So, now that we're done reading The Left Hand of Darkness, we're writing an essay related to it. But this time, we get to be the envoys and we must report back to our own counsils. In my report, I decided to discuss the social topic of gender. I chose to speak on gender because we had already talked about it in class a week or two ago, and I thought I had good examples on gender already. Some examples I mentioned in my essay were occupations and certain gender-based quotes people say. I also wanted to speak about gender because I feel that in our society, males are more superior than females, and that's not fair to us females! And I know there are probably a lot of other girls who feel the same way. It's too bad that the solutions I used in my essay wouldn't be so simple to use in real life. Oh well, I guess for now I can imagine the equality that I wished society would have with genders.
Until next time!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The End!..
Wow, it feels like just yesterday where we just started reading the book and now all of a sudden, we're finally done with it! I must say the book was pretty good even though it was confusing A LOT of times. Well, what can I say..
In chapter 19, I'm glad that they had finally found civilization! I was wondering how long they would have had to travel until they finally reached a town. I'm surprised that the place they arrived in welcomed them. If I were those people, I would've been kind of scared because first of all, two people just came walking into my house out of nowhere and second of all, I don't even know who these people are, where they came from or what they want from me!! But I guess Genly and Estraven were lucky enough to stumble upon a nice home who welcomed them with open arms.
So, after having a little bit of rest and eating some food, they went back on their journey. I remember one of the last group's questions was something like "Do you think Estraven knew the guards were there as he skiied by? Why do you think he kept going even though the guards were there?" In my opinion, I don't think Estraven necessarily knew the guards were there, but I also don't think he cared they were there either. I mean, he's already been exiled from his home, which is where he's trying to go back to. So he either would've stopped skiing and got caught and be taken back to jail, or just keep going and hope that they didn't catch him. I think he didn't stop because there was nothing for him to live for. He might as well have took the risk and kept going because if he didn't, he would've just been taken to jail or something. I think I would've taken the risk too because I'd rather risk my life to get away rather than going back to jail and probably staying there to live the rest of my life miserably.
It's sad that Estraven had to die and that Genly had to be there to witness it. I was hoping they would've continued their friendship at the end of the book. I didn't think that one of them was going to die, so that was a surprise to me. The book was pretty good, and in the end, Genly is having a conversation with Estraven's father and Estraven's son. The book doesn't really have a real ending, so I wonder if there's supposed to be another part to it, like another novel continuing it or something?.. oh well, it was good while it lasted!
In chapter 19, I'm glad that they had finally found civilization! I was wondering how long they would have had to travel until they finally reached a town. I'm surprised that the place they arrived in welcomed them. If I were those people, I would've been kind of scared because first of all, two people just came walking into my house out of nowhere and second of all, I don't even know who these people are, where they came from or what they want from me!! But I guess Genly and Estraven were lucky enough to stumble upon a nice home who welcomed them with open arms.
So, after having a little bit of rest and eating some food, they went back on their journey. I remember one of the last group's questions was something like "Do you think Estraven knew the guards were there as he skiied by? Why do you think he kept going even though the guards were there?" In my opinion, I don't think Estraven necessarily knew the guards were there, but I also don't think he cared they were there either. I mean, he's already been exiled from his home, which is where he's trying to go back to. So he either would've stopped skiing and got caught and be taken back to jail, or just keep going and hope that they didn't catch him. I think he didn't stop because there was nothing for him to live for. He might as well have took the risk and kept going because if he didn't, he would've just been taken to jail or something. I think I would've taken the risk too because I'd rather risk my life to get away rather than going back to jail and probably staying there to live the rest of my life miserably.
It's sad that Estraven had to die and that Genly had to be there to witness it. I was hoping they would've continued their friendship at the end of the book. I didn't think that one of them was going to die, so that was a surprise to me. The book was pretty good, and in the end, Genly is having a conversation with Estraven's father and Estraven's son. The book doesn't really have a real ending, so I wonder if there's supposed to be another part to it, like another novel continuing it or something?.. oh well, it was good while it lasted!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Language.
Prompt: What do you notice now about the language used in your narrative that you didn't notice when you originally wrote it? How does your use of pronouns play a role that you notice?
After learning about what our narrative was REALLY about, it really made me think. I never thought about how much people can think that a certain job such as a nurse, is only for females and another job such as a professor, is only for males. This causes people to refer nurses as a "she" and a professor as a "he" no matter what gender they really are. and I was really surprised to see that I kind of followed these stereotypes because in my narrative, the teacher and the nurse were females while the police officer, physician and attorney were male, but my judge was a female ONLY because I was thinking about Judge Judy while I was writing, haha.
These pronouns cause certain genders to have dominance in certain jobs. I think males have the most dominance in these pronouns because we refer to the male pronoun "he" whenever a specific gender isn't mentioned. We also say things such as "hey guys!", "you guys!", etc. when we're talking to a mixed gendered group or even a whole group of females!
In order to fix this, I think the English language should create a pronoun that can be meant for a male AND female. I thought it was pretty interesting how the kids of Baltimore use the word "yo" to refer to a person. We should do something like that, but just create a different word because using "yo" sounds kind of weird to me. But then again, it probably doesn't sound weird to them. As we discussed in class, we grow up and get accustomed to the language and slang used in our area. The east and west coast have different ways of speaking, and each side probably finds the other side's way of speaking weird too.
After learning about what our narrative was REALLY about, it really made me think. I never thought about how much people can think that a certain job such as a nurse, is only for females and another job such as a professor, is only for males. This causes people to refer nurses as a "she" and a professor as a "he" no matter what gender they really are. and I was really surprised to see that I kind of followed these stereotypes because in my narrative, the teacher and the nurse were females while the police officer, physician and attorney were male, but my judge was a female ONLY because I was thinking about Judge Judy while I was writing, haha.
These pronouns cause certain genders to have dominance in certain jobs. I think males have the most dominance in these pronouns because we refer to the male pronoun "he" whenever a specific gender isn't mentioned. We also say things such as "hey guys!", "you guys!", etc. when we're talking to a mixed gendered group or even a whole group of females!
In order to fix this, I think the English language should create a pronoun that can be meant for a male AND female. I thought it was pretty interesting how the kids of Baltimore use the word "yo" to refer to a person. We should do something like that, but just create a different word because using "yo" sounds kind of weird to me. But then again, it probably doesn't sound weird to them. As we discussed in class, we grow up and get accustomed to the language and slang used in our area. The east and west coast have different ways of speaking, and each side probably finds the other side's way of speaking weird too.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Chapter 16; Between Drumner and Dremegole
So today, we had a very good discussion. Not only was it creative, but the questions were interesting too! There were two questions that I wanted to respond to in this blog because I found them the most interesting...
Q: When questioned, "What is a women?" by Estraven, Genly falters and is unable to come up with an answer. What do you think would happen if the Foretellers were asked this question? Is there an answer to this question?
A: In my opinion, if someone were to ask the Foretellers, "What is a women?" I don't think they would be able to give an answer. Usually, people go to the Foretellers to ask them questions about their futures. They'll ask something like, "When will I die?" for example. A question like "What is a women?" would probably confuse them. I don't think they would be able to come up with an answer to that question because it has nothing to do with the asker's future. I think that there is an answer to this question, but many answers at that. There isn't one definite answer to what a "women" is. You could base the definition on genetics, reproductive systems, stereotypes, etc. Therefore, there could many possibilities on the definition of "women".
and as for the 2nd question... I don't know exactly what it was, but it was along the lines of interpreting this quote:
and basically, I thought the quote meant that one must experience life in order to experience death. You can't just go through one without going through the other. Life is basically a pathway to death. Just like how it was mentioned in today's discussion, it's similiar to "Yin and Yang". Life and death are two seperate parts that complete one another. There's no way you could die without living and when you live, eventually you're going to die. Light and dark stick together and are chain reactions that cannot be broken.
Q: When questioned, "What is a women?" by Estraven, Genly falters and is unable to come up with an answer. What do you think would happen if the Foretellers were asked this question? Is there an answer to this question?
A: In my opinion, if someone were to ask the Foretellers, "What is a women?" I don't think they would be able to give an answer. Usually, people go to the Foretellers to ask them questions about their futures. They'll ask something like, "When will I die?" for example. A question like "What is a women?" would probably confuse them. I don't think they would be able to come up with an answer to that question because it has nothing to do with the asker's future. I think that there is an answer to this question, but many answers at that. There isn't one definite answer to what a "women" is. You could base the definition on genetics, reproductive systems, stereotypes, etc. Therefore, there could many possibilities on the definition of "women".
and as for the 2nd question... I don't know exactly what it was, but it was along the lines of interpreting this quote:
"Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness is the right hand of light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
together like lovers in kemmer,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way. "
and basically, I thought the quote meant that one must experience life in order to experience death. You can't just go through one without going through the other. Life is basically a pathway to death. Just like how it was mentioned in today's discussion, it's similiar to "Yin and Yang". Life and death are two seperate parts that complete one another. There's no way you could die without living and when you live, eventually you're going to die. Light and dark stick together and are chain reactions that cannot be broken.Sunday, March 15, 2009
Chapter 14.
Hey everyone! Sorry for the late post. My internet wasn't working on Friday night, so I had to use my phone to e-mail Ms.Aaland my blog post and she told me to just post it on my blog when my internet works again.. so here it is!
Chapter 14 was very interesting! Never would I have thought that Estraven would actually be helping Genly. This whole time, I thought he didn't like him and was going to be against him throughout the whole story. I think Estraven was nice to have saved Genly and help get him out of jail. During todays group discussion, one of the question really made me think. I don't remember what the exact question was, but it was along the lines of "would you trust Estraven?" Automatically, without thinking, I said I definitely would not trust him. After all, he was considered a traitor and didn't even help Genly in the beginning. But when I really thought about I I realized I would actually trust him. If someone is willing to go out of their way to rescue you and even carry you on their shoulders through harsh conditions, it obviously proves that they're really there for you. I know for sure that I wouldn't do that for anyone unless it was someone I cared about! I think this chapter was the most interesting so far of this whole novel. Its still a bit confusing, but the discussions are helping me clarify what's actually going on.
Until next time!
Chapter 14 was very interesting! Never would I have thought that Estraven would actually be helping Genly. This whole time, I thought he didn't like him and was going to be against him throughout the whole story. I think Estraven was nice to have saved Genly and help get him out of jail. During todays group discussion, one of the question really made me think. I don't remember what the exact question was, but it was along the lines of "would you trust Estraven?" Automatically, without thinking, I said I definitely would not trust him. After all, he was considered a traitor and didn't even help Genly in the beginning. But when I really thought about I I realized I would actually trust him. If someone is willing to go out of their way to rescue you and even carry you on their shoulders through harsh conditions, it obviously proves that they're really there for you. I know for sure that I wouldn't do that for anyone unless it was someone I cared about! I think this chapter was the most interesting so far of this whole novel. Its still a bit confusing, but the discussions are helping me clarify what's actually going on.
Until next time!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chapter 9; "Estraven the Traitor" & Chapter 10; "Conversations in Mishnory"
Back again with my thoughts!.. but this time, it'll be on chapters 9 and 10.
Although chapter 9 was pretty short, I was SO confused while reading it!! In the beginning, Estraven arrives at some type of shack, where he meets someone and they vow to kemmer. Then all of a sudden, some Stok men came and "stabbed Estraven in the throat and chest, and the young man fell across the cold hearth in his blood, dead." (pg. 126-127) OUCH! but okay, after reading that, i thought Estraven was dead. but then, on page 129, it talks about Estraven having a conversation with Stokven. And after that point, i was totally lost. First of all, I thought Estraven was dead?! But now all of a sudden he's alive and having a conversation with somebody? What's happening here?! After having the group discussion today, I was told that they were two DIFFERENT Estravens. That makes a lot more sense to me now!.. but I don't understand why someone would want to name him after some guy who was just killed and considered a "traitor".
Chapter 10 made more sense to me. I truly admire Genly for continuing to find different nations to unite with his own. He takes a risk by telling the Commensals more about him and his NAFAL ship. I think it's kind of weird how he has one of his ships orbiting around their sun and there are people in the ship "hibernating" and just waiting for Genly to get in contact with them. I'm surprised that the Commensals weren't so scared about that. I mean, c'mon, you have some ship orbiting around your nation and you don't even know who the people in there are.. but okay i guess. I also thought it was interesting how the Ekumen "does not enforce laws." (pg. 137) That's amazing how they can rule their society without any worry of their citizens causing any harm or unlawful acts towards one another.
Thanks for reading!
Although chapter 9 was pretty short, I was SO confused while reading it!! In the beginning, Estraven arrives at some type of shack, where he meets someone and they vow to kemmer. Then all of a sudden, some Stok men came and "stabbed Estraven in the throat and chest, and the young man fell across the cold hearth in his blood, dead." (pg. 126-127) OUCH! but okay, after reading that, i thought Estraven was dead. but then, on page 129, it talks about Estraven having a conversation with Stokven. And after that point, i was totally lost. First of all, I thought Estraven was dead?! But now all of a sudden he's alive and having a conversation with somebody? What's happening here?! After having the group discussion today, I was told that they were two DIFFERENT Estravens. That makes a lot more sense to me now!.. but I don't understand why someone would want to name him after some guy who was just killed and considered a "traitor".
Chapter 10 made more sense to me. I truly admire Genly for continuing to find different nations to unite with his own. He takes a risk by telling the Commensals more about him and his NAFAL ship. I think it's kind of weird how he has one of his ships orbiting around their sun and there are people in the ship "hibernating" and just waiting for Genly to get in contact with them. I'm surprised that the Commensals weren't so scared about that. I mean, c'mon, you have some ship orbiting around your nation and you don't even know who the people in there are.. but okay i guess. I also thought it was interesting how the Ekumen "does not enforce laws." (pg. 137) That's amazing how they can rule their society without any worry of their citizens causing any harm or unlawful acts towards one another.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Chapter 5: "The Domestication of Hunch"
So, I just finished reading chapter 5 of "The Left Hand of Darkness". I'm still a little bit confused with this whole story, but as I keep reading chapter by chapter, I'm slowly understanding it more and more.
I feel like this chapter of the novel relates to chapter 4 a lot, therefore, I'm going to refer back to that chapter just a little. Genly goes in search for the foretellers, just as Herbor did in the last chapter. Sadly, Herbor asked the "wrong" question, and in the end, he had a pretty bad outcome. Anyway, back to this chapter.. I never really understood what the whole chapter was going to be about as I read the first few pages. All I really got of it was that they were travelling somewhere, but I had no idea where they were going.
After reading about how Genly was denied by the King, I wondered where he was going to go next. On page 56, Genly told the "person" he was just greeted by that he had "come with a question for the Foretellers." I wondered what the question would be, and I hoped that he wouldn't have the same outcome as Herbor in the previous chapter. I thought it was pretty nice of the Foretellers to let Genly "dwell" with them for a few days (pg. 59). And when Genly finally got the chance to ask the Foretellers, "Will this world Gethen be a member of the Ekumen of Known Worlds, five years from now?" I wondered what type of process would have to be done in order to reach an answer. Would it be similar to The Bead Woman? As the foretellers sat in the circle, I found the "Pervert" kind of weird. On page 64, it says, "The Pervert laid his hand quickly and softly on the kemmerer's hand." What was he trying to do? Was he trying to flirt with the kemmerer or something? I don't know, but the actions of some of the characters in this novel confuse me.. I don't really get their intentions sometimes.
One thing that really interested me in this chapter was when Faxe said, "the unforetold, the unproven, that is what life is based on. Ignorance is the ground of thought. Unproof is the ground of action...." (pg.71) It took awhile for me to really understand what he was saying, and I'm still not sure if I'm taking it the right way. What I think is that Faxe is trying to say that life is about just living and letting fate take its course. What makes life life is living like there's no tomorrow, living with the uncertainties and taking chances. I think he's trying to say that life is about making choices based on what YOU believe is best. If all the Gethenians took the easy way out by paying the price to see a Foreteller, that wouldn't be living a real life. Just as Faxe said, "The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next." (pg. 71) I wonder what's in store for Genly!...
Thanks for reading!
I feel like this chapter of the novel relates to chapter 4 a lot, therefore, I'm going to refer back to that chapter just a little. Genly goes in search for the foretellers, just as Herbor did in the last chapter. Sadly, Herbor asked the "wrong" question, and in the end, he had a pretty bad outcome. Anyway, back to this chapter.. I never really understood what the whole chapter was going to be about as I read the first few pages. All I really got of it was that they were travelling somewhere, but I had no idea where they were going.
After reading about how Genly was denied by the King, I wondered where he was going to go next. On page 56, Genly told the "person" he was just greeted by that he had "come with a question for the Foretellers." I wondered what the question would be, and I hoped that he wouldn't have the same outcome as Herbor in the previous chapter. I thought it was pretty nice of the Foretellers to let Genly "dwell" with them for a few days (pg. 59). And when Genly finally got the chance to ask the Foretellers, "Will this world Gethen be a member of the Ekumen of Known Worlds, five years from now?" I wondered what type of process would have to be done in order to reach an answer. Would it be similar to The Bead Woman? As the foretellers sat in the circle, I found the "Pervert" kind of weird. On page 64, it says, "The Pervert laid his hand quickly and softly on the kemmerer's hand." What was he trying to do? Was he trying to flirt with the kemmerer or something? I don't know, but the actions of some of the characters in this novel confuse me.. I don't really get their intentions sometimes.
One thing that really interested me in this chapter was when Faxe said, "the unforetold, the unproven, that is what life is based on. Ignorance is the ground of thought. Unproof is the ground of action...." (pg.71) It took awhile for me to really understand what he was saying, and I'm still not sure if I'm taking it the right way. What I think is that Faxe is trying to say that life is about just living and letting fate take its course. What makes life life is living like there's no tomorrow, living with the uncertainties and taking chances. I think he's trying to say that life is about making choices based on what YOU believe is best. If all the Gethenians took the easy way out by paying the price to see a Foreteller, that wouldn't be living a real life. Just as Faxe said, "The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next." (pg. 71) I wonder what's in store for Genly!...
Thanks for reading!
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