blogs

blog #1
I think the idea that the only thing that is certain and permanent is that we live in an uncertain world is an interesting idea. After some thought, I agree with this statement. We all live life never knowing what will happen and sometimes, in a blink of an eye, everything changes. This just reminded me of a message a read recently on deviantart where a deviant got into a car accident and now she is paralyzed and cannot even talk. She went from being a Davis student who loved to draw and chat with friends on the net to someone who needed help doing the simplest things. When we think we know life, things change. This just shows how uncertain life really is.

blog#2
I think the class discussions are a good idea and its a good way to share ideas and get questions answered. However, I feel like there is this awkward period sometimes when we have too much time in the small groups and not enough time to actually discuss as a class. All we do is report back to the class and thats not really a discussion. I think our group will give more time for the class as a whole to discuss the chapter.

blog #3
I think the concept of light and shadow is an interesting concept in Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. The way she portrays the two are kind of similar to the way yin and yang work. They balance each other out rather than trying to dominate one another. If light represents the good and dark represents the bad, Le Guin really puts both aspects into the main characters of the book. For example, Estraven commits a very serious crime (stealing) but he does it for a good reason. He also risks his own life to save Genly Ai. He has both good and evil inside of him and both are equally a part of him. This idea of harmony between two opposites really contradicts the way western civilization usually thinks of two opposite forces. As I brought up in class, we always think of good and evil in terms of the superhero and the villian.

blog #4
We discussed in class the reason behind Estraven's charge into the guards which ended up in his death. In our group, we were trying to figure out why Estraven basically commited suicide. It would be simple if Estraven's sacrafice was to save Genly but it didn't seem like his sacrafice helped Genly at all. Genly still ended up in jail and Estraven was dead. Our group's best guess was that Estraven thought his sacrafice would help Genly in some way even though it didn't end up that way. Even though we were still a bit fuzzy about this issue, if Estraven had indeed sacraficed himself for the sake of Genly Ai's well-being, it shows how much the journey helped the bond between Estraven and Genly grow. They went from not trusting one another at all to self sacrafice for teh sake of the other.

blog #5
When we did the "take a stand" activity in class about whether Genly Ai would return home after this whole ordeal is over with, I thought he would return home. the reason for this is because the only person who cared about him and the only person he cared about in Gethen is Estraven. Since Estraven is now dead and gone, there isn't anything left on this planet for Genly. Furthermore, he already completed his mission so he has no goal left here. Though he thought the permanent genders of his native people were strange at first, he can adjust back into the world he came from. Though he has learned the ways and customs of those on this planet, I think he would feel much more at home on the planet he was born in. People brought up the objection that everyone he knew and loved from his own planet would be dead or very old by the time he got back. I agree that this would definitely make him feel isolated back in his own world but at least he will still have some ties with people there. Thos ehe loved may be old but they will still care for him and he can always get to know their children and grandchildren. He could also mroe easily make new friends on his own planet since he was probably a well respected diplomat rather than a criminal there.