Terrain of Gethen

     My initial thoughts on the cold is somewhere like the arctic tundra, where little growth occurs and the only thing fostered is ice. There is not much to run to, and not much you can do about it, and only because technology is so advanced nowadays, we are able to inhabit that land. It would pretty much suck to be out on your own in a place like that, and well, that is certainly the case for our Genly Ai.
    If it isn't already obvious, our protagonist faces tough conditions both internal and external while on his quest in Gethen. The eternal winter that is bestowed on the planet allows for a rugged terrain with many mountains, glaciers, and danger in almost every direction and border. Every step of his journey is a risky one and with no snow patrol on duty, and the Gethenians are no friendly eskimos. His weather conditions may be symbollic to his internal conflicts as well. In a place where there is only harsh weather conditions, shows his hardship in a completely new world. The stretches of icy glaciers that go for miles reflect his complete isolation and desperation. Genly, with little comfort is on a completely foreign planet with only one sole purpose. When his purpose was not so kindly accepted, his stay no longer became a mere vacation, it became a struggle to find where he might find any solace to his stay. Even his mere attitude towards the weather alienates him from everyone on Gethen. Being cold can almost be synonymous with loneliness in the outcome of poor Genly.

Wave 3

A variety of folktales, myths, and biblical tales are incorporated in the telling of the Left Hand of Darkness. In the second chapter, we overcome a myth that has relevance through several points in the novel. This myth  of the two brothers who vowed kemmering to each other was the one that I found most interesting. Not because they were blood siblings who fell in love with each other, but because of the heavy burden of disgrace that was placed on suicide. This, to me, demonstrated the importance of honor that is rooted in Gethenian culture, and how the betrayal of it is the most shameful thing to do in their society. However, it also seemed to me that suicide is  looked down upon because of the harsh climate on Gethen. To survive on Gethen takes a lot of effort because of the freezing temperatures and little animals to feed on. Despite all this, a man is able to survive on a planet where all creations were built to stand against him, yet he cannot survive against himself. In my opinion, this is what makes suicide most disgraceful in Gethenian culture.

Wave 3 🌊

     The myths & folktales behind Left Hand of Darkness is identified in the beginning of a chapter so you can't really miss it. One folktale you'll find in the beginning of the book is in chapter 2, "The Place Inside the Blizzard." It talks about two brothers who vowed kemmering to each other & this is one of the chapters that questioned a lot of people because we had no idea what kemmering was & it was entirely new to us. The part I didn't really get was that when the child was conceived, the brothers were forced to separate & break their vow. (22) What's the point of having the child if they weren't able to get together as a family? It's quite sad actually, one of the brother committed suicide & the other was exiled for that. This gave us an insight of how Gethen culture works. It's completely different to marriage that we all are familiar with. Also, it tells us how they value shifgrethor because committing suicide illustrates how bad of a sin it is to Gethenians.


     Another folktale is in chapter 4,"The 19th Day," which talks about a particular man named Berosty, who set his question to the Weaver Odren about when he will pass away & told him that he will die on Odstreth (the 19th day of any month). (43) This also threw a lot of people having to know less about how days or months go in Gethen or for me at least. However, one myth that I found interesting was in chapter 17, "An Orgota Creation Myth," which tells us all about the origin & sense of how the world was created yet very similar to the way the story in the bible is presented. I think these ties to the plot of the story in relation to how Gethenians act & think the way they do & the whole morale behind the relationship between Estraven & his brother.                 
                                                                                             - Kyle Regaliza

Wave 3- Vivian Shepherd

The Left Hand of Darkness is told through myths folktales and stories. Beginning to end it's very confusing. We learn how the Planet Winter works. We learn that suicide is frowned upon in Gethen because it shows the individual is weak. We also see that the people of Gethen aren't very welcoming to new comers such as Genley. Many of the things that happen in Gethen ties to their over all shifgrethor. Overall, it's very hard to read so you can't just read it one time to understand. They pass on the past through these stories myths and folktales to give to the next generation. All together though I understand bits and pieces of the stories it's very confusing at least to me. We learn about kemmering which is how they create new life which is weird to understand but that's what they do. Overall, I don't know how to feel about the book.

Wave 3

The myths in Left Hand of Darkness reveal history about Gethinian culture. For example chapter 2, the "Place Inside the Blizzard", talks about two brothers who vowed kemmer to each other. One brother committed suicide once the other was exiled. We know in Gethenian culture that you aren't allowed to vow kemmer with your sibling, but they are allowed to enter kemmer with their sibling and after having one child they can no longer kemmer together. Also, suicide is a crime that is frowned upon in Gethen. If you commit suicide then you are considered weak. In chapter 6 we find out that Estraven vowed kemmer with his brother before Ashe. Estraven revealed to Ashe that he had vowed kemmer before, but in Gethen culture you aren't allowed to vow kemmer more than once. We know that the brother in the myth was exiled and we know that Estaven was also exiled. It wasn't mentioned what happened to his kemmer partner, but I do feel that he may have committed suicide. Estraven also mentioned that he can still feel his brother's shadow following him. In the myth the brother who was exiled and lost in the blizzard saw his brother's shadow. The ties between the myth and Estraven are spot on, they give us insight to Estraven's character. Gethens believe in shifgrethor  and vowing kemmer to your sibling violates that honor and code they have. Therefore, the myth may have been created to discourage those from going into kemmer with their sibling.

Wave Three

To begin, we see multiple short stories, folktales, and myths spread throughout the novel that all have significant meanings some that tie into the characters, and others that give us an insight of Gethen culture. Each one has a significance in providing a more in depth understanding of the plot whether it be describing the old tale of "Estraven the Traitor" or the myth "The Place Inside the Blizzard". In the tale of "Estraven the Traitor" is a folktale that describes how the name Therem of Estre came to be and how the belief of making peace but being seen as a traitor reoccurs in the novel in present time in Genly's time. This reveals how the Gethenians use folktales to understand events from the past whether it be to understand the domain of a name or why something is the way it is for example like why some borders are drawn where. In the Gethenian culture the myths describe some of the Gethen morals and beliefs. In the myth "The Place Inside the Blizzard" it is a story about two brothers falling in love and they aren't allowed to have vowed kemmer after they conceived a child. One of the brother hearing this committed suicide. In Gethenian eyes this seen as the worst possible thing a person could do it is seen as worse the murder. The people blamed the other brother for his brothers death and banished him from the land. The Gethenians hold honor, bravery, and pride very high in the hearts and beliefs. They call it shifgrethor and wage it when they aregue and so forth its quite unique and intricate I try to like understand it throughout the book and I somewhat understand it. That's why they see suicide as such a terrible thing because they see it as a weakness. This reveals that Gethenian culture is based a lot on respect and so forth and that's why they use shifgrethor to defend it or attack it I believe. All in all they use stories to describe and understand events, morals, and the past in general. That is how they pass knowledge down through the generations not really  through school and books but through folktales and myths.

Wave 3

The Myths in The Left Hand of Darkness at first are very confusing, at least for me. They kind of threw me off  at how randomly they were placed in the book. As you read on you begin to see some connections between the myths and the characters in the book.

In the Myth The place inside the blizzard , you read it and are just utterly lost. But again you continue to read and you see a very big connection between this myth and the situation that Estraven had gone through with his brother and it is very much alike and similar. I think this particular myth shows how in this culture it is somewhat ok to be with your sibling in kemmer but that you are not allowed to vow kemmer. This culture allows incest but doesn't allow you to in a way marry your sibling.

In The Nineteenth Day I am still really not sure at how it ties in with the book other than explain a little about the foretellers. It to me shows more irony and is kind of an entertainment story or folktale. I am not sure really what the purpose is and would love if someone could explain to me how it ties in with our story.

wave 3

There was several myths and folktales in the novel Left Hand Of Darkness. Some of these included The place inside a blizzard, The Nineteenth day and an Orgota Creation myth.
The place inside a blizzard was the story of two brothers who fell in love during kemmering, but one committed suicide and broke his promise in doing so to his brother causing the brother to be sent off. The Gethenians are not allowed to have a relationship (vowing in kemmer)with their family and committing suicide is a big no no in their culture. Committing suicide is one of the worst things you can do in gethen culture.(ch 2 p22-26)
The nineteenth day is a story about a person who asks a foreteller when will he die and the foreteller tells him on the 19th day of any month. His kemmering goes to the foreteller to get more information and offers his life in exchange. The man gets mad at his kemmering for not asking a better question and kills his kemmering. He goes crazy on the crime he did and hangs himself on the 19th day.(another suicide) (ch 4 p43-46)
An Orgota creation myth describes how gethenians were created. It started with sun and ice on the planet, The sun melted the ice in 3 pieces, one because became land another rivers and oceans and the last one nature, animals, and people. A giant man named Endondurath who kills 36 of the other people created, and ones runs off but Endondurath catches him and kills him too. However the last person escapes when Endondurath goes chasing the guy who ran off. Endondurath makes a house out of the dead bodies. One day the person who escaped comes back and they have kemmer together. Since gethenians were born in a house of dead corpses, death follows them everywhere. (ch 17 p.237 -239)
All these myths help us understand how the Gethenian culture works. The gethenian culture is something so different from ours like being genderless which is something we can’t connect to. All these myths have a connection. The idea of death following the gethenians everywhere was shown when one of the brothers committed suicide, a man hanged himself on the 19th day, and sadly when Estraven was killed.

Wave 2

In The left Hand of Darkness the author shows a constant cold on the planet of Gethen to continue the theme of isolation and loneliness in many ways. Genly who is a foreigner is lonely on the planet because he is an alien. Some people also think of him as a pervert because to people on Gethen its weird to be stuck in what they call kemmer and what we call gender. I feel sad for him but at the same time this was his mission that he chose to take. Genly came from a planet like Earth with more advance technology, more life, and a warmer climate. Genly is seen as a pervert because he is unable to change genders like the rest of the Gethenians and that is a main reason why the planet doesn't trust him. The planet of Gethen is referred to winter and is cold there year round. Its amazing how cold it is there its so cold that there are no fruits just small growing grains and wheats. The type of food that does grow there doesn't hold as much energy which makes them eat almost constantly throught the day. After reading that part I thought as myself as Genly living in the North and south poles All day for a year. In just a day I would feel sad imagine having no friends, no family, weird tasting food, Drinking hot bitter beer all day, and feeling glaring eyes of hate everyday .The climate of Gethen contributes to the isolation because its cold mentality and physically.

[KC]: WAVE THREE Discussion Question

Wave Three:

Here comes the prompt for the third wave of blogging for The Left Hand of Darkness. Wave Three Bloggers must post in response to this prompt by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, February 5.  As before, anyone can comment on any post (Wave 1, 2, or 3), so by the time the unit is complete, you should have posted once, and commented twice. Remember, we are always looking for students who are working ABOVE AND BEYOND the minimum requirements.

Reflect on the myths presented in the various chapters of Left Hand of Darkness. Consider them as little symbolic parables and consider the following: What does this myth tell you about Gethen culture? However, some of the myths do have direct connections to the plot, especially the ones about Estraven. Discuss some of the Gethenian myths and folktales. Find one to discuss—the Place Inside the Blizzard, the Nineteenth Day, etc. How do such stories function in a culture?

Reminder, your post should be between 250-300 words long. Anything shorter will not be effective. Also, include page numbers when you reference the text.

Who shall post:
Favian Real, Kyle Regaliza, Maria Reveles, Jazzminne Reyes, Andrew Rivas, Zoei Rojas, Ruben Ruiz, Melissa Ruvalcaba, Christy Sam, Vivian Shepherd, Joel Torrecillas, Breyonne Williams