Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Wave two
The constant cold of Gethen contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness because it affects Genly Ai a lot physically and also shows similarities in the way he acts. Genly is not one to trust people who he does not think are necessary for his mission on Gethen. For example, even though Estraven has done nothing wrong to Genly, he is still not trusted by Genly and doesn't even really call him a friend. This was observed in the conversation between Ashe and Genly. He acts cold toward Estraven and Estraven doesn't really understand why. We discussed this in class today that this is probably just because that was how Genly was trained to act for his mission. The envoys are in constant danger because they are loners in the world they are put in and no one knows anything about them. In addition to that if their message is misinterpreted they may even be killed. So it is just natural for Genly to act this way. It is seen at the end of chapter 14 that Genly realizes this when Estraven went through all the trouble to get him out of the "voluntary labor camp". The cold of Gethen and the feelings of isolation and loneliness are seen in Genly's character and actions.
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I really liked how you matched up Genly's emotions and actions to the theme of being lonely and isolated. I was able to understand your response very well because of the examples you put in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mercedes about liking it the way you matched up the way Genly feels/acts with being isolated. I think that he does feel really lonely being the only one of his kind in a planet with a different race. He doesn't really understand them and has a hard time even trying to. The coldness isolates him further because he isn't used to it, also everyone kind of just does their own thing so it's not like he's totally welcome. Basically I believe Genly is cold, lonely, and confused.
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