The Left Hand of Darkness
In Ursula Le Guin's novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, Genly Ai, an agent from the Eukemen, is sent to the planet Winter, one of the non-federated planets in the universe. His mission is to see if he can persuade the people from Winter to join the federation. However, Genly soon finds out that the rulers of Winter did not like the idea of being part of a federation, because it might result in a loss of some of their own personal power. Genly is then forced to become a fugitive until, by using shifrethgor, the honor system of the Eukemen, he is able to trick the kings of Winter's nations into entering the federation. Throughout the novel, Genly Ai encounters androgynous beings, people who are able to change their sex roles whenever they become fertile. He is surprised that only androgynous exist inside of Winter's nations. He is also amazed that the people only have sexual drives for a small part of the year. Instead of using their energy in sexual urges, the people of Winter use their energy in the arts and sciences. They have been isolated from the rest of humanity for many thousands of years on a relatively cold planet. They have been completely unaware of other men among the stars until the ar
Sexuality plays an important role in the novel because it affects Genly's character and his perspective of other living creatures outside of the Ekumen. Throughout the novel, Genly questions his sexuality because he is unsure of the feelings he feels for another man. Genly is not use to these feelings because he never encountered androgynous humans before in his life. He lived in an environment that consisted of males and females. Therefore, Genly must simultaneously determine his sexuality and accomplish his mission. Genly never faces the idea that he loves a "man" because he comes from a society that consists of males and females. Yet, throughout his journey he encounters many handsome androgynous males. He is amazed how good looking an androgynous can be, but resists his attraction to them and decides to work around his feelings. Sexuality plays an important role in the plot of the novel. Genly adapts to his surroundings by learning different aspects of each nations sexual behaviors. Inorder for Genly to accomplish his mission, he adjusted to the needs of others who helped him throughout his journey. Through Estaven plans Genly is able to accomplish his mission. By helping Genly escape from jail when the Orgoreynians captured him and by sacrificing his own life for his country to live in peace and join the Ekumen, these are only some of the situations Estraven did for Genly. Also, incest in permitted between siblings. Estraven and his brother engaged in incest and produced a child of their own. Throughout Estraven's journey with Genly, he encounters males who are separated from their kemmering partner and child. He notices that he misses his family and wants to get home to them soon, but the
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Approximate Word count = 1168
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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