Sunday, January 28, 2018
To be alone
The constant cold on Gethen is something that the inhabitants of the planet have adapted and gotten used to. Since Genly is an alien, the cold affects him more than anyone else. This often serves to further how much of an outsider he is, which leads to him feeling out of place and alone. Since he does not originally come from a planet that is as cold as Gethen, he feels cold in times where others think of the weather as a nice spring day (page 20). He has no one that truly understands how much he suffers from it all. On Earth, places that are freezing cold are abandoned and undesirable, often making people think of loneliness when trying to picture it. People are miserable when they are freezing, and sometimes they can feel hopeless and all alone in certain situations. This, I believe, is how Genly feels all the time on Gethen. The cold makes him feel uncomfortable and isolated from everyone around him. No matter how many layers he puts on, the constant reminder that he does not belong there will always be present, such as when he was put in that van and the others sought him out as one of the weakest there (page 170). Another instance of Genly being treated as weak was when he arrived in Orgoreyn and was treated as if he was pregnant due to how susceptible to the cold he is (page 117). While it did help him to stay warm, it still no doubt made him even more isolated than before.
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I agree, I think that loneliness is what the book is trying to illustrate. Cold places are thought of as lonely because people are attracted to the warmth. Sometimes being alone or depressed can make you feel cold and isolated like Genly. Gethen's cold climate presents his loneliness and mood since he feels isolated being different from everyone else around him.
ReplyDeleteHello there. I agree with many of your points made here. I feel since Genly is the one being seen and treated differently, it makes him feel more alone as an alien to the Gethenians aside from the fact that he's the only human on the planet. The cold certainly plays a factor in making him feel more alone because everyone on Gethen has gotten used to living in a cold environment, however I wouldn't say people feel miserable when freezing either. Rather, people try to avoid cool, snowy environments so that they don't have to feel cold and improvise on having to be in those environments by wearing layered clothing as Genly has. That said, not being adjusted to the cold plays a part in making Genly feel isolated, but because we have also seen he's begun to adjust to Gethenian customs, I think he's will adjust to the coldness of Gethen so that he doesn't feel so lonely in the end.
ReplyDeletehe will*
DeleteI concur with the points you have made concerning the isolation Gently feels in response to the environment of the planet. Winter, a cold, desolate planet is home to the many Gethenians that consider their life normal in comparison to ours. I think it is quite interesting that the novel describes the planet as nothing enjoyable (especially for Genly) and when the Gethenians enter Kemmer, it is described as a more beautiful and warm experience. The two subjects are described in opposition to the other, the special beauty of Kemmer brings those cold and isolated on the planet together. Together they are warm and tender and when separated they are alone and cold.
ReplyDeleteI agree with waht you are saying. Genly is an outsider since he is from another planet and not used to Winter. I believe that Genly is always going to feel lonley on Winter because it is hard to make friends with the others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what your saying all the way. Genly is always going to be an outsider because he is from a different world and they may look at him differently because he isn’t from where they are from. He is never going to be like them and i think he is going to feel lonely because it is going to be hard to get a long with others. An example of being depressed can be the cold weather that they have in there world.
ReplyDeleteI do too agree, usually we feel isolated when we don’t have what others do, or are different compared to others. So Genly being not adapted to the planet’s cold weather and him being taller than everybody, does seem lonely. I would feel the same if i was in his situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the cold being a source of loneliness and isolation. Genly being from another planet doesn't see Gethen the same way as its inhabitants do and in a sense will always be isolated from everyone.
ReplyDeleteI too agree with your point in how the constant cold on Gethen constitutes to the theme of isolation and loneliness. The constant cold affects Genly Ai the most, for he is not accustomed to such weather which leaves Ai isolated from Gethenians. In addition, Ai experiences loneliness, because Ai's physical appearance and background are off-putting to Gethenians. Thus, Gethenians first impressions of Ai are anything but warm. On the other hand, Genly Ai also has a difficult time understanding Gethenians which leads him to further loneliness. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAs Genly always points out during the book, he is not very distinguishable from the Gethenians. However, his lack of resistance to the cold is a clear indicator for, not only Gethenians, but also himself that he does not belong on Gethen. As he does speak about the cold often in the book, it is definitely a key contributor to his feeling of isolation.
ReplyDeleteThe cold is the biggest symbol of Genly’s difference from the Gethenians and the isolation that comes from it. Because of his inability to create warmth for himself, he is seen as weak and somewhat of a joke to the Gethenians. That already adds to Genly’s existing feelings of alienation while being on that planet.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how we are quick to equate the sense of loneliness to Genly's isolation oppose to comparing the weather's cold,isolation to the way it affects the Gethenian people. It is evident that your surroundings have a way of molding you, so I think that Genly isn't the only one on Winter affected by the cold,isolation but rather everyone. The reason he feels so lonely is because those around him do too. Their loneliness not only comes from the weather but the fact that they differ in regards to the other planets. So it's understandable why Genly too feels isolated, being in a planet that is already isolated. However, I think his isolation differs during the natives time of kemmer, the one time where they experience togetherness.
ReplyDeleteWoah! You're right!!! The planet itself is super isolated and lonely already because of the weather affecting the people so Genley being an outsider would feel even more isolated.
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