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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
I am so glad my finals are over and I can now read for fun! I am gathering my winter break books now, and I am looking forward to reading and discussing "The Left Hand of Darkness".
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
I've just unpacked my copy! I look very forward to re-reading it.
_________________ Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads ~ Henry David Thoreau
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” -Thich Nhat Hahn
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
I just bought a new copy, hopefully a good deal of people will participate.
_________________ "The constant questioning of our values and achievements is a challenge with which neither science nor society can remain healthy. " -Bohr.
"Someday, on your tombstone, there will be two dates - and nobody realizes that all that mattered to you was that small dash in between"
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Would anyone be interested in a discussion of color (including the lack of such) in the first chapter? Much care was taken in describing the colors of clothing the parade participants wore, the greys and white or the landscape/architecture, the pink of the mortar, red in the interior of the king's house, the green of the new clothing of Ai, etc. I think this would make a lovely discussion.
__________ Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:59 am __________
Well, I'll make a start with the color red: red is present in the house of the king, a logical symbol as the king says he rules his kingdom with fear. Red occurs in themes of power and insanity and we are introduced to this colour almost immediately in the form of the reddish, pinkish mortar mixed with human (in ancient times) and animal (in present) blood. The arch, in order to be joined, as in a pagan ceremony where blood must be spilled (or Celtic forts where humans were "mortared" in to the wall in order to strengthen it), requires this "sacrifice" of blood in order to be joined together. In the Fastnesses, the hemmen trees are blood-red conifers as are the towers in Rer, again the blood/ power/insanity theme.
_________________ Gods and spirits are parasitic--Pascal Boyer
Religion is the only force in the world that lets a person have his prejudice or hatred and feel good about it --S C Hitchcock
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.--André Gide
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Hello oblivion:
I love the use of colors in fiction, I suppose this is by-product of my love for "The Great Gatsby" and I would love to discuss this with you. I always am on the look out for colors and flowers. I have just gotten my copy of "The Left Hand of Darkness", a little thing really, but I know size can be misleading.
I love symbolism, give me a chance to catch up with you. This should be a great discussion!
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
oblivion wrote:
Well, I'll make a start with the color red: red is present in the house of the king, a logical symbol as the king says he rules his kingdom with fear. Red occurs in themes of power and insanity and we are introduced to this colour almost immediately in the form of the reddish, pinkish mortar mixed with human (in ancient times) and animal (in present) blood.
There certainly is much mention of the color red in relation to the king and the buildings, and the trees, the color red comes back in the fourth chapter. I have not decided how I feel about the characters yet to make the determination if the color red represents good or bad. Red can mean danger, or love. The king is called "mad", but again, I'm not sure if he is insane. Purple would be appropriate for authority and power, no mention of purple.
My feelings toward the king have changed a bit between the first and fourth chapters. There is an interesting statement by the king, he says, "And so I rule my country well. Because only fear rules men." Then he goes on to say, "But I am already afraid, and I am the king. Fear is king!" (Pg. 29) So, the king is afraid, and because of his fear he is able to rule over his country? This is different than saying the king induces fear in his subjects.
Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead here.
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
If Argaven is afraid (paranoia bordering on insanity),he induces fear into his subjects, if he is terrified of the object, person, whatever, they should be too.
Red represents Argaven while Purple, to me, would represent Estraven.
_________________ "The constant questioning of our values and achievements is a challenge with which neither science nor society can remain healthy. " -Bohr.
"Someday, on your tombstone, there will be two dates - and nobody realizes that all that mattered to you was that small dash in between"
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
Last edited by Jlane5516 on Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Red is usually a dominant color. I would have associated it with the king as well, not just with his rooms/domicile, etc. Red usually symbolizes danger, warning, fire, sex, passion, but also leadership, power, wealth and masculinity. Interesting how these apply to Estreven (the person) but only to the things surrounding the king and not to the king himself.
What do you think about the color yellow/saffron? It was the color of the sapphires in the parade and the color that the king wore: ...“and among them is King Argaven XV, in white tunic and shirt and breeches, with leggings of saffron leather and a peaked yellow cap. A gold finger-ring is his only adornment and sign of office.. bear the royal litter, rough with yellow sapphires...“
Yellow is usually the color of hope, air, liberalism, cowardice, illness , fear, hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness, greed, decay or aging, femininity, deceit and is usually paired with red. I think these attributes fit the king quite well.
I also like the pairing concept, especially since I read that le Guin was an admirer of Taoism, Yin and Yang.
_________________ Gods and spirits are parasitic--Pascal Boyer
Religion is the only force in the world that lets a person have his prejudice or hatred and feel good about it --S C Hitchcock
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.--André Gide
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
oblivion wrote:
Yellow is usually the color of hope, air, liberalism, cowardice, illness , fear, hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness, greed, decay or aging, femininity, deceit and is usually paired with red. I think these attributes fit the king quite well.
It looks like the red and yellow fit the people quite well too. Red and yellow go together, red is a color for masculinity, yellow is the color for femininity, and the people of Winter are both men and women, together.
Nice post oblivion.
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Yellow, on a whole, would represent the nation of Karhide I think. The nation is built on fear, deceit( at least a form of it spawning from shiftgethor), and cowardice. Karhide is an aging nation that is forced to evolve due to otherworldly, and worldly forces.
_________________ "The constant questioning of our values and achievements is a challenge with which neither science nor society can remain healthy. " -Bohr.
"Someday, on your tombstone, there will be two dates - and nobody realizes that all that mattered to you was that small dash in between"
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Jlane5516 wrote:
Karhide is an aging nation that is forced to evolve due to otherworldly, and worldly forces.
I am reminded of the cold war and Russia while reading this. Russia certainly would be attributed to the color red, and the cold, and winter.
The Envoy could be seen as a missionary type figure. He is almost like an anthropologist studying the culture of Karhide. But he wants to do more, he wants the culture of Karhide to change. Throughout history cultures and lifestyles of societies have been stripped away to there determent by such missionaries. Karhide is rich in folklore and tradition. Is it in the best interests of Karhide to join the other worlds? Karhide has not seen war in centuries, murder and rape are almost nonexistant. The citizens of Karhide have evolved, they have evolved to survive in their harsh environment and the environment of Karhide is not going to change.
The king certainly is afraid, he is afraid of change, he is afraid of knowledge. I do believe that the king realizes that with communication with other worlds, the people of Karhide will gain knowledge, and ignorance is bliss in Karhide.
oblivion wrote:
I also like the pairing concept, especially since I read that le Guin was an admirer of Taoism, Yin and Yang.
Ying and Yang would also apply to the male/female citizens.
What about the names? Estraven sounds a lot like estrogen to me.
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
If Karhide does not join the Ekumen they would go to war. Tibe and Org desire war, they want order, they want war. Genly states that civilization is the opposite of war. Is order required to have civilization? Is war simply an offspring of order? War represents Chaos, Chaos is opposite of Order. Why is war a byproduct of order?
_________________ "The constant questioning of our values and achievements is a challenge with which neither science nor society can remain healthy. " -Bohr.
"Someday, on your tombstone, there will be two dates - and nobody realizes that all that mattered to you was that small dash in between"
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
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Re: Ch. 1 - A Parade in Erhenrang
Jlane5516 wrote:
If Karhide does not join the Ekumen they would go to war. Tibe and Org desire war, they want order, they want war. Genly states that civilization is the opposite of war. Is order required to have civilization? Is war simply an offspring of order? War represents Chaos, Chaos is opposite of Order. Why is war a byproduct of order?
Tibe and Org desire power. To gain power, nations go to war, there is no other reason. War is a byproduct of the desire for power not order. Order is like a mass, it will stay still until a force moves it, that force is war, or chaos. Civilization depends on order, order is the opposite of chaos. If war is chaos, than the opposite of war is order and civilization.
_________________ I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth. --William Faulkner
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