The constant cold of Gethen contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness because emotionally, Gethen is a cold and lonely place. One of the major examples that I have picked up on is their whole gender and sexual situation. To me, being cold means being lonely, upset, and depressed. Gethenians are constantly alone unless they are in kemmering. Therefore, a majority of their lives, they are alone, cold, and isolated until they enter kemmer. The Gethenians lack emotion, sometimes they don't stay with their kemmering partner, and the children aren't taken care of individually by their parents, they are scattered and being taken care of by a bunch of Gethenians, which can become lonely.
Genley Ai feels the most isolated and the most lonely, for one he was sent to Gethen all alone, no other human beings came along with him, so as far as he is concerned, he is completely alone. Sure he has met others on Gethen and has somewhat made friends, but over all he is alone. Genley comes from Earth where there are four different seasons, and he was placed onto a planet where it is freezing cold all the time. A change that drastic can cause someone to have a change in their actions and how they feel, which I think is a major contribution to the loneliness and isolation.
Gethen is a cold place. The feeling is lonely and dark. The color of the actual novel is blue which is a color related to sadness. The Gethenians feel lonely, for example, in chapter two the tale about the brothers who could not be together, Hode killed himself because he could not be with who he wanted to be with. If that is not cold and lonely then I don't know what is.
I also connect coldness to loneliness and depression. I guess it's because of how when it's cold you lack energy and effort. In movies darkness and miserableness is always represented by cold. When we die, our bodies turn cold. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I agree with your definition of cold. Do you ever wonder why though? Why can't warm be negative and cold positive?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jaelyn, that Gethen is a cold and lonely place that contributes toward the theme of isolation and loneliness. I believe that Gethenians lack emotion, but I feel that they use the kemmering stage to feel what it is like to have a deep emotional connection with someone. I see it as if they crave the confront of someone because like you said, they are alone majority of their lives from birth basically. This also can relate to Genley Ai feeling alone, ever since he left his home planet he has been alone and out of place causing the feeling of loneliness and isolation to become a constant emotion he feels. I noticed that Genley Ai also craves someone's present and the feeling of love. - Alana Williams
ReplyDeleteI agree with cold standing to represent negativity and darkness. The example of Hode committing suicide is definitley a good example of the theme of coldness because it was a drastic decision between two brothers that lead to loneliness. For Genly, I agree that his loneliness on Gethen makes him feel dsiconnected from the Gethenians, resulting in him feeling not only physically cold but mentally cold as well. Overall, Gethen is a cold and lonely planet, which leads people to isolate themselves and live in darkness.
ReplyDeleteHello Jaelyn, I like your post because you compare how we deal with loneliness on earth and how the Gethenians do too. I found it sad when I read that the children aren't taken care of by their parents because I couldn't imagine being separated from my parents and being taken care of by people I'm not familiar with or that aren't related to me. In this book I feel like being independent or alone is apart of their lifestyle and that we had to understand that when reading the book and not automatically think about ourselves and the differences. In our perspective it's sad that the Gethenians are lonely but in their mind it's just a normal thing. I believe Genly feels most isolated and lonely because of the life he was use to on earth rather then the Gethenians that don't show much expression when feeling lonely. It seems hard to adapt to the way they think and become use to not having much emotion about feeling lonely.
ReplyDeleteHi Jaelyn, I like how you brought up that along with the harshness of the weather on Gethen, the cycle of kemmer also contributes to the loneliness and isolation of Gethenians. I had never thought about this and seeing your perspective opened my eyes to the idea. In Gethen, where the people are only truly close to another during kemmer, it must be really lonely most of the time. I feel like finding someone and emotionally connecting with brings warm into a persons life. Unfortunately, Gethenians do not experience this often - only about once a month resulting in them always being emotionally distant and lonely. Once they do find another person they really feel connected to, they can pledge kemering. I honestly think this is the best. In this world, although there is no encouragement to feel a close connection with someone, there is no sexual frustration. In a way, the kemmering cycle is a blessing because there is no sexual frustration and a curse because it results in isolation and loneliness.
ReplyDeleteHey Jaelyn, I heavily agree with how you explained how the cold is conducive to the theme because the cold world is a very lonely place. They cannot really connect to other individuals unless they are in Kemmer but they are conditioned to not be emotional because of their culture. I feel like Gethenians have a hard time relating to people because they have never really experienced that warmth it brings and their environment. We see isolation as a negative aspect of life but to them it could be their happiness. They remind me of being introverts.
ReplyDelete