offred's daughter. I thought that the men had power now so how come Luke can't keep Offred? Serena Joy tells Offred that she has a picture of Offred's daughter, though I don't think that implies that she is alive, but I think she probably is (How long as it been since they were separated?). If Serena has a picture of Offred's daughter, then she probably knows what happened to Offred's family (she has something to do with it). Before I thought that Serena really dispised Offred but now she is trying to help Offred by offering Nick to pregnant her. I never really understood what was going on with Nick and Offred. I think Nick kissed her somewhere in the previous chapters, so maybe he likes her but he is working with the Commander and stuff.
By the way, Serena mentioned that Ofwarren actually got pregnant from a doctor rather than her Commander. This makes me think that most (if not all) Commanders are kind of old and sterile, yet they blame the women (handmaids) for not getting pregnant.

The Prayvaganza was kind of weird. The women were basically forced to marry men there (arranged marriages), and it was suppose to be happy and entertaining or something.
It seems like (historically) women didn't have rights, so they fought for it and got it (present day), and now (in this story), they are taken away again just like that. I don't really get how that can just happen, and no one is fighting back. It's like time (or progress for women's rights) went backwards.

The Handmaid's Tale #3

2009-04-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

I feel that the Commander really likes Offred now. Other than constantly inviting her over, he is also giving her a lot of stuff. First he gives her a fashion magazine, which is illegal, and then he gets her some hand lotion when she asked for it. They seem to be getting closer. Offred doesn't seem that shy around him now and now she seems to express herself more openly when they're together. There was a part at the end of Chapter 25 when she was angry at him and kind of expressed it out loud.

I don't think Offred "loves" the Commander though (maybe she doesn't like him at all) since she still thinks about Luke. Later she thinks about a flashback that explained a lot about stuff that happened before. Apparently, there was some sort of army that killed the President and machine-gunned the Congress. That must have been pretty intense (I have a image in my mind of someone machine-gunning a line of congressman standing there ._.). They pretty much took over the U.S. Then they took away all the women's rights. I'm still trying to connect this to why Gilead is the way it is now. It would explain why some women like the handmaids and Marthas are like slaves (with no rights) but it doesn't really explain everything, like why some men aren't allowed to have women. Also the Wives still seem to have some power.

Later Offred is shopping with Ofglen and Ofglen tells Offred that they're not the only ones that aren't "true believers." So that put an idea in my mind that a lot of the handmaids actually hate the system and the way things are now. I think the government is trying to suppress them by not letting them read and learn, which would limit their knowledge on the current situation, but I think the handmaids may already know that they are treated unfairly and this may foreshadow a possible revolt? There's a little, secret conspiracy going on and that might create some excitement in the future of the story. And Offred has the Commander on her side.

Also, there was this part when Offred was walking with Ofglen and then a black van pulls up and a guy in that van, I think kills some man, and puts him into the van and drives away, and everyone keeps walking like nothing happened. There is seriously something wrong with that picture...

The Handmaid's Tale #2

2009-04-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

The story continues on with the strange life of the handmaids.

I thought it was very strange that when one of the handmaids, Ofwarren, was about to give birth, all the other handmaids had to sit there and watch. I would feel uncomfortable if I was giving birth (which I can't b/c I'm male) and there were dozens of women standing there staring and chanting "push" and whatnot. What was also strange was that they did not allow doctors to help deliver the baby unless something went wrong. Doctors were there but they had to stay in the car, which seemed kind of pointless, like they came there for nothing.

Anyway later, Offred is summoned by her Commander and he offers to play Scrabble with her, which is illegal. Someone in my group said that they thought that he was just mentally crazy or something but I think that he is in love with Offred, or wants to be in love with her. Probably because his relationship with his wife is deteriorating and they (he and his wife) almost never see each other or speak with each other. This reminded me of how Luke left his wife to marry Offred. Now this seems kind of similar. The Commander is also (kind of) leaving his wife to be with Offred. He seems like a very lonely and sad person (or so Offred believes) so I guess it makes sense that he wants Offred to accompany him. They play an illegal game of Scrabble (I think it's illegal since handmaids and other women (?) weren't allowed to read and learn about language). If he is willing to break the rules, I think that he really likes her or has some feelings for her, especially since he keeps calling her back to his room/office.

As I read on, I was thinking of the story, "When It Changed," since Offred kept thinking about stuff Aunt Lydia said about women. I think Aunt Lydia believed that the world would be better without men because she talks about women living together and having daughters and stuff, which remnids me of "When It Changed" since Whileaway was a world with only women and girls.

The Handmaid's Tale #1

2009-04-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

After reading pages 1-99 of The Handmaid's Tale, I think that this may be a sad book.
The main character, Offred, is living in some strange society where it seems like she's a slave or something (and so are most other women). She used to live a normal life with a husband and a child but now they're gone and she's alone in this place (I think she's in a school or something?). I'm not sure how it all happened but she keeps having dreams and flashbacks about her past. I feel kind of bad for her. She lost everything she loved and now she is living in this "trapped" life.

One thing that kept coming up, like a motif, was power. Offred kept thinking about wanting or having power. I think this shows that she wants to be in control over her life and over what's happening in this society. I think she is really influenced to do whatever the authority tells her to do and has to follow all the rules, but she steals stuff sometimes (which shows that she still has human emotions and tries to get some of that control).

There's also this idea that women who are pregnant are seen as "better" than those that aren't. In our society, I guess pregnancy is still considered a good thing (people say "congratulations" and whatnot) but it is also a bad thing (unwanted pregnancies). In the book's society, it is definitely a good thing. Women want to be pregnant and it is a rare opportunity/previlage, since there are not many men.

There seems to be a lot of "adult" (sex) stuff in this book. Way more than The Left Hand of Darkness which actually didn't really have any. The narrator thinks about a lot of sexual stuff, either in the past, or present, and there was this weird part near the end of the pages I read where the Commander has sex with Offred, which kind of came out of nowhere, though the back of the book says that that happens once a month. I guess what makes it more weird is that the Commander's wife is there watching him have sex with Offred (which to me, seems like he's cheating on her in front of her and she's allowing it). I'll probably understand why later..

This book seems a bit strange so far but it is definitely easier to read than The Left Hand of Darkness. It's sad and it seems like the narrator is living a pretty "crappy," unfree, trapped life (and she used to have a good one). The story is interesting but it kind of seems like there isn't a real plot or at least not yet. It's kind of like reading a journal as it goes along. There's a lot of description and details.

One thing I want to understand better are the ranks and stuff. There's Angels, Guardians, Commanders, etc. I'm not sure what role each of them play. It seems like Guardians escort the handmaids places or something and the Commander is in charge of the town? Are the Angels members of the government? There's also guards and Eyes, which I think are self-explanatory.

"When it Changed"

2009-04-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

After reading this story, I think that the author is biased against men. Her feelings towards men may be influenced by personal experiences or the way her lifestyle was.
I'm not sure when this story was written, but on Wikipedia, it says that she won a 1972 Nebula Award for that story so it may have been around the early 70's or late 60's. This is definitely a time period when women felt and experienced less equality than men and many were probably discriminated against. Men were/acted superior during this time period which helps me understand why she feels this way (from the story) against men.

As I was reading this, I kind of thought about The Left Hand of Darkness. The men that came to Whileaway had a mission (I guess that would be to reproduce with the women and join/(dominate) the society). That reminded me of Genly, who also came from a different planet, and had a mission/proposal. In Gethen the authorities (King Argaven + Orgoreyn government) did not trust Genly and hated him (the Orgoreyn gov. hated him- believed he was a spy). In "When it Changed," the women do not trust the men and Katy and the narrator hate them as well. Genly and the men receive no "love." They both came with good intentions (maybe Genly more than the men in this story) but to them (their own opinions), they were making the world a better place.

I think in this story, the men are portrayed as the enemy. They're the invaders to the planet (trying to take over- take what the women have created). Joanna Russ (the author) tells the story in a woman's perspective, which may have very well been her own perspective, of how she feels about men. I think it is fairly obvious that she does not like them at all. I think she believes that men act too dominant (and want power) and are "evil" and uncaring (they look down on women). There's a part in the story when Katy, who does not like using guns, is willing to use one to kill one of the men. The way women were treated back then may have been bad enough to make them homicidal.

I think Russ is also trying to show that women can be strong. The narrator of the story, who is a woman, fought in 3 duels (in which she killed 3 other women- I think duels are something usually men would do), which shows that women can be just as agressive and physically strong as men. Also the women are strong enough to survive and live on their own for 6 centuries (?) without men. And they're surviving just as well as with men, if not better. A world with only women would be normal and she may be showing that women would be just fine, if not better, without men in the society.

I personally think she is being a little too harsh on men, since not all men act alike. But in the time period that she wrote the story in, when women were generally treated less equally, I would understand why she feels this way. I think that today, though some men still act dominant over women, a lot of men do not act that way. I understand why it would be hard for some people to change their views on other genders, since there has been so much sexism in the past. The lifestyle in a society, family, etc. can easily influence a person's point of view about gender roles/equality. But I think that as time goes by, there is/will be more gender equality. I think it's just human nature to want to be better than someone else. No one wants to be on the bottom.

Blog #5

2009-03-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

The final blog post for The Left Hand of Darkness...
What can I say? (There are many cliche statements I could begin this post with, but I won't use any. :d)

This is probably the first science fiction book I have ever read. I'm trying to think of another I read but I can't so this must be the first one, because it was certainly.. "different."
I have to say, I did enjoy it, mostly. (If I said I completely enjoyed it, I would be lying)
The beginning was quite slow. There was a lot of descriptions (about the parade/Gethen) and many made up words that half confused me and half bored me. During the first week of reading this book, I felt that I would not enjoy it because I wasn't very into science fiction and there wasn't much action in the story. But as time progressed, I felt that the story got a lot more interesting. There was a good plot and the book really did have a little of everything. There really was action, for one. The escape from prison and the journey through the Ice was interesting.
The novel also had a lot of themes and stuff that were controversial, spiritual, inspiring, imaginative- a lot of stuff that could be interpreted differently.

I was sad that Estraven died at (near) the end of the book. He had trusted Genly since the beginning and was the only person that was willing to help Genly with his mission. I feel that Estraven was Genly's only real friend on Gethen. Estraven has done so much for Genly, many of which was when Genly still did not trust him. He was so determined to help Genly accomplish his mission. I think Estraven actually did more for the mission than Genly did. Estraven is constantly risking his life for Genly and is ultimately the reason Genly succeeds (in the mission). I was sad that Estraven died because he was not a traitor. He is more like a hero, in my opinion.
I think the prediction I made eariler (in my other blogs) was correct, that Estraven, like Estraven the Traitor in Chapter 9 (who united Stok and Estre), will unite Karhide and Orgoreyn.
I kind of wish Estraven did not die so that he could see what he died for. But because he died, he will never see Gethen united, the Star ship and the people onboard, and the other worlds that he was fascinated in.

I think Genly did the right thing at the end, by going to Estraven's family. He could let them know that Estraven was not a traitor, but was actually a great person (hero). But I wonder if King Argaven will ever actually remove Estraven's order of exile and clear his name. I really feel that people of Gethen should be celebrating and mourning for Estraven for all he has done, but the media does not even mention that Estraven was at all responsible for the alliance for Ekumen. Though the story does say that everyone actually knew Estraven was with Genly.
I feel bad for Estraven's family, who will never see him again. And now Estraven's father has lost both of his sons (Estraven and Arek). And Estraven's son will never see his father again. And poor Ashe...
Oh, and poor Genly, who will never see his friend again...
I think Genly really cared about Estraven at the end of the book. Besides going to Estraven's family, there was another event before that that I think shows that Estraven really cared for Estraven.
When Estraven was shot, Genly rushed out of safety into the guards to tend to his dying friend. He probably knew they would arrest him (or maybe kill him) but his instinct made him rush to Estraven, despite of that.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book. It was increasingly interesting as it progressed and I thought the storyline was pretty good. There was a lot of wondering and twists. There are also a lot of interesting symbols and themes like gender, light and dark (yin-yang), and more.

Blog #4

2009-03-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize we had to blog for Chapters 16/17, so I also did a reading log. :(
Therefore, I incorporated some of it into this blog.

Anyway, the book is interesting so far. Genly and Estraven are traveling together towards Karhide, through ice, rocks, volcanos, mountains, snow,etc. I feel that Genly is starting to trust Estraven more, in fact, I think Genly almost completely trusts Estraven. Or maybe he already does trust him completely. He gets angry at Estraven sometimes though.
Estraven, to me, seems to have proven to be very caring, determined, and skillful. He seems to care about Genly a lot, risking his life to rescue him from prison, and commiting a horrible crime: stealing to feed Genly and himself (in Gethen, stealing is considered a huge crime, just behind suicide). I think a chapter about Estraven stealing the food would be interesting. I imagined him sneaking around a town in the dark and into houses, taking food.

There's a quote that I found amusing in Chap. 15:
On pg. 208, Genly says:
"The first Envoy to a world always comes alone. One alien is a curiosity, two are an invasion."

I thought this was funny because I was imagining a world (Gethen) of like a million people being invaded by two aliens.

There was a part in chapter 15, when Genly was angry at Estraven's patronizing:
"I was galled by his patronizing. He was a head shorter than I, and built more like a woman than a man, more fat than muscle; when we hauled together I had to shorten my pace to his, hold in my strength so as not to out-pull him: a stallion in harness with a mule -"

This was probably the first time I've seen Genly angry and feel superior to another (Estraven in this case, which is sort of ironic because I always imagined Estraven as being superior to Genly, since he was once a Prime Minister). I feel Genly is insulting Estraven, comparing himself as a stallion and Estraven as a mule. He also points out all of Estraven's physical flaws. I think Genly was sort of exaggerating because at the end of each day, Genly seems just as tired as Estraven was.
I guess I can relate to this. When someone makes me angry, I always point out their flaws in my mind and tell myself how much better I am than that person; it makes me feel better.

Chapter 16 is in Estraven's point of view. Each chapter seems to be alternating between Genly and Estraven. When I was in the middle of this chapter, I might suddenly get confused and have to remind myself that it was in Estraven's perspective because I forgot sometimes (being used to the story in Genly's perspective). I guess I like how the author switches perspectives. It helps me understand what each character is thinking and makes the story seem to be more interesting and to make more sense. Chapter 16 shows what Estraven was writing in that journal he was carrying around.

Here is a quote from his journal:
"We must compromise as to the heating of the tent. He would keep it hot, I cold, and either's comfort is the other's pneumonia. We strike a medium, and he shivers outside his bag, while I swelter in mine..."

I felt kind of bad for them after reading that passage. Their physical conditions (in terms of temperature tolerance) are almost the complete opposite of each other. When one of them is comfortable, the other is not. And when they "strike medium" they are both uncomfortable. I felt bad for them because they seem like they're always uncomfortable in the tent and they have to go through it for the whole journey, which would take like 70 days.

They seem to be making good progress so far, though there was a part when they couldn't move and Estraven kept writing "No luck" in his journal for like 3 days.
I wonder if they will make it there before their food runs out..
I also wonder if they're going to see that giant glacier with the 2 faces on the cover of the book.

There was also this poem (I think it's a poem? some sort of religous saying?), that Estraven says to Genly:

Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness the right hand of light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
together like lovers in kemmer,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way.

I thought it was interesting. It was the first time the book mentioned "the left hand of darkness," which I guess would explain where the title came from. It expresses duality and shows that light and dark belong together, and so does life and death. These two opposites are linked together like one. I interpreted it as: you can't have one without the other. When there is light, there is also darkness, and when there is darkness, there is light. They sort of just belong together, like a balance, and that's just the way it is and the way it has to be. [I.e. a world cannot be completely dark, there will always be a light somewhere out there. It cannot be completely light either. (like there are a lot of good people in Gethen but there are evil, "dark," people as well) ..And you can't have life without death.
I'm not too sure about my interpretation.

Anyway, moving on...

Chapter 17 was a prehistorical myth, an Orgota creation myth. So in this chapter, there are these ice people or something. At first I imagined them like ice cubes, hopping around, but then it mentions later that they "sat on their knees," so then I just imagined them looking like Iceman or something. Anyway, in this myth, these ice guys create the world. Though, I thought it was kind of weird that one of them created "animals and men" with soil and seawater.
They created 39 humans and the first human that woke up, Edondurath, pretty much killed all the other ones, one by one, though one escapes. I was angry when I read that. What a bastard. He kills all his brothers, his fellow humans, just like that, with a blow to the head (with his fists), and they never even had a chance. I guess I can understand that he was scared but still, it seemed pretty brutal.
Later, he seems to have built a house with their bodies and it doesn't make sense that the dead bodies (of the house) could speak (but most myths are unrealistic anyway). I didn't really understand why they were asking if Edondurath "burned." I guess burning means in kemmer or something?
So yeah.. it was sort of a weird myth. In the end it kind of says how humans ruined the light and everything, and that "there will be nothing left but the ice and the darkness."

The world was better with ice people...

Blog #3

2009-03-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

The plot continues to unfold in The Left Hand of Darkness. Everything seemed to be kind of going well for Genly until Chapter 11, where Estraven tells of how the Thirty-Three "rejected" Genly's proposals.
In Chapter 13, Genly is suddenly arrested, which caught me by surprise, because it was so unexpected. The police were forceful and brutal to him during his arrest (they strapped him down and drugged him) and I felt bad for Genly because he was willing to cooperate. Before the physical arrest, Genly says: "I'm willing to answer what you ask, you can leave out the intimidation!" but the police ignores him.
I also feel bad for Genly because I don't think he deserved to be arrested. He just wanted to make a peaceful alliance with Orgoreyn (with no evil intentions) but the Orgota government decides to arrest him instead. Then Genly had to suffer horribly through the 4-day (was it 4 days?) truck ride, in which he was naked in the freezing cold without food, only some water. Then he continues to suffer in the prison where they kept drugging him and interrogating him. I was pretty angry towards the guards because as they continued to drug Genly, Genly was getting sick and sometimes he would be unconscious for days but they didn't care and continued drugging him. I was more angry at the fact that Genly had to go through all that and he didn't even commit a crime.

It seems Orgoreyn as a whole cannot be described in one word. It turns out that all the Orgota are different even though Genly often describes them as a whole. On the truck ride, he made me feel that the Orgota were really nice, since they let him sleep where it was warmest without complaint, even though they were cold as well. Genly mentions their kindness often.
But then, in the prison, the guards are not kind at all. They don't seem to care what happens to any of the prisoners, so I felt that Orgoreyn has very different people in it, but it seems that the authority (government/police/guards) are the intimidating, evil, brutal ones while the civilians are the kind ones.

After reading Chapter 14, I gained a new respect for Estraven. In the previous chapters, Estraven, to me, seems to be portrayed as this mysterious, sneaky, unpredictable, traitor guy that is causing Genly problems. But in Chapter 14, I feel that Estraven does really care about Genly because he risks his life to rescue him. Estraven seems to blame himself for everything wrong that has happened and wants to redeem himself. I trust what he is saying and I think he is speaking the truth because at the end, he tells Genly to teach him mindspeech so that Genly will know that he is not lying. Only someone that is being truthful will be that confident, imo.
Estraven also mentioned that he really wanted the alliance of Gethen with the rest of the world and that he trusted and believed Genly since the beginning.
Now I'm starting to think of Chapter 9 again. "Estraven the Traitor" (the one in the past) brought peace to the two domains and the Estraven in Genly's time probably wants to bring peace between Karhide and Orgoreyn by uniting Gethen with the rest of the world in the alliance. I'm just predicting that that will happen; if it does, then I wouldn't be surprised, but if it doesn't, then oh well, I misconceived what I thought was a possible foreshadow.

I think the plot of the story is pretty good so far, and the story is getting a little more interesting. Estraven is finally reunited with Genly again. Well, they did meet and talk in Orgoreyn but they didn't really have like a real conversation since that dinner in Karhide (In chapter 1?). Now they're together and I think Genly might start to trust Estraven. I wonder what will happen next..

And sorry for the big wall of text, I tried to space it out. :)

Blog #2

2009-03-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Chapter 9 of The Left Hand of Darkness goes back in time again. After reading it, I understood why Estraven had two names. Therem was his real name and Estraven seems to be just what people call people from Estre, like calling someone American if they're from the U.S.

I thought it was very awkward when Estraven (Arek, the heir of the Lord of Estre) was in Stokven's home and Estraven says:
"'We are mortal enemies,' said Estraven. 'I would swear kemmering with you.'"
'"And I with you,' said the other. Then they vowed kemmering to each other..."

I was sort like thinking "wtf." They agree that they are mortal enemies then they suddenly want to "kemmer" with each other. I guess maybe they wanted to bring peace between the two clans or something?
Then it was sort of funny when their son grows up and comes back to the same house and he and Stokven have almost the exact same conversation. And made a vow of peace. This Estraven does make peace between the rival domains/clans at the end but is called a traitor, which is ironic because the Estraven in the modern time (Genly's time) is also called a traitor. So I think it might foreshadow that Estraven will continue to be a traitor in the later chapters. He may even betray Genly.
But then again, the Estraven in the past brought peace between Estre and Stok so maybe the Estraven in the present will bring peace between Karhide and Orgoreyn.

Then in Chapter 10, the story goes back to "reality," which is the story of Genly. It starts with Estraven visiting Genly and telling him that he (Genly) is the "tool of a faction." And that "they" are using him. I think this goes further to prove that Orgoreyn is just planning to use Genly (and Ekumen) as a weapon against Karhide, and not for real friendship/alliance and "furthuring technology" purposes.
There is more evidence when later in the chapter, Genly says, "My job here is, really, to find out if you're willing to communicate with the rest of mankind."
And then Slose says " 'You,' (Slose repeated, leaning forward intensely) "Does that mean Orgoreyn? or does it mean Gethen as a whole?"
That shows that Slose (who I guess represents the interests of Orgoreyn) only wants Ekumen and the rest of the world to ally with Orgoreyn and not with Karhide.

Later throughout the story, Genly keeps wondering what "the Sarf" is and its power in Orgoreyn, so I'm thinking that it is something important and something they are trying to hide from Genly.

When Genly first arrives at Orgoreyn, he thinks it's this wonderful, awesome place, but at the end of this chapter, he is feeling uneasy about it and does not really trust the people on Orgoreyn anymore.

Blog #1

2009-03-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Chapter 5 of The Left Hand of Darkness did not have a very interesting beginning in my opinion. There was a lot of descriptions (and made-up words, or at least I thought they were) in this section and not enough "action," especially as Genly was travelling to the Foretellers. He described the scenery and stuff a lot, and since the chapter was pretty long, there was a lot of it.
One thing I have noticed is that Genly seems to refer to everyone, or almost everyone, as "feminine." In previous chapters, he referred to Estraven as feminine. In this chapter, he refers this guy (Genly calls him "a voluble man"), as his landlady instead of his landlord even though he refers to him as a man. Another example is when he follows Goss (p.57) and says "Goss went light and quick, graceful as a girl..."

I thought it was funny how they keep referring one of the Foretellers as "the Pervert." In our current society, I guess a lot of people are called "perverts" and people don't really care that much but no one is ever called "the pervert." But in Gethen, "perverts" are kind of looked down on and are scarce, though perversion has a different meaning in this story.
I also thought that that ritual thing (in which the Foretellers answer a question) was pretty strange. The Foretellers were doing all this weird stuff. I thought it was funny when the Zany did his crooning laugh of "Ah-ah-ah-ah," "and it rose higher and higher into a wavering yell that went on and on..."
Also something else that was strange was that when Genly tried to create a "barrier" in his mind from the Foretellers, he saw and felt all this sexual stuff (pg.65-66), which just kind of came out of nowhere. I did not expect that.

I also thought what Faxe (or maybe it was Goss or someone else) said about religion was interesting. I can't find the page right now but it was something like: If people knew there was no God, there would be no religion, and if people knew there was a God, there would also be no religion.

I think the chapter ends nicely with the interesting quote of:
"'Yes. There's really only one question that can be answered, Genry, and we already know the answer... The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next.'"