Sunday, July 31, 2011

LHoD notes

As you may have guessed from my previous two posts, I'm sort of looking through old English notes just for the heck of it.

In my Science Fiction class we studied The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. le Guin, and since I'm currently examining that book I figured I may as well collect my notes on that book from that class in one place, and that may as well be here, on my book blog!

Aaaand, it turns out that I didn't actually take very many notes on this book in class. Either we didn't talk about it very much or I spent more energy in discussion than on note taking. Probably the latter.

[FYI, in copying out my notes I found myself making editorial comments here and there.]

SPOILERS

What does it mean to be human?

No war because...
**Gender?
**Envirnoment?

Weather necessitates closeness

Not really patriotism
Can you have war without patriotism?

[Final page of notes is all about hero's journey as discussed by Joseph Campbell, but I won't write all that out here. Only...]
**Keystone (289)
**pg 245-6

Major themes

Gender
Religion/spirituality
Monarchy/beurocacy
Technological ignorance
Cultural relativism
Environment -- harsh, cold, shapes culture and people
Homosexuality/ambisexuality
**Hermaphradism
Coexisting, coexistent dichotomies
**Gender
**Government system
**Self/other
**Alien/native
**Past/present
**King/servant

Shifgrethor

Prestige, honor, samura

How it's different from other books

Non-linear storyline
Multiple narrators
More modern (gender roles) [I'm looking at this now and trying to figure out how this is more modern...??]
New word: kemmering

What does it mean to be gay? [Now I'm wondering what this has to do with anything...but it's in my notes, so here it is!]
**attracted to people, not gender
**people not defined by gender
[Now I just have to point out, even though it isn't in my notes, that homosexuals are attracted to one gender -- their own! We ought to have been discussing bisexuals in class, not gays.]

Kemmer
**Physical (in kemmer)
**In heat
**Vow kemmering -- marriage, only once, no state/religion bound

Mind speech

Shifgrethor

Passive on surface
**(small violence)
**Gender + environment

Environment

Freewriting

Well, there are there "perverts," who may be their version of homosexuals. They are looked down on. Perhaps it's a comment that the unusual is viewed as strange and undesirable?

Perhaps that we shouldn't fall in love based on gender -- everyone be bi-sexual --> person first, gender second.
**Then what about the perverts?

pg 213 about friendship

pg 247

Novel is about everything
focused on gender

"We"

Something else from my old school notes. It's a brief handwritten essay, probably from an exam, about Yevgeny Zamyatin's We.

SPOILERS

Zamyatin loved freedom, so naturally he was dismayed when he saw it disappearing under Lenin's reign. His book We, to use words in the introduction, "is a warning, and a challenge, and a call to action" (xxvi). With it he shows what communism may turn the world into if people aren't careful.

Lenin's rule was controlling, and order was kept with the secret police. The secret police in We are the Guardians. They look for people who act irregularly, and punish those who do things which are considered inappropriate.

Literature was controlled under Lenin's rule. An example of this is the fact that We was not published in Russia during Zamyatin's lifetime. Writings which were not approved of by the government were not published in government magazines or books. In the book We a poet is executed because he wrote bad things about the Benefactor. As though that were not controlling enough, D's friend, the poet R, must compose and read a poem at the execution of his fellow poet.

There is also the revolution. As already stated, the book is partially a call to action. It shows people that even if they are oppressed, are completely cut off from the outside world, with no way to escape their suppressor's scrutiny long enough to begin a revolution, even then there is still hope. As I says in We, there is an infinite amount of numbers -- you cannot reach a final one. And there will always be another revolution.

The revolution in the book is similar to when the bolshevik party took control. They took control completely and totally and it must have seemed hopeless to many. But there was still hope out there. This is illustrated in We. When the operation is performed on D he becomes completely under the power of the Benefactor, without the will to escape. However, O has escaped beyond the Wall, and will raise their child outside the control of the Benefactor.

Starship Troopers -- book vs. movie

I'm looking through some old English notes (because I'm just that nerdy) and I came across a brief essay -- probably written as part of an exam, because it's handwritten but also has a comment from my professor on it (he liked my second paragraph) -- about the differences between Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and the movie by the same name.

I've done only minor editing.

SPOILERS

The book and the movie are very different. Sometimes the difference is as simple as the same situation being handled differently, such as when someone asks why it is necessary to learn to throw a dagger. But there are also differences which are not so simple, such as the complete absence in the movie of the suits which are the major of the M.I. in the book.

Violence is treated differently in the movie and book. In the book it is a tool: for example, when Johnnie needs to straighten out with Ace who is in charge. But it comes across as thoughtless in the movie. For example, when Zim pins a man's hand to a wall with a dagger in response to the innocent question of why they need to learn to use a dagger. This question was also asked int he book, and there Zim simply sat everyone down and explained it to them.

This last example also illustrates teaching methods. No where in the movie does Zim simply explain anything: it's always taught with violence. Violence is also used in the book, such as when Hendrick breaks a freeze, but it is not seen as the only way to teach as it seems to be in the movie.

The very reason for why the M.I. fight is different. In the book it is because everyone does their part, and "The M.I. take care of their own -- no matter what" (110). In the first chapter, they even risk missing the rendezvous with the ship to retrieve an injured M.I. So, they fight for each other's sake. But in the book it is purely out of hate for hte bugs. The friendship is there and they do work together, but their reason for fighting is pure blind hate.

There is also the difference of science. In the book advanced technology plays an important role, such as the suit. Nearly a whole chapter is dedicated to explaining the abilities of the suit and how it works. The movie is not so concerned with technology, and there is a complete absense of hte suits which are so essential to the M.I. in the book. Of course, advanced technology is present in the movie; two examples ar ethe space ships and the tattooing machine. But unlike the technology in the book, not much attention are paid to tehse.

The book comes across as much more sensible than the book. It shows that there is a job to be done, and glorifies it. The movie shows the M.I. as senseless and unthinking, turning it into a satire.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Exodus!

I'm rereading Eldest by Christopher Paolini. And I'm sorry, but before I go any further...

SPOILERS!!!

I've said before that Roran reminds me of Moses, and that I think he's a Moses figure. True, he doesn't speak for a god, but he does lead his people to freedom. Also, if you'll allow me to quote a little of the book immediately after Roran came up with the wild idea of taking the people of Carvahall to Surda...
"It was heresy, blasphemy, to think that he could convince the farmers to abandon their fields and the merchants their shops. . ." (247)
The words "heresy" and "blasphemy" suggest a religious context, which supports my idea that he's a Moses figure.

There are two other places that support my theory...one of which are actually in the next book, Brisingr.
"I did not lie; this is my flock and I am their shepherd" (Eldest, 426).
I can't remember if Moses ever calls himself the shepherd, but calling followers a flock is definitely Biblical.
"They may have followed me, but they certainly never stopped questioning me" (Brisingr, 159).
Moses could have said these words himself. While reading the Bible I lost track of how many times he was questioned and challenged, and yet he was always followed in the end -- just like Moses.

Now, with this in mind, I want to make a prediction about the final book, Inheritance.

Moses never got to see the Promised Land that he led his people to, and I don't think that Roran will get to either.

Yes, it's true that Roran manages to get his people to Surda -- but that's not really what he wants, is it? What his own Promised Land is is clearly stated when Roran marries Katrina in Brisingr:
"He brings his hammer. He brings the strength of his hands. And he brings the promise of a farm in Carvahall, where they may both live in peace" (344).
If Roran really is a Moses figure, as I think he is, then he will not live to see this. Either he will die (as is suggested in one sneak peak that has been released...but which I cannot find now!) or there will be new obligations that prevent him from returning to his life as a farmer.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Hemingway as a religious writer

One book I'm very interested in, although I haven't really studied, is The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway.

In doing some cleaning I found some old English notes on this novella, and specifically about his novella as a piece of religious writing, and I wanted to share it here. Just in case any of my followers are as nutty as me. :)

I don't remember the reason for why everything I noted down was supposed to be a religious reference, but oh well. Here goes!

SPOILERS

Old man has a disciple -- the boy (10, etc)
***"He hasn't much faith" said of the boy's father (10)

Santiago has gone 40 days without catching a fish when boy left him (9)

Santiago -- is simple, and has humility (13)
***Feels that it is no loss to his pride (14)

Pictures on wall of his home -- Sacred Heart of Jesus, Virgin on Cobre (16)
***These were relics of his wife (16)

Man calls boy "my son" (17)

Old man loves lions has he loved the boy (25)

The flying fish are his friends (29)

"My big fish must be somewhere" (35).
***Jesus is referred to as the/a "big fish"

"He had no mysticism about turtles (37).

Eighty-fifth day he had luck

Where Santiago prays/mentions God: pgs 42, 45, 53, 56, 60, 63, 66, 68, 85, 103, 110

He pitied hte fish he'd hooked (48)

Loves and respects fish, but still determined to kill it (54)

Right hand bleeding (56)
***The working part of his hand (57)
Left hand cramped (58)
***Almost like rigor mortis (59)

The fish is his brother (59)

Fish is purple (62)
***color of royalty!!!!
Fish jumps -- man sees him for first time (62)

Fish less intelligent than humans, but are mor enoble and able (63)

Wishes he were the fish (64)

Says Our Fathers and Hail Marys (65)
***"I am not religious" (64)
He says the prayers automatically (65)

Promises to make a pilgrimage to Virgon of Cobre if he catches hte fish (65)

He only dreams of lions (66)
Used to be able to see in the dark almost like a cat (67)
***He's the lion!!!! A Christ figure. =D

Shares a parable in middle of story -- arm wrestling with negro (68-70)

Back goes from painful to dull (74)

Live on sea and kill true brothers (75)

Hand phosphorescent from skinning a fish (79)

Fish circling (86-??)

Promises Our Father's and Hail Marys (87)
***Never does say them during story

"Fish, you are going to die anyways. Do you have to kill me too?" (92)
He doesn't care who kills who -- the fish has a right to kill him (92)
Suffer like a man, or like a fish (92)

Fish came alive upon death (94)

Who's bringing who in? (99)
Man only better than the fish through trickery (99)

Catching the fish was too good to last (101)

First shark took about 40 pounds off the fish (103)
On upside, the boat is lighty for the loss of 40 lb 103)

"A man can be destroyed but not defeated" (103).

Sorry he killed the fish (103)
Perhaps he wasn't more intelligent than the fish (103)

Reflecting on sin (105)

"everything kills everything else (106)

Shark swallowed food while dying (108)

"It makes everything wrong" (110).

mistake to go out so far (110)

Many things he should have brought, but didn't (110)

"Only the boy to worry, of course" (115)
***Then -- plenty others will worry too (115)

He couldn't talk tot he fish anymore, because it was mutilitated -- "half fish" (115)
***Does talk to fish anyways (115)

Too tired to say promised Hail Marys and Our Fathers (116)

Violated luck by going out too far (116)

Knew he was beaten (119)
***REMEMBER..."A man can be destroyed but not defeated" (103)

A cat passes as he carries the mast (121)

Dragging the mast (121)
***Like Jesus carrying his cross
***Very tired, kept resting (121)

Boy cried when he saw man's hands (122)

Fish head to be used for fish traps (124)

Sharks defeated him (124)

He was gone for 3 days!!!

Says he felt something broken in his chest (125)

Tourists are clueless about the whole thingy (127)

Ends with him dreaming about lions (127)

..........

And there are my notes!

I recall that I also had a short essay on the subject that I wrote for an exam. I might share that later...

Monday, July 25, 2011

Shifgrethor -- Pulling things together_2

Yet another post about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. And as ever, I don't recommend continuing to read this post unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

I'm making some minor updates to this post, with info from the third post listed below.


1) Shifgrethor -- Genly
2) Shifgrethor -- Therem
3) Shifgrethor between two nations

Things that I think are rock solid:

In practice:
*Do not give advice unless shifgrethor has been waived (48, 151)
*To give advice without shifgrethor being waived is to insult and offend the other person (151)
*Can be competitive (33)
*Shifgrethor can be discarded when it is convenient to do so (84, 86, 155, 218)
***Each time I see shifgrethor waived it is to ask for advice
*A person loses prestige if caught lying (258)
*Questions are asked indirectly and discreetly (273)
*High shifgrethor can be recognized by the king by giving a person a certain place to live (289)
*When a person makes a grand claim that is proven wrong their shifgrethor is hurt (150)
*If a person makes a bargain and then breaks it they lose shifgrethor (258)

What shifgrethor is:
*Prestige (33, 156, 160)
*Pride (102)
*Honor (I'm reading between the lines)

What shifgrethor is not:

Other:
* Can be played on the level of ethics (106)
*Shifgrethor seems to be deeply ingrained (259)
*The word "shifgrethor" comes from an old word for "shadow" (247)
*Shifgrethor can sometimes be set aside when more than one person's pride or prestige (or that of their country) is at stake (198)

Things that I'm pretty sure of:

In practice:
*Whoever leads the way to success has higher shifgrethor (143)
*Showing signs of mistrust (in certain circumstances) can offend the other person's shifgrethor (257-8, 296)
*Vengeance, when appropriate or deemed necessary (152-3)
*There's no point in playing shifgrethor with "scum" (156)

What shifgrethor is:
*A certain separation between people (152-3)

What shifgrethor is not:

*Uncontrollable emotions (102)
*Fear (102)
*Anger (102)
*Self-praise (102)
*Hate (102)
*Timid (105)


Things that I'm iffy about:

In practice:
*Evasive (33)
*Challenging (33)
*Rhetorical subtleties (33)
*Conversational duel (33-4)
*Barrier to communication (33-4)
*Flattery might be a no-no (38)

What shifgrethor is:
*Social authority (14)

What I need to study to understand shifgrethor better:

*Why is it a no-no to give advice? Idea here.
*The why behind "In trying to flatter and interest him I had cornered him in a prestige-trap" (38).
*Shadow
*Figure out which and what it is in "He fussed over my condescension in deigning to learn anything about his country. Manners here were certainly different from manners in Karhide; there, the fuss he was making would either have degraded his own shifgrethor or insulted min; I wasn't sure which, but it would have done one or the other -- practically everything did" (119).
*Figure out the why behind "Mersen's a spy for Tibe, and of course he thinks nobody knows it but everybody does, and he can't stand the sight of Harth -- think he's either a traitor or a double agent and doesn't know which, and can't risk shifgrethor in finding out" (145-6).
*Examine Therem's explanations on pages 257-8 Done here.

Shifgrethor between two nations

About Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. le Guin. I don't recommend continuing here unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

I mentioned in this post that I ought to examine Therem's explanations on pages 257 to 258 about the situation between the two countries, so that's what I'm doing here.

"The king will see a chance to play shifgrethor" (257).

Does this mean that the king looks for opportunities to play shifgrethor?

"He will inquire [. . . .] No, no, of course not, we accept the word of the Commensals of Orgoreyn. . . ." (257-8)

The king inquires about Genly, is told that Genly has left, the king asks about Pulefen Farm, and then says that he'll take their word for it when he is offered to look for himself.

I guess this would support a conclusion that I drew from page 296 which is that showing signs of mistrust can be taken as an insult.

And then immediately following...

"But a few weeks after these exchanges, the Envoy appears in North Karhide, having escaped from Pulefen Farm. Consternation in Mishnory, indignation in Erhenrang. Loss of face for the Commensals, caught lying" (258).

When it's revealed that Genly had been sent to Pulefen Farm it will hurt the shifgrethor of those who have been lying -- so we see that to be caught lying is to lose shifgrethor.

"You will be a treasure, a long-lost hearth-brother, to King Argaven, Genry [. . . .] If he makes the bargain with you, he will keep it. To break it would be to break his own shifgrethor" (258).

I think it's implied here that because Genly will have helped to hurt the shifgrethor of another country Argaven will welcome him. And that it is because of his good mood that he will make a bargain with Genly, agreeing to join the Ekumen.

We also see that to break a bargain is to lose shifgrethor.

"Karhide has been sorely humbled this past half-year. You will give Argaven the chance to turn the tables" (258).

Bluntly saying what has already been explained.

War references in LHoD

Yet again, another post about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness!!

SPOILERS

For some reason that I can't remember (oh wait, it was because I was just curious) I started noting down the references to war in LHoD. So here they are! Maybe they'll help me better understand things in LHoD?

"I did not speak of war, for a good reason; there's no word for it in Karhidish" (35).

So, we know here that they have no word for it! Or at least, they don't in Karhide.


"[...]but a feud between two nations? a foray involving fifty million souls? O by Meshe's sweet milk, that's a picture that has set fire to my sleep, some nights, and made me get up sweating. . . ." (85)

Obsle is speaking to Therem and they begin to discuss war. We see here that they have no name for it in whatever language they speak in Orgoreyn, and that it is evident that it has not happened in recorded history.

"He was after something surer, the sure, quick, and lasting way to make people into a nation: war. His ideas concerning it could not have been too precise, but they were quite sound" (103).

Tibe is trying to make a foray between two nations...in other words, a war. I guess that would make him quite a visionary, though not a pleasant sort of visionary.

" 'such a grave,' said the Regent, 'as all the enemies of our nation will find!' " (104)

How do you start a war? Name an enemy. An enemy of your family, or even of your hearth? No, an enemy of your country.

Tibe has a pretty good idea of how to start a war.

"But there isn't any quarrel between Ovord and Suiwensin. . . ." (112)

An attack has been launched by people of Ovord on Suiwensin, unprovoked, at least on a personal level. Obviously this sort of thing just doesn't happen unprovoked, as it did in this case. And yet it did.

I'm pretty sure that this is one of the first steps towards the war that Tibe wants. It wasn't really Ovord vs.. Suiwensin, but Karhide vs. Orgoreyn -- something which isn't evident to those who were attacked.

" 'All the central worlds are still recovering from a disastrous era a couple of centuries ago, reviving lost skills and lost ideas, learning how to talk again. . . .' How could I explain the Age of hte Enemy, and its aftereffects, to a people who had no word for war?" (137)

This illustrates Genly's inability to properly explain war. Which I guess is a good problem to have.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Advice and shifgrethor

No, shifgrethor is not some unbelievably misspelled word. It's something from Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.

Nothing will be given away here plot-wise.

Q: Why is it a no-no to give advice?

A: Well, I have a theory, which is what this post is about.

A person's shifgrethor is their pride and prestige (33, 102, 156, 160). And we also know that giving advice is a way to insult a person (151).

It could be that they see offering advice as implying someone isn't smart enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together to find answers for himself. Which to imply that would be to hurt a person's pride, and possibly their prestige, and therefore their shifgrethor.

Shifgrethor -- Pulling things together_1

Yet another post about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. And as ever, I don't recommend continuing to read this post unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

I'm pulling together what I know of shifgrethor here, by compiling what I've got in these two posts.

Things that I think are rock solid:

In practice:
*Do not give advice unless shifgrethor has been waived (48, 151)
*To give advice without shifgrethor being waived is to insult and offend the other person (151)
*Can be competitive (33)
*Shifgrethor can be discarded when it is convenient to do so (84, 86, 155, 218)
***Each time I see shifgrethor waived it is to ask for advice
*A person loses prestige if caught lying (257-8)
*Questions are asked indirectly and discreetly (273)
*High shifgrethor can be recognized by the king by giving a person a certain place to live (289)
*When a person makes a grand claim that is proven wrong their shifgrethor is hurt (150)


What shifgrethor is:
*Prestige (33, 156, 160)
*Pride (102)
*Honor (I'm reading between the lines)

What shifgrethor is not:

Other:
* Can be played on the level of ethics (106)
*Shifgrethor seems to be deeply ingrained (259)
*The word "shifgrethor" comes from an old word for "shadow" (247)
*Shifgrethor can sometimes be set aside when more than one person's pride or prestige (or that of their country) is at stake (198)

Things that I'm pretty sure of:

In practice:
*Whoever leads the way to success has higher shifgrethor (143)
*Showing signs of mistrust (in certain circumstances) can offend the other person's shifgrethor (296)
*Vengeance, when appropriate or deemed necessary (152-3)
*There's no point in playing shifgrethor with "scum" (156)

What shifgrethor is:
*A certain separation between people (152-3)

What shifgrethor is not:
*Uncontrollable emotions (102)
*Fear (102)
*Anger (102)
*Self-praise (102)
*Hate (102)
*Timid (105)


Things that I'm iffy about:

In practice:
*Evasive (33)
*Challenging (33)
*Rhetorical subtleties (33)
*Conversational duel (33-4)
*Barrier to communication (33-4)
*Flattery might be a no-no (38)

What shifgrethor is:
*Social authority (14)

What I need to study to understand shifgrethor better:

*Why is it a no-no to give advice?
*The why behind "In trying to flatter and interest him I had cornered him in a prestige-trap" (38).
*Shadow
*Figure out which and what it is in "He fussed over my condescension in deigning to learn anything about his country. Manners here were certainly different from manners in Karhide; there, the fuss he was making would either have degraded his own shifgrethor or insulted min; I wasn't sure which, but it would have done one or the other -- practically everything did" (119).
*Figure out the why behind "Mersen's a spy for Tibe, and of course he thinks nobody knows it but everybody does, and he can't stand the sight of Harth -- think he's either a traitor or a double agent and doesn't know which, and can't risk shifgrethor in finding out" (145-6).
*Examine Therem's explanations on pages 257-8

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Handdara -- pulling things together_1

This post is about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. I know I keep saying this, but I really don't recommend continuing here unless you've read the book.

This is sort of notes I'm putting together and putting online for convenience, but if anyone else likes what I've got here then that's great! :)

SPOILERS


I'm putting together things based on what I've got so far in these three posts.

Here I'm pulling together what we've got about the practices and beliefs of the Handdara.

By the way, a Celtic word of "oak" is "dara," which is part of the word "Handdara." Is there anything to that?

Things that I think are rock solid:


Foretelling (because it deserves its own thingy):

*When someone comes for a Foretelling, there is always a price (45)
*Those not part of the Foretellers can harness the hunch, at times (189, 203)
*A Foretelling can only be done at certain times (59)
*Some questions are unanswerable, and will destroy the answerers if forced to answer (60)
*Description of foretelling on pages 61-6
*The Foretellers meet in a locked room, with a physician present. Genly asks the question, the Weaver declares it answerable. Nothing really seems to happen, the Pervert arouses the Celibate who is entering kemmer, until "Faxe raised his hand. At noce each face in the circle turned to him as if he had gathered up their gazes into a sheaf, a skein" (64). All become connected mentally, and Genly is pulled into it. Sexual visions. Finally the answer yes is screamed. " Something about darkness and foreshadows is mentioned. (61-6)
*Nine are involved in the Foretelling
***Five Celibates, one of whom must be in kemmer. All are adepts of the Presence. (63)
*** Two Zanies. They are not sane, and are called "time-dividers." When asked if they can be cured Goss asks "Would you cure a singer of his voice?" (63)
***One Weaver, who holds everything together, and is the "filament" (67)  (63)
***One Pervert, who can be artificially aroused, but it's preferred by some to have a natural pervert.  (63)
*The given answer is an observation (67)
*Implication that one of the Fastesness can have a question answered without paying a price (70)
*This is practiced "To exhibit the perfect uselessness of knowing the answer to the wrong question" (70).


Practices:

*Dothe-strength (151)
***Aided by the strength of the dark (189-94)
***Described in pages (189-94)
***Practitioners can retain unusual strength for extended lengths of time (59, 189-94)
*Untrance (151)
*Stillness (151)
*Fasting for up to a week or month. (151)
***They can begin learning as children (256)
*While celibate they are unlikely to use drugs that make it easier (157)
*The only ritual words Genly ever hears is "Praise then darkness and Creation unfinished" (264)
*They try to avoid finding answers (70)

Beliefs:
*They do not have a belief or disbelief in God, and they find this to be a freedom (153)
*Indication of belief that words carry power (192)
*Ignorance can be gained (56-7)

Nusuth stuff:
*A center of what Handdara is about (60)
*Sometimes things that would seem pretty important to us are nusuth (78, 107, 115-6, 254)
(And I notice that I do not actually define nusuth here...)

What there is not in the Handdara:
*Theory (233)
*Dogma (233)
*Priests (55)
*Institution (55)
* Hierarchy (55)
*Rank (70)
*Status (70)

Related to outside politics:
*It's not unusual for Indwellers to become politically involved (256)
*Faxe is willing to change with the world, but not to change the world himself (69)

Random, other:
*It's a tradition that is 12,000 to 13,000 years old (47, 71)
*Implication that status = shadow (70)



Things that I'm pretty sure of:


Beliefs:
*Belief in cyclical time is indicated (227)
*Focus on similarities, not differences (233)
*Less aware of difference between human and beast (233)

Practices:
*There is an indication that the unused energy of kemmer while one is celibate is channeled into other practices, such as untrance (232)

Nusuth stuff:
*Means "no matter" (60)
(And here's the definition, meaning I'm not 100% sure what it really means)

What is not in the Handdara:

*Vows (55)
*Creed (55)

Random, other:
*The Fastnesses are the "only fixed manifestations" (55)
*People may sped a "night or a lifetime" in a Fastnesses (55)



Things that I'm iffy about:


Practices:
*Indication that they can clear their minds quickly (250)

*Presence (57-8)
***It is a trance, or un-trance (57-8)
***Self loss or self augmentation (57-8)


Nusuth stuff:
*"...ubiquitous and ambiguous negative of the Handdara" (60)


What I don't believe:


*Implication that one can only practice Handdara in certain places (47) -- I don't believe this because Therem takes up Handdara practices during his exile.


Things I need to study to better understand the Handdara:


*On Time and Darkness (162-164)
*Shadows and light
*The Yomeshe, since they are a shadow cast (or the light casting the shadow?) by the Handdara. No, probably they're the light casting the shadow.
*Poem on pages 233-234

"The Domestication of Hunch"

This post is about Ursula K. le Guin's book The Left Hand of Darkness. I don't recommend reading this post unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

So, I'm taking a look at what chapter 5, "The Domestication of Hunch," says about the Handdara.

"But I'm a Yomeshta, praise to the nine-hundred Throne-Upholders and Blest be the Milk of Meshe, and one ocan be a Yomeshta anywhere" (47).

Genly's landlady is of the opinion that a person can only be of the Handdara if they are in certain locations. I'm pretty sure that this is not the case, however.

"...my Lord Meshe was born 2,202 years-ago, but the Old Way of the Handdara goes back ten thousand years before that" (47).

The landlady again, telling us that the Handdara is about 12,000 years old.

Actually, Genly says on page 71 that it's 13,000 years old.

"Oh, the Old Men can. I used to drive in a caravan that brought up their food from Erhenrang, late in summer. Of course you can't get in or out for ten or eleven months of the year, but they don't care. There's seven or eight Indwellers up there" (52).

Someone telling Genly about some of the practitioners of Handdara.

"I came there at noon. That is, I came somewhere at noon, but I wasn't sure where . . . . After a while I became aware that there was a wooden hut just off the path to my right, and then I noticed a quite large wooden building a little farther off to my left; and from somewhere there came a delicious smell of fresh frying fish . . . . As I went on along the path I realized that a whole village or town was scatrtered about inthe shadow of that slanting forest, all as random as Rer was, but secretive, peaceful, rural" (54-5).

Genly comes to a Fastness and cannot even see it at first. It blends into the rest of the forest. I think it's safe to assume that this shows something of the nature of the Handdarata -- perhaps that they do not intrude, and mesh easily with the rest of the world.

Also, there is that word again: shadow.

"The Handdara is a religion without institution, without priests, without a hiearchy, without vows, without creed; I am still unable to say whether it has a God or not. It is elusive. It is always somewhere else. Its only fixed manifestations is in the Fastnesses, retreats tow hich people may retire and spend the night or a lifetime" (55).

What we've learned here:

*No institution
*No priests
*No hiearchy
*No vows
*No creed
*Elusive (to Genly)
*The Fastnesses are the "only fixed manifestations"
*People may sped a "night or a lifetime" in a Fastnesses

" 'I've lived here three years, but haven't yet acquired enough ignorance to be worth mentioning.' He qas highly amused, but his manner was gentle, and I managed to recollect enough scraps of Handdara lore to realize that I had been boasting very much . . . . 'Behold, we must sully the plain snow with footprints, in order to get anywhere' " (56-7). 

Here we see that ignorance is to be desired, and sought. Goss seems to suggest that ignorance can be gained, just like knowledge.

He also says "we must sully the plain snow with footprints in order to get anywhere." So what is the snow? If it's assumed to be what is wanted (ignorance) then it must be assumed that the footprints (which would cast shadows inside of them!) would be knowledge. Hmm...

This might be an important indication of what all the shadow references are about.

"They were practicing the Handdara discipline of Presence, which is a kind of trance -- the Handdarata, given to negatives, may call it untrance -- involving self-loss (self augmentation?) through extreme sensual receptiveness and awareness. Though the technique is the exact opposite of most techniques of mysticism it probably is a mystical discipline, tending towards the experience of Immanence; but I can't categorize any practice of the Handdarata with certainty" (57-8).

First of all, Genly admits that he does not fully understand the Handdara, and so we need to take what he says with a grain of salt.

That being said, we have a description here of Presence, a Handdara practice.

"You're the Envoy, aren't you?" (58).

Faxe knows who Genly is immediately, even though Genly has not told anyone.

Time spent in the Fastesness (59-60)

I'm going to paraphrase much of what happens before the foretelling, with occasional quotes thrown in here and there.

“Time was unorganized except for the communal work…” (59)

Very quiet. Hardly a word spoken. (59)

Sometimes music, beer, other fun in evenings. (59)

Two men dancing one evening: “…men so old that their hair had whitened, and their limbs were skinny … Their dancing was slow, precise, controlled; it fascinated the eye and mind … all but the drummer who never stopped his subtle changing beat. The two old dancers were still dancing at Sixth Hour, midnight, after five Terran hours” (59). This is the first time that Genly has seen dothe. Slightly more complete description may be found in book.

"It was an introverted life, self-sufficient, stagnant, steeped in that singular 'ignorance' prized by the Handdarata and obedient to their rule of inactivity or non-interference. That rule (expressed in the word nusuth, which I have to translate as 'no matter') is the heart of the cult, and I don't pretend to understand it" (60). To understand the Handdarata better we need to understand nusuth.

Foretelling (60-7)

"There are only certain times, you know, when the Foretellers are able to meet together, so in any case you’d dwell with us some days” (59). What are those certain times? There is some time between them, at least in some cases. Genly's foretelling was held on the 18th (62)

"The more qualififed and limited the question, the more exact the answer ... Vagueness breeds vagueness" (60).

Some questions cannot be answered. If forced to answer the Foretellers will be "wrecked." (60)

Once a group was forced to answer "What is the meaning of life?" and the result... "all the Celibates were catatonic, the Zanies were dead, the Pervert clubbed the Lord of Soreth to death with a stone, and the Weaver ... He was a man named Meshe" (60). Meshe then founded the Yomesh. (61)

"The cost was high for the asker -- two of my rubies went to the coffers of the Fastness -- but higher for the answerers" (61).

The Foretellers meet in a locked room, with a physician present. Genly asks the question, the Weaver declares it answerable. Nothing really seems to happen, the Pervert arouses the Celibate who is entering kemmer, until "Faze raised his hand. At noce each face in the circle turned to him as if he had gathered up their gazes into a sheaf, a skein" (64). All become connected mentally, and Genly is pulled into it. Sexual visions. Finally the answer yes is screamed. " Something about darkness and foreshadows is mentioned. (61-6)

Those involved in the Foretelling are: Celibates -- five of them, one must be in kemmer, they're all adepts of the Presence; two Zanies -- they are not sane, are called "time-dividers", and when asked if they can be cured Goss asks "Would you cure a singer of his voice?"; the Weaver -- who holds everything together, is the "filament" (67); and the Pervert -- can be artifically aroused, but it's generally preferred to get a real one. (63) Nine total.

"Even then I was aware of the quality of that answer, not so much a prophecy as an observation" (67). Genly calls the answer a hunch, a hunch that is 100% accurate.

"But my business is unlearning, not learning. And I'd rather not yet learn an art that would change the world entirely . . . And I'll change with it [the world], Genry. But I have no wish to change it" (69).

Faxe is willing to change with the world (and as we later see he even becomes involved in politics) but he does not wish to change it himself. Passive.

"Indwellers of the Fastness have no rank or status . . . [if I take back status] I take back my status and my shadow, but my foretelling's at an end. If I had a question while I served in the kyorremy, I'd go to Orgny Fastness there, pay my price, and get my answer" (70).

Details about what would happen if Faxe left.

It is implied here that Faxe could have a question and it would be answered for no charge.

"But we in the Handdara don't want answers. It's hard to avoid them, but we try to . . . we come to here to the Fastnesses mostly to learn what questions not to ask . . . You don't see yet, Genry, why we perfected and practice Foretelling? . . . To exhibit the perfect uselessness of knowing the answer to the wrong question" (70).

Implication here is that there is one correct question. Perhaps it is "how can I best unlearn?"

I'm pretty sure that this right here is the essence of the Handdara.

"There's really only one question that can be answered, Genry, and we already knowt he answer. . . . The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next" (71).

Ok, this paired with the previous quote could be the essence.

The question and answer referenced is "will we die" and the answer is "yes".

...

Also, I've noted on the final page that Otherhord sounds like Otherworld.

Nusuth

This post is about Ursula K. le Guin's book The Left Hand of Darkness. I don't recommend continuing to read unless you've already read the book.

SPOILERS

In this post I will examine all the places where "nusuth" is used. I think it's a word connected specifically to the Handdarata, and I'm trying to figure out if I am correct in that assumption.

...and the first mention of it proves that I remembered correctly! :)

Also, I will separate the this into two sections: from Genly's viewpoint, and Therem's.

Genly

"It was an introverted life, self-sufficient, stagnant, steeped in that singular "ignorance" prized by the Handdarata and obedient to their rule of inactivity or non-interference. That rule (expressed in the word nusuth, which I have to translate as "no matter") is the heart of the cult, and I don't pretend to understand it" (60).

Genly's first explanation of the word. Pretty self explanatory.

"Nusuth, the ubiquitous and ambiguous negative of the Handdara" (68).

Genly's second explanation of the word.

"'To tell him the children are well,' he said, then hesitated, and said queitly, 'Nusuth, no matter,' and left me" (107).

Ashe saying that how the children are doing is unimportant. Why?

"I had never made quite sure whether the invitation was a request or a polite command. Nusuth. I was in Orgoreyn to speak for the Ekumen, and might as well begin here as anywhere" (115-6).

Genly using the word himself.

Is he exercising his vocabulary, or is he beginning to learn towards the beliefs (or lack thereof?) of the Handdara?

"Nusuth" (203).

Genly asks forgiveness for the difficult conversation immediately after Therem has rescued him, and this is Therem's response.

Therem

"Whether he did thisin shifgrethor against Tibe's men who would kill an unarmed man, or in kindness, I do not know. Nusuth" (78).

Here we see (in addition to a shifgrethor reference that I missed earlier...) a place where Therem uses nusuth. Someone has saved his life for unknown reasons, and Therem says that the reasons for his savior's actions are unimportant.

"Nusuth. . . . My full brother, Arek Harth rem ir Estraven. He was a year older than I. He would have been Lord of Estre. We . . . I left home, you know, for his sake. He has been dead fourteen years" (254).

Therem saying that his brother is unimportant, despite the fact that Arek was his kemmering, and that (I think) that they as good as swore kemmering to each other.

And yet, after saying that it is nusuth, Therem continued on to tell Genly about Arek.

So...

We only get explanations of the word from Genly, who does not fully understand the culture and whose explanations must be taken with a grain of salt. And Therem never explained the word, but he did use it twice.

Also, nusuth is always in italics. 

The final Harry Potter

I still haven't watched the first half of the final Harry Potter movie. But with people talking about the second installment I just had to share something about when I read the book.

Without giving plot details away...

When I got near the end of the book I was crying so much that I could barely even read (seriously) and I had to take a hot cocoa break. I needed that chocolate!

Not many books have made me cry like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows did. The only two that come to mind are Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Brian Jacque's Salamandastron -- with both of them it was only towards the ending, just like with the final Harry Potter. But I don't remember running for chocolate with either of them.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

New name

When I tell people about my blogs I tell them that I have my main blog and my "book blog." It finally occurred to me that "Sarita's Book Blog" makes more sense than "Sarita's Library" since this isn't really a library. So, I've changed the name! The URL remains the same, however.

Just FYI, so you know why the sudden change.

This doesn't mean that I won't occasionally still post about movies and other stuff found in libraries, however.

Free shipping!!!

You can get free shipping at my online shop Dragonfly's Laughterwith the coupon code "freejuly" -- this coupon code may be used throughout the rest of this month.

If you didn't already know about my shop, I sell jewelry and needlework (and a few other things) that I made myself.

You can also find Dragonfly's Laughter at:

My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DragonflysLaughter

My tweets: http://twitter.com/#!/DragonflysLaugh

My blog: http://dragonflyslaughter.blogspot.com/

Sunday, July 17, 2011

I'm in loooooove..........

I want this book. Celtic Folk Soul by Jen Delyth. This book is about Celtic myth and legend and it is FILLED with amazing art.

I've been in love with her artwork for years and this love was renewed when I finally bought first a dress last weekend (with this design on it) and then a seriously discounted 2011 calendar with lots of artwork in it yesterday. Both at Highland Games. :)

I waaant this book but I don't want to spend $35 on a book that I can get from my library. Perhaps I'll request it for a Christmas gift...

Friday, July 15, 2011

The Handdara

This post concerns Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. And I don't recommend continuing here unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

I'm going to explore Handdarata, or Handdara. (Anyways, which word should be used when??) In some ways this seems to be the heart of the book...even though it isn't.

Unfortunately it seems that I didn't note down every page that mentions the Handdarata before page 135...agh! So I'll just try to find as many references as possible.

The Nineteenth Day (43-6)

A story about a foretelling, which is relevant because it is the Handdara(ta) who perform the foretellings. I guess you could sort of say that it is one of their myths.

This is an example of what Faxe later tells Genly, which is that people ask the wrong questions.

Moral of the story: Don't ask when you're gonna die.

Ok, so maybe that's oversimplified. Or maybe not.

When Herbor goes to the foretellers for help they discuss payment. He says that he has nothing to give but his life, and they say "it is of no value to us" (44). (But in the end he does pay with his life....so maybe he set it up by saying it? Words can be powerful. But is that part of the Handdara?) Why is his life of no value? Surely they don't mean that they think he is worthless. If so, why would they bother with him?

(I hadn't caught this before -- Herbor's kemmering is Ashe, and Therem's kemmering is also Ashe!!! Connection here??)

Herbor is also told "But bethink you, there is always a price. The asker pays what he has to pay" (45). Herbor pays what he has to pay with -- his life. So what does this mean about the Handdara?

The Domestication of Hunch (47-71)

This chapter really needs a post all of its own, so that's what I'll do. Later.

My to-do list for studying this book is growing...

BTW, I'm not really convinced that the "hunch" has been domesticated.

"I have taken up the old disciplines I learned in Rotherer. I am glad to see I have lost no skill at summoning dothe-strength, or entering the untrance; but I get little good out of the untrance, and as for the skills of stillness and of fasting, I might as well never have learned them, and must start all over, like a child. I have fasted now one day, and my belly screams A week! A month!" (151)

Therem wrote this in his journal.

Practices of the Handdara:

*Dothe-strength (why?)
*Untrance (what exactly is untrance?)
*Stillness (why?)
*Fasting for up to a week or month. Is this absolute fasting, or do they allow themselves to eat certain foods? And why?

"To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his nonexistence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof. Thus proof is a word not often used among the Handdarata, who have chosen not to treat God as a fact, subject either to proof or to belief: and they have broken the circle, and go free" (153).

Therem wrote this in his journal. Pretty self explanatory.

"...that being of the Handdara I would be unlikely to use kemmer-reduction drugs, and would make a point of absitance against the odds" (157).

So those of the Handdara tend to avoid medication that would prevent kemmer. Why? Is it a form of discipline? Meaning, like meditation or whatever, does it help them achieve a different state of mind or whatever? Or do they just not like to put chemicals into their bodies?

Oh, we get a hint on page 232.

On Time and Darkness (162-164)

This needs a post all of its own. It's not directly about the Handdara, but it looks at the Handdarata through the lense of another religion on Winter.

"I never had a gift but one, to know when the great wheel gives to a touch, to know and act. I had thought that foresight lost, last year in Erhenrang, and never to be regained. A great delight it was to feel that certainty again, toknow that I could steer my fortune and the world's chance like a bobsled down the steep, dangerous hour" (189).

I think this is the "Hunch" that the foretellers can rein, and I share it here because of that. This theory is supported on page 203.

"I settled my plans, and began to ready my will and b ody to enter dothe, for my own strength would never suffice unaided by the strength out of the Dark . . . . In full dothe I found the Envoy, though a long awkward load, no heavy one . . . for the great hunger one feels in long-sustained dothe was already gnawing at me . . . . I had to maintaint he condition, for once one lets the dothe-strength lapse one is good for nothing at all. I had never maintained dothe before for over an hour or so, but I knew that some of the Old Men can keep in the full strength for a day and a night or een longer, and my present need proved a good supplement to my training. In dothe one doesnot worry much, and what anxiety I had was for the Envoy . . . . Night had fallen and the greater darkness, the payment for the voluntary summoning of the body's full strength, was coming hard upon me; to darkness I msut entrust myself, and him. . .All the night and day and night on my thangen-sleep . . . . Being still in the recover period I was very weak and sleepy . . . . I was still in thangen and weak of limb and will. . ." (189-94)

A description of what it's like to summon dothe strength. Of particular note...

He gets his strength from the "Dark." The followers of Meshe laugh at the Handdarata because they "call upont he darkness" (164). Why? And we know that the word shifgrethor comes from the old word for shadow. And shadows are mentioned throughout the book, and also need to be studied, as I've already mentioned...

"Yes; thangen, it's called, the dark sleep. It lasts much longer than the dothe period, and once you enter the recovery period it's very dangerous to try to resist it. I slept straight through two nights. I'm still in thangen now; I couldn't walk over the hill. And hunger's part of it; I've eaten up most of the rations I'd planned to last me the week" (196).

Illustrating the aftermath of calling on dothe-strength.

"When the wheel turns under your hand, you must watch your words: and I had twice called him dead, and carried him as the dead are carried" (192).

This suggests that the Handdara do consider words to be powerful, as I speculated earlier in this post.

" 'And beyond that, I am ignorant, I hope.' Ignorant, in the Handdara sense: to ignore the abstraction, to hold fast to the thing" (212).

I think I understand this, but I can't explain it in my own words, so I don't know...

"Priase then Creation unfinished!" (227)

Creation is ongoing. This implies cyclical time.

"I was too tired to divert it into untrance or any other channel of the discipline" (232).

Therem is in kemmer, and is becoming uncomfortably aware of a fact about Genly that he already knew: "The trouble is of course that he is, in his curious fashion, also in kemmer: always in kemmer" (232).

It seems that the energy generated from kemmer is used by those of the Handdara to fuel practices of the Handdarata.

"Well, in the Handdara...you know, there's no theory, no dogma...Maybe they are less aware of the gap between men and beasts, being more occupied with the likenesses, the links, the whole of which living things are a part" (233).

Therem explaining the Handdara to Genly.

Why does he say "they" and not "we"? He practices Handdara.

Poem, pgs 233-4

There's a poem that's pretty important, but I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to post it on this blog...

"As he did so he murmured a short and charming grace of invocation, the only ritual words I had ever learned of the Handdara: 'Praise then darkness and Creation unfinished'" (246).

Therem has already written "Praise then creation unfinished!" in his journal, and here we learn that it seems to be the only ritual phrase used by the Handdara.

Therem also adds "darkness" into the praise. I'll have to study the references to shadows and darkness throughout the book before I know what to make of that.

"I told him to clear his mind, let it be dark. This he did, no doubt, more promptly and thoroughly than I ever had done: he was an adept of the Handdara, after all" (250).

Due to his understanding of Handdarata practices Genly believes that Therem can clear is mind more easily than he himself can. Whether this is so...we haven't seen anything from Therem proving or disproving it.

"Genry, we practice privation until we're experts at it. I was taught how to starve as a child at home in Estre, and by the Handdarata in Rotherer Fastness" (256).

So they learn to fast, and privation, when they are children. Or at least some of them do.

"Election of council-members from the Indwellers of Handdara Fastness is not uncommon; it is hwoever not common for a Weaver to accept office, and I believe Faxe would have refused if he had not been much concerned by Tibe's government and the direction in which it was leading the country" (290).

In a way it seems strange to me that those of the Handdara can become involved in politics so easily. And why is it unusual for a Weaver in particular to become involved? There's no explanation given.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Shifgrethor -- Genly

This post is about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, and I really don't recommend reading it unless you've arleady read the book.

SPOILERS

My last post was about shifgrethor, and I looked at it from Therem's point of view.

Here I'll take a look at it from Genly's point of view. Looking at his explanations of it will have some advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that he explains it clearly, but the disadvantage is that he's viewing it as an outsider and doesn't fully understand it. He even admits that he doesn't fully understand it. This means that his explanations will be flawed, and we need to take what he says with a grain of salt.

"He was, as a said, voluble, and having discovered that I have no shifgrethor took every chance to give me advice, though even he disguised it with ifs and as ifs" (48).

Again we see that it's a shifgrethor no-no to give advice. This is so engrained in those who live shifgrethor that Genly's landlady doesn't even give direct advice, though she does take advantage of his lack of shifgrethor.

Why is it a no-no to give advice? I'll have to look at that later...

"In trying to flatter and interest him I had cornered him in a prestige-trap" (38).

So flattery such as "You're a sovereign, my lord. Your peers ont he Prime World of the Ekumen wait for a word from you" can be...what? Insulting? A challenge? A trap? I'm not sure. Certainly not flattery. So is it also a no-no to flatter? Or did Genly just go about it the wrong way?

"Though Argaven might be neither sane nor shrewd, he had had long practice in the evasions and challenges and rhetorical subtleties used in conservation by those whose main aim in lfe was the achievement and maintenance of the shifgrethor relationship on a high level. Whole areas of that relationship were still blank to me, but I knew something about the competitive, prestige-seeking aspect of it, and about the perpetual conversational duel which can result from it. That I was not dueling with Argaven, but tryng to communicate with him, was itself an incommunicable fact" (33-4).

(Yes I know I'm working my ways backwards through the book.)

There's a wealth of knowledge in the above paragraph. In it Genly tells us that shifgrethor is, or involves:

*Evasive
*Challenging
*Rhetorical subtleties
*Copetitive
*Prestige
*Verbal dueling
*A barrier to communication

"No doubt this was all a matter of shifgrethor -- prestige, face, place, the pride-relationship, the untranslatable and all-immportant principle of social authority in Karhide and all the civilizations ofo Gethen" (14).

Here we have some sort of definition of shifgrethor. A flawed definition, but still.

Now I'll start working my way forward in the book again. lol

"He talked much about pride of country and love of the parentland, but little about shifgrethor, personal pride or prestige. . . . I decided that he deliberatly avoided talk of shifgrethor because he wished to rouse emotions of a more elemental, uncontrollable kind. He wanted to stir up something which the whole shifgrethor-pattern was a refinement upon, a sublimation of. He wanted his hearers to be frightened and angry. His themes were not pride and love at all, though he used the words perpetually; as he used them he meant self-praise and hate. He talked a great deal about Truth also, for he was, he said, 'cutting down beneath the veneer of civilization'" (102).

What shifgrethor is not:

*Uncontrollable emotions
*Fear
*Anger
*Self-praise
*Hate

I suppose that Truth might also be added to this list, but I'm not going to because I think (though I can't point anywhere in the text right now that supports this) that shifgrethor is not about lies, and that you can get at the truth with it. Just in a round about way.

I think that Tibe's "Truth" is something else, probably a lie that he's just calling truth.

What shifgrethor is:

*Pride
*Love of parentland
*Prestige

"Anger had replaced timidity, and he was going to play shifgrethor with me. If I had wanted to play, my move was to say something like, 'I'm not sure; tell me something about him.' . . . . And he had just taught me a lesson: that shifgrethor can be played on the level of ethics, and that the expert player will win" (105-6).

These two pages could do with an entire post dedicated just to them. I've selected bits from the beginning and ending that I think reveal the most:

*Shifgrethor is not timid
*It can be used to achieve an ethical outcome

"He fussed over my condenscension in deigning to learn anything about his country. Manners here were certainly different from manners in Karhide; there, the fuss he was making would either have degraded his own shifgrethor or insulted min; I wasn't sure which, but it would have done one or the other -- practicially everything did" (119).

Therem doesn't say anything about shifgrethor being different in Orgoreyn, so I think that Shusgis knows that Genly does not have any shifgrethor and is taking advantage of that. That being the case, I think that the fuss he makes degrade's Genly's shifgrethor, not his own.

I don't want to erase what I wrote above, but a few hours after writing it (but before posting it) I realized that Therem does observe that things are different in Orgoreyn. Different enough for Shusgis to not being offending Genly's shifgrethor? I don't know.

"They believed that in doing so Orgoreyn would gain a large and lasting prestige-victory over Karhide, and that the Commensals who engineered this victory would gain according prestige and power in their government" (142).

Of course, they're talking here about joining the Ekumen.

Why would being the ones to make Orgoreyn join the Ekumen give them so much prestige? Because it would be a political success? Or because they joined when Karhide refused to? Or some other reason? Oh wait, the reason (or part of it) is in the next one...

"Or else the Erhenrang Government will get up their courage and come and ask to join, after us, in second place. In either case the shifgrethor of Karhide will be diminished; and in either case, we drive the sledge" (143).

This is Obsle speaking, one of the Orgoren government.

So whoever leads the way is higher (or better? elevated?) shifgrethor and prestige.

"Mersen's a spy for Tibe, and of course he thinks nobody knows it but everybody does,a nd he can't stand the sight of Harth -- think he's either a traitor or a double agent and doesn't know which, and can't risk shifgrethor in finding out" (145-6).

Why would finding out risk shifgrethor?

"On the other hand, if he could lower all his standards of shifgrethor, as I realized he hd done with me. . ." (218)

Therem has discarded shifgrethhor with Genly, because (I think) he realizes that Genly doesn't really know how to play shifgrethor, and doesn't understand it. And yet...

"You know I have no shifgrethor to waive" (259).

...later Therem gives Genly direct advice (without it being requested), and then asks forgiveness. He knows that Genly has no shifgrethor, but still feels that he has done wrong. It's so engrained in him.

"Shifgrethor? It comes from an old word for shadow" (247).

Therem tells Genly this. And if I'm going to really understand this, I need to study all the references to shadows in the book, which I did not note down as I read it recently. LOL Now I have more work cut out for me.

Everything all ties in together, it seems. It's awesome!!!

Pages 257-8

Therem explains the situation with Karhide and Orgoreyn and the Ekumen, and how shrifgthor is involved. This could perhaps use a post all by itself, but the basic gist has already been outlined above -- whoever joins first wins.

Then there's also the fun about Genly, and how things would work if Orgoreyn is caught lying.

So, to be caught lying is to lose prestige.

"...and when after a day or two they got around to asking, discreetly and indirectly, with due regard to shifgrethor, why we had..." (273)

If you want to ask something you don't do it outright, if you're following shifgrethor.

"Tibe made no effort to hang on. My crrent value in the game of internatinoal shifgrethor, plus my vindicaton (by implication) of Estraven, gave me as it were a prestige-weight so clearly surpassing his, that he resigned, as I later learned, even before the Erhenrang Government knew that I had radioed to my ship. He acted on a tip-off from Thessicher, waited only until he got word of Estraven's death, and then resigned. He had his defeat and his revenge for it all in one" (288).

Things have gone as Therem predicted, although Therem had under-anticipated things.

Hmm...this could perhaps use a post by itself...one post examing the shifgrethor between the two countries.

It is worth noting, perhaps, that Tibe did get his revenge. So his shifgrethor was, perhaps, not as bad off as it could have been.

"It was the Round-Tower Dwelling, which signaled a high degree of shifgrethor in the court: not so much the king's favor, as his recognition of a status already high" (289).

So, status can be recognized by the king by him giving people grand places to live.

"...evidence of any mistrust at this point would humiliate the Karhidish escort, impugning their shifgrethor" (269).

So, signs of mistrust can insult someone's shifgrethor.

So what is shifgrethor?

First, we've got to remember that Genly's understanding of it is flawed, and so naturally any definition I come up with here must also be flawed. With that in mind I'll try to separate things here into things that I think are correct and things that I'm not so sure about.

Things I'm sure of:

*Giving advice is a no-no, unless shifgrethor has been waived
*Shifgrethor can be waived, and set aside
*Prestige
*Pride
*It can be used to achieve an ethical outcome
*Related to shadows -- must study shadow references!!!
*Being caught lying can hurt shifgrethor
*Someone having high status can be recognized by their being given certain places to live

Things I'm not sure of:

*Flattery might also be a no-no
*Evasive
*Challenging
*Rhetorical subtleties
*Copetitive
*Prestige
*Verbal dueling
*A barrier to communication
*Pride
*Love of parentland
*Prestige
*Shifgrethor is not timid
*It can be used to achieve an ethical outcome
*Showing signs of mistrust can hurt or offend someone's shifgrethor

I know that some things are in both places. That's because I'm copying and pasting in some cases, and am not editing.

What shifgrethor (apparently) is not:

*Uncontrollable emotions
*Fear
*Anger
*Self-praise
*Hate

Shifgrethor -- Therem

This post concerns Ursula K. le Guin’s book The Left Hand of Darkness.

SPOILERS!!!

I really don’t recommend continuing here unless you’ve read the book.

I’m interested in shifgrethor, and in this post I’ll look at all the references (or I think it’s all of the references…) to it from Therem’s point of view. I’m separating his comments/references to and about shifgrethor from Genly’s because Genly is coming to it from an outsider’s perspective, whereas it is all that Therem has ever known.

Of course, the difficult thing is that Therem never explains it…but that’s also the fun bit. :)

“I waive shifgrethor” (84).

This is said by Yegey to Therem, and it shows that even though shifgrethor is something to be taken very seriously it is also something that can be discarded if doing so is deemed appropriate or convenient.

“I waive shifgrethor; I discard it” (86).

Obsle, just minutes after Yegey, decides to abandon shifgrethor. This emphasizes the previous point.

Why did they decide to discard it? I’ll have to examine that another time, once I’ve written this and other posts about it, and (hopefully) have a better understanding of it.

(Yes, I’ve read this book numerous times, and I think I know what shifgrethor is, but at the same time I suspect that I don’t really properly understand it! lol)

“To stake shifgrethor on any lesser chance is a fool’s doing, now” (88).

Part of the same conversation as the above comments.

Whatever shifgrethor is (and that still has not been established in this post) it is being staked on something HUGE, and, according to Therem, to stake shifgrethor (whatever that is) on anything less would be a really bad idea.

…and this comes after the other two in the conversation have waived shifgrethor. Hmm.

The following is unrelated to the above conversation. More or less.

“They make their invitation, they make it publically; then where is their shifgrethor, when no Star Ship comes?” (150)

Basically, they would be humiliated and made fools of if no ship came. The implication here is that their shifgrethor would be hurt. (Which of course it wouldn’t be because the ship would come…but do they properly believe that? No.)

“I am not sure he understood he was insulted; he seemed to accept my advice despite the manner of its giving . . . Is it possible that all along in Erhenrang he was seeking my advice, not knowing how to tell me that he sought it? If so, then he must have misunderstood half and not understood the rest of what I told him by my fireside in the Palace, the night after the Ceremony of the Keystone. His shifgrethor must have been founded, and composed, and sustained, altogether differently from ours; and when I thought myself most blunt and frank with him he may have found me most subtle and unclear” (151).

To offer advice (except for when shifgrethor is waived) is a big no-no. By this point in the book that has already been made clear, and from this passage it is shown that to offer advice is to (unless I’m misreading it) insult, or maybe even injure, the shifgrethor of the person who the advice is given to.

Here Therem finally realizes that Genly is even more alien than he had understood before – no matter that he is from another planet, shouldn’t they have shifgrethor there? As it turns out, no. This is a surprise to Therem.

In order to respect Genly’s shifgrethor he had made statements that were unclear and confusing to Genly. For example, “…I suppose you’ll be leaving Ehrenrang—” (20) Somewhere in the conversation leading up to this comment Therem has, he thinks, made it clear that he thinks Genly should leave Karhide and take his message to the neighboring country. Yet Genly is (as we know, since this part is told from his perspective) confused and wonders why Therem would suppose that he would be leaving any time soon.

“We must halt this rivalry with Karhide before the New Men come . . . We must cleanse our spirits for their coming. We must forego shifgrethor, forbid all acts of vengeance, and unite together without envy as brothers of one Hearth” (152-3).

Slose thinks that Genly is their Savior (to use Christian terms, which I think are and are not relevant here) and that their own version of the Rapture is close at hand.

So…they need to “cleanse” their “spirits.” Apparently this means discarding shifgrethor…which is probably more a statement about his being Yomesh than about shifgrethor.

How would he go about removing shifgrethor? That’s the more relevant point here.

To remove shifgrethor he suggests: no vengeance, and uniting together. This implies that one’s shifgrethor must be maintained by proper vengeance when necessary (perhaps as we’ve seen above, where Therem offers Genly advice) and that shifgrethor requires a certain separation between people and peoples.

“…and several times he has waived shifgrethor and frankly asked my advice” (155).

Obsle, again, waiving shifgrethor. And it seems that it’s perfectly ok to do advice if shifgrethor has been waived.

Here we see again that shifgrethor is like some clothing that can be put on and removed, as is convenient.

“He sees me as a Karhidish agent attempting to lead Orgoreyn into a tremendous prestige loss by persuading them to believe in the hoax of the Envoy from the Ekumen; he thinks that I spent my time as Prime Minister preparing this hoax. By God, I have better things to do than play shifgrethor with scum” (156).

As mentioned earlier, it would hurt their shifgrethor if they took the “bait” and announced the coming of the Star Ship, only for it to not appear.

I’m fairly certain that Genly describes shifgrethor as a matter of prestige, but this is the first time that Therem uses that word in relation to shifgrethor. This indicates that Genly does have some correct ideas about what shifgrethor is, even though he doesn’t properly understand it.

It also tells us that prestige is part of shifgrethor.

And Therem has better things to do than to lower the prestige of “scum.”

(And may I just say, I giggle like crazy whenever I read “To become a high officer in the Sarf one must have, it seems, a certain complex form of stupidity. Gaum exemplifies it.” Love it!!! lol)

“He fears for his own prestige” (160).

Therem is pushing Obsle to announce the existence of the Star Ship so that it can be called down, but Obsle refuses. He fears for his prestige.

Shifgrethor is not mentioned by name here, but we’ve already seen Therem refer to it as prestige, and we know that this is a subject on which shifgrethor is staked.

“Do you think I would play shifgrethor when so much is at stake for all of us, my fellow men? What does it matter which country wakens first, so long as we waken?” (198)

For Therem this is also a matter of shifgrethor, but to him shifgrethor is beside the point. He’s found a higher cause, and for that he is ready and willing to abandon shifgrethor, even when it means that his own shifgrethor (not to mention the shifgrethor of his own country) would be greatly compromised.

What does this mean?

Shifgrethor is:

*Prestige
*Taking vengeance
*Not offering advice
*Honor (I’m reading between the lines here)
*Not stating something that you think is obvious? (Maybe…?)
*Not worth playing with “scum” (so far as Therem is concerned, anyways)
*Something that can be discarded as is convenient

So with this semi-working definition, let’s see what Genly thinks on the subject. I’ll write about that later.

Topics to explore! :)

I recently read Ursula K. le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness with the intent of exploring it more thoroughly by writing about it. When I set out to read it I planned to pay attention to these particular subjects in it:

Handdarata (a religion, or philosophy)
Shifgrethor (I can give no brief explanation)

As I read it I jotted down these other topics which would be interesting to examine another time:

Shadows
Tibe’s teeth
War
Politics
Myth (outside of the Handdarata)
Patriotism
Religion
Dualism
Gender
Exile

It’s amazing how much is jammed into this book!! So many layers…aaahh. :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Eragon

I'm re-reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and I found one particular chapter that shows just how young Eragon is to begin with.

SPOILERS

Ok, so I guess that by "young" I mean "naive" and that he hasn't really figured out what his status really is as a dragon rider.

Eragon gets his fortune told by the awesome witch, Angela. The first thing she tells him is that he will live either a very long life, or forever. His response?

"No surprises there -- I am a Rider, thought Eragon. Was Angela only going to tell him things he already knew?" (204)

But the fact that he's a rider doesn't automatically mean that he's going to have a long life. It's true that at this point he hasn't joined the Varden and that he hasn't committed his life to killing Galbatorix, but even so, he knows that he has powerful enemies and that Galbatorix would kill him, or would at least make every attempt to kill him, for refusing to join the Empire.

Eragon is one of those youngsters who is convinced that nothing will kill him. It hasn't even occurred to him that he could be killed by his enemies. That, right there, is a bit of naivete.

Then Angela tells Eragon that he will fall in love with a noble woman. Eragon's reaction to that?

"Of noble birth, thought Eragon in surprise. How could that ever happen? I have more standing than the poorest of farmers" (205).

Um, hello Eragon, you're a Dragon Rider. I'm fairly certain that that's plenty enough rank to be considered a good match for a noble woman. The fact that this fact hasn't occurred to him is another indication of naivete and some cluelessness about just what his new status is.

Last, Angela tells Eragon that a member of his family will betray him, and Eragon immediately protests that his cousin Roran would never betray him. It doesn't even occur to him that he might have other family through his mother (like, um, an older half brother?) who might pop up in his life in the near future and befriend him. And what about his father? He doesn't know who his father is (despite traveling with him!) and for all he knows he could have a large extended family on his father's side that he'll run into.

The fact that Eragon hasn't even considered that he might have family who he hasn't met is another bit of naivete and cluelessness.

Eragon has some way to go before he becomes a properly mature adult who knows his place in the world and before also understanding some of the harsh realities of the world, such as the fact that it isn't a given that he'll live to a ripe old age.

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