Ursula K. Leguin's The Left Hand Of Darkness

1749 Words7 Pages
Society is a system that is built by people. Unfortunately, society is also a system that contains social issues that influence the actions of injustice made today. However, given the proper guidance towards redemption, society can find itself towards social acceptance. In Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, the novel demonstrates the social issues that has caused individuals within society to be controlling and discriminatory. Firstly, she shows the dysfunctional political system of society, through the roles of her characters, specifically, the governmental system of Orgoreyn and Karhide. LeGuin, presents the loss of reality that these political leaders are consumed with. Secondly, LeGuin brings into question the understanding…show more content…
As people, to be able to acknowledge the faults committed, it is shown to be fearful and shameful. Through King Argaven’s character, it becomes a reflection of the human emotion and thought process of denial and to not accept. LeGuin, explains that the human pride within society has clouded the sense of judgement of the right and wrong, thus leading towards the choices that become the path towards defeat. King Argaven, becomes the self-reflection of the controlled behaviour within human beings. In the following quotation, it introduces a description of the understanding of the controlled human behaviour through the perception of main character, Ai, "But they are overcautious men, afraid to act. Instead of proclaiming you, they hid you, and so lost their chance, and sold you to the Sarf to save their own pelts." (LeGuin 14.53) This quotation, emphasizes the deceitful behaviour of those who become infatuated of the corrupted governmental system. LeGuin, creates this understanding of the temptation that power and control has over an individual, thus causing them into having the behaviour of the obsession for power. Through these political characters, LeGuin creates a tableau of the over-powered and controlled environment, society has placed for its people and the unrealistic standards of the society’s
Show More
Related

  • Ursula K. Leguin's The Left Hand Of Darkness

    923 Words  | 4 Pages

    who may not believe everything within the book, but they still account for the book being a historical reference. The Left Hand of Darkness contains several biblical references, although they do not always seem to be intentional. Some of these references may be a subtle mention of a name, while others may be wrapped in something as obvious as the title of the novel. Ursula K. Leguin creates a society in which war is not present and technology is not in an advanced stage. It is hard for us to

    Read More

  • Heroism In Harlan Ellison's A Boy And His Dog

    1337 Words  | 6 Pages

    Man’s Best Friend: An Examination of Heroism in Harlan Ellison’s “A Boy and his Dog” “Loosely speaking, one might call the protagonist of any narrative its hero. However, the convention of describing flawed or despicable protagonists as "anti-heroes" establishes that true heroes are not simply centers of attention, but objects of admiration and respect.” (Westfahl 376) In Gary Westfahl’s critically acclaimed reference guide, “The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works

    Read More

More about Ursula K. Leguin's The Left Hand Of Darkness

Open Document