Write a one paragraph summary of either the essay by Barbour or Le Guin. At the conclusion of the paragraph, reflect on how a key concept from the essay might be applied to an analysis of the Athshean culture.
If you are reading Barbour, you might focus on how the idea of “balance” applies to Athshean culture.
If you are reading Le Guin, you might consider whether the Athshean culture adopts an ecological point of view of the kind described in the essay.
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Douglas Barbour’s essay “Wholeness and Balance in the Hainish Novels of Ursula K. Le Guin” discusses the themes of light and darkness that are prevalent in Le Guin’s books that are set in the Hainish universe. Barbour goes through five of Le Guin’s books – Rocannon’s World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, The Left Hand of Darkness and The Word for World is Forrest – and gives multiple examples of descriptive language and imagery that Le Guin uses to exhibit the Taoist ideas of lightness and darkness. In regards to the book we read, The Word for World is Forest, Barbour talks about the “theme of balance, lightness and darkness joined together”(169) throughout the book. Barbour argues that “there are two forms of art on Athshe, dreaming and singing, and both are specialized cultural activities which serve to nullify aggression against other humans”(172) but the war with the Terrans has left the Athsheans with the knowledge of violence and murder, displaying the light/dark contrast amongst the people of Athshe.
Douglas Barbour’s essay, “Wholeness and Balance in the Hainish Novels of Ursula K. Le Guin” uses patterns of light and dark images to grasp the concepts of wholeness and balance. As explained in the essay, Barbour expressed that Le Guin “approaches the theme of balance, of the light and darkness joined together, through a highly dense and specific creation of an ecology and culture inextricably entwined, and through the ideas of Dement and Hadfield on the nature of dream.” Thought the use of Barbour’s words and the deep insight of the Taoist’s, we can conclude that light and darkness show the world around us and dictate our apprehension of it.
“Wholeness and Balance” by Douglas Barbour discusses the interconnectedness and balance within the Hainish universe Le Guin writes about in several of her novels. Two prominent concepts Barbour chooses to focus on are Le Guin’s use of lightness and darkness symbolism and Le Guin’s use of imagery. In each novel the idea that darkness and light must both be present in order to maintain balance is discussed, which Le Guin chooses to focus on as it represents the balance and interconnectedness between each of these novels. The use of lightness and darkness is present in the “Word for World is Forest”, Barbour writes “On Ashthea, the world of “The Word for World is Forest,” it is one of the bases of life for the natives, and a lost fragment of old knowledge for the Terran colonists”.
Douglas Barbour, in his essay “Integrity and Balance in the Novels of Heinish by Ursula K. Le Guin,” presents the Athshean’s culture as sane and balanced through “sanity not on the razor’s edge of reason but on the double support, the fine balance of reason and dream.” In contrast to the balanced and harmonious life of the Athshean’s society, Barbour illustrates the “Earth-imperialist colonial culture” of the Terrans as an example of imbalance based on the influence of modern technological and political trends. Barbour states “These contrasts of character are partially exposed in light/dark imagery and partially translated into balance/imbalance imagery.” Barbour argues that the rationality of the Athshean’s culture is manifested in their ability to find a balance where is a connection between the darkness and the light occurs, while “Earthmen, trying to balance their sanity “on the razor’s edge of reason,” fail to comprehend “the fine balance of reason and dream” and thus live in fear of the dark forests of the Athsheans.” Barbour tries to convey the idea that for the Athsheans, darkness – the dark forest is the embodiment of their safety, while for the Terran colonists the image of the dark Athshean’s forest instills in them fear and inability to achieve a balance, and leads to the way of to “end the darkness, and turn the tree-jumble into clean sawn planks,.. “, which is for the Terrans understanding is light.
“Deep In Admiration” written by Ursula K. Le Guin examines the relationship of humans to non-living beings. She discusses human’s desire to be “lords of creation”, always looking for new technologies. As an environmentalist, Le Guin states that in order to use the world we live in well, we need to “relearn our being in it”. She describes how the relationship between all things is reciprocal and complex and suggests we look at the world subjectively rather than objectively. One way of doing this is with the use of poetry which has the ability to give voice and speak humanely to an inanimate object. Further, she explains how science and poetry intertwine, “By replacing unfounded, willful opinion, science can increase moral sensitivity; by demonstrating and performing aesthetic order or beauty, poetry can move minds to the sense of fellowship that prevents careless usage and exploitation of our fellow beings, waste and cruelty.” Le Guin represents this idea in the way of life of the Athsheans in “The Word for World is Forest”. They live peacefully among each other within a forest they also call their “world”. The forest is their comfort and protection. Their “poetry” is their songs which are used even in the event of an argument. The Athsheans use of “science” can be explained by their use of dream state. They use dream state to tap into their subconscious minds in order to engage rational thought in their awake state. Relating back to Le Guin’s idea, this is their way of increasing moral sensitivity.