Alright so I tried to do this blogging thing earlier and for some reason it wouldn't let me. Maybe because I was on my phone who knows, but this is besides the point. I'm going to try this again now and hopefully it works.
I would like to make my first blog post about Left Hand of Darkness as a whole. Obviously we haven't read the whole book yet but up to what we have read is what I mean.
Now I'll be completely honest, I've been having a hell of a time reading this book. I'm not really one for science fiction normally and subjects like this book confuse me. So I've been having to go back and re-read parts and so forth to try to figure out what exactly is going on in this book. But at the same time I find it to be a pretty decent page turner. Ursula K. Le Guin does a very good job of pulling you into the book. I've come to realize that I seem to be able to relate with Genly quite well. He seems to be a very isolated character and most of the time I feel bad for him. He's out of his own element living with a species unlike his own just trying to make it and do his job. I can only imagine how lonely of a person he might be. Then he gets thrown in prison and has Lord knows what done to him. I just feel horrible for him. It makes me think about how I would feel in his situation.
I also picture in my head everything on this planet being dark and gloomy. I know they mention there being a sun but for some reason it just seems like a very dark, foggy, overcast sort of place which in my head intensifies this feeling of isolation I have for Genly.
My third feeling that fuels this isolation is I feel like he's horribly misunderstood. Again he's in this place where no one knows his purpose which lands him in prison. In my opinion, Genly is just an honest worker trying to make his living and get by as easily as possible and he has all these people around him questioning his ethics (idk if ethics is the right word...but I can't think of the one I wanted to use).
In short I suppose if maybe I were to write a paper on this I would most likely chose isolation as my theme. Isolation, loneliness, such of the like.
