Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell, American mythologist best know for his work in comparative mythology and religion, identified a common motif of the hero with a thousand faces—the same basic story of the hero’s journey seen in the myths in various cultures spanning history.  

Joseph Campbell viewed the hero’s journey as a story that can be used to help people better understand their own lives.  Consider Campbell’s following thoughts on the journey, and consider how these questions might help us better understand The Left Hand of Darkness:

1. “People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about, and that's what these clues help us to find within ourselves.”
2. "We have not even to risk the journey alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world."
3. “If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.”
4. "When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness."
5. “In these stories, the adventure that the hero is ready for is the one he gets. The adventure is symbolically a manifestation of his character. Even the landscape and the conditions of the environment match his readiness.”

Socratic Seminar 7:30 a.m. on Thursday

Here are the Socratic Seminar questions for tomorrow.  Don't forget to write two questions and be ready to turn them in at the end of the discussion.

In this book, there are two different worlds. The place inside the blizzard is where he finds his brother. They fall in love during Kemmer, which is not considered normal. They find a mate, and no one knows whether they will be male or female, and they discover there gender during Kemmer. The law states they can stay partners in Kemmer but after that, they can no longer be together. They have to break up and have no long life partnerships. So, Getheren ran into his brother, and his brother tried to tell him to stay, but he insisted on moving forward, and not stopping there. In our world today, it does happen, but you rarely see two brothers falling in love with each other. It just isn't something people think of, and we consider it very uncommon. So, it is weird that you read about two brothers falling in love in the book, and to us, that is just very weird.

Storyception Analysis

In second chapter of The Left Hand of Darkness, there is a parable about two incests. One of which had committed suicide while the other, by the name of Getheren was formally banished. In Shath, they do not exactly look down upon incest, but there are some rules and boundaries that exist. In their culture, two siblings are permitted to have kemmering relationships with each other, but as soon as a child is born, the partnership between the incest parents must end. This prevented siblings to vow permanent kemmering or what is equivalent to our society's concept of marriage. However in our world today, incest is looked down upon but only illegal in a few countries. Wherever incest exists, it is usually in incognito. Our world tends to always have social prejudice which leads to hatred and war. But people in the planet Winter seem to not have these social issues. We took note of this in class which may be the reason why wars do not happen in these fictional societies.

As Getheren was banished, he then faced the the loneliness of exile. Or was his experience enlightening? From this point on, we can agree that this story within a story is a direct comparison to former Prime Minister Estraven's exile. If one is just banished from a nation with few resources to survive, of course they are going to face hardships just as both Getheren and Estraven have.

Myths & Folktales Connections

The Left Hand of Darkness written by Li Guin portrays her knowledge of scientific ideas onto an imaginary world, Sort of like a twin paradox. This story is easily the most confusing book I've read but also the most interesting one, with its switching of narrators, different myths, and character swapping point of views that leave you speechless.

Gethenian culture is not complicated to explain in the earlier chapters but is quite odd and leaves me cringing a bit. In Chapter Two "The Place Inside the Blizzard" we learn that gethanians reproduce by kemmering and in the folktale that was told in this chapter two brothers that have loved each other can vow Kemmer but not vow kemmering because to vow kemmering between siblings is forbidden.

This tells us that gethanian society is similar to our because we see incest as a taboo. 

This folktale relates to Estraven because he once had a brother he loved but commited suicide because they could never vow kemmering.

In Chapter 17 "An Orgata Creation Myth" tells us the creation of the gethenian people.

In this myth the gethenian people were basically born in a house of flesh built by Edondurath,

He is the "person" who killed the many who haven't awoken from there slumber, only one person was able to escape. The person who escaped came back to Edondurath and vowed kemmering around the dead bodies of people around them which was the birth of the Gethenians, this is why Gethenians are always followed by death. This is a bit related to The king because Edondurath the (oldest) woke up alone acted in an egotistical isolated way fears his brothers awakening. The king is suspicious of Estraven until the alien Genly shows up which the king is feared of, the king suddenly starts to trust Estraven because he takes care of details in Genly.

The Myths and Folktales connect with the story very well and pieces everything together for people to understand, although they are separated by different chapters expect random epiphanies to pop up

an more interesting twists to be discovered.

How the myths tie into the story

In the book The Left Hand of Darkness the author Ursula K. Le Guin each chapter is different one chapter would be the perspective of Genly who i assume is visiting the planet Winter. Then in the next chapter it would be a myth. When you are finally getting to the end of the book then you can see how myths tie into the story. Each myth has a meaning for the book the author did not just add myths to make her book more interesting. I would have to say that my favorite myth was Estraven the traitor. I really understood how the nickname and his family history. The author wants you to understand how you can see Estraven as a character. When i first read this story i had so many questions but now with every chapter the author seems to  be answering my questions. She gives little hints in the myths and i can finally have some of questions answered. This book may be confusing but i can't wait to get to the end.

Myths and Wonders

In the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin the story goes on from narrator to narrator, diary entries, and mythological stories. It ends up either leaving you confused or wondering how it'll tie into the story later on. 

Gethan culture may be very odd to most but someway intriguing. It lets us know how Gethanians have to go through to kemmering with others whose kemmer situation before could be difficult or just how their life was now shaped because of what has happened before. For example, the folktale "Inside the Blizzard" is about these two "brothers" who want to vow kemmering but it's forbidden to do that. So one of them ends up committing suicide and leaves the other one all alone to be exiled. This story ends up tying into the novel later on when Estraven is faced with another kemmering situation. 

The stories bring sort of a history to this type of lifestyle they live with.  Their culture is something not everyone is used to with being genderless and most find it weird. Genly especially coming from a place with gender and the whole love situation comes in simpler terms. Myths are the part that keeps the novel interesting to see how things come together and keep you in a shock.

Get in Touch With the Myths

The myths in The Left Hand of Darkness acts as a model for some of the historical events that have occurred in Gethenian society. Ursula K. Le Guin uses contrary images - heat and cold, home and exile, murder and sex, etc. The myths serve for exploring exchange by incorporating contradictories and later reconciling them. Estraven's unwillingness to pursue Karhide's interest in the Shinoath border dispute repeats the same action of his ancestor "Estraven the Traitor," who gave half of disputed land to Stok.

In "The Place Inside the Blizzard" two brothers vow kemmering for life, which is illegal. When the Lord of Shath commands them to break their vow, one of the brothers commits suicide, a great public shame. Getheren (the brother who is alive) is blamed for his brother's death and is exiled. As he is wandering on the Pering ice, he meets his brother who committed suicide. The brother asks him to stay with him and keep their vow. However, Getheren refuses, saying when he chose death he broke the vow. The brother tries to grasp Getheren by the left hand but fails to make him stay. In this chapter I see the contrary images between life and death that Le Guin uses.

The framework set up in the myths guide and define the behavior of characters in regards to a historical matter. For example, when Estraven learns of his exile from Karhide, he considers returning home to Estre, but he doesn't. Instead he decides he was born to live in exile and the only way he will return home is by eventually dying. Shortly after we learn that his self-exile may have more to do with his guilt over incestuous vows than with a political charge that he is a traitor. When Estraven is confronted by his kemmering he remarks that their vows were false because his true vow of faithfulness was made to his brother. Estraven judges himself guilty and enforces the penalty of exile.

To keep to oneself in Gethenian society is an impossible fantasy.

Burr It's Cold In Here, There Must Be Gethenians In The Atmosphere

The constant cold of Gethen is the main cause of the isolation and loneliness there. Everyone is always so wrapped up and there is a lack of interaction going on. They also mostly stay to themselves whether they are inside or not. Cold weather gives off a certain mood, a mood of sometimes sadness or a sort of down feeling in settings. The Gethenians don’t do or feel much; the weather in a way coincides with it. As Genly is on Winter, the constant cold gets to him. He isn’t used to it and struggles dealing with it. In chapter ,he explains how he is not only physically cold but his soul is cold. This coldness and lack of interactions and connections with people causes him to become lonely and homesick. The Gethenians way of life is not what Genly is is even close to being used to. Back on the Earth where he is from there is warmth from the weather and also the close interactions from those around him. Also the cold gives the planet a sense of lacking something. The whole reason Genly came to winter is to get them to join an alliance with other planets to share ideas and ways of life. However due to the isolation and people not really knowing about him, just about everyone thinks what Genly is trying to do is some kind of trick. Also many of the towns are isolated and do not get along with each other and some think Genly is out to ruin them.

Out of my head (W-2)

The constant cold of Gethen contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness because the planet is originally cold. Gethen is constantly cold and what's worse is that it's stocky and dark. Because of its cold climate, it's sometimes called "winter". Gethenians are physically and culturally adapted to the cold. They tend to be robust built for this planet which makes Genly isolated. Other than the cold, the Gethenians are so content with the way things are that makes Genly feel uncomfortable. The people of the planet feels no need to stay with their parents after children are born, they feel no need to find their partner in life, etc. Genly can't see why the Gethenians lack so much emotion; it shows him that everyone on the planet had an emptiness inside. Because Genly knows of the warm weather he is used to and he feels more comfortable in his own lifestyle, it becomes hard for him to adapt to the planet and the Gethenians' behaviors. Genly feels so lonely to the fact that he's the only one that seems to stand out. He can't really bare the cold and he can't seem to understand the Gethenians which isolates him into more loneliness.

-Robin Hwang
Wave 2

Isolation

Isolation in Gethen is partly due to the cold weather. Because Winter is such a cold planet, interaction is minimal even when indoors. Being cold is what the people are used to. It's instilled in them partly because of kemmer. Kemmer seems more like a job than an enjoyable event. They choose their partners  loosely based on emotion. People exposed to warmer temperatures find it harder to understand viewpoints other than their own, while those exposed to colder ones find it easier to understand. Feeling isolated makes people try less hard to connect. Gethenians do not need to invest emotion into many things. Anything that requires emotion is brushed off. It is hard enough to survive in such a cold place, they are constantly competing for warmth, further pushing  interaction out of the picture. I think Gethenians lack of emotion cannot be helped. They have adapted to be cold (no pun intended). They do not need companionship to live a good life. After children are born they do not necessarily  stay with the  parents. This already shields them from getting too attached to anyone at an early age. Humans put emphasis on finding a partner and being with someone while gethenians are content with being isolated and alone. This is why Gently Ai cannot quite grasp why the inhabitants of Gethen are the way they are. Though he is open to interpretation, he cannot fully understand fully on their level. The Gethenian's are a bizarre race but are in a way similar to all of us.

Wave 2

Coming into such a different environment and culture brings Genly to feel isolated and lonely since he’s the only one of his kind there to complete the mission. On the other hand, it also doesn’t help his insecurities when the people of Gethen don’t warmly welcome him to their country, along with having people betray him and make his lonely experience much more difficult than what it needs to be. The people of Gethen and most importantly the king, refuse to see eye-to-eye with Genly because they are afraid of change and the power they proudly hold. This people are adapted culturally and physically to the cold weather, making him feel lonely, excluded. He comes from a place thats warm so he really feels left alone in the story.Some of the coldest places on earth are also most isolated and deserted. Also, they generally refer to Gethen as winter because of how cold it is there.The solitude of snow, a mental space Le Guin calls "the heart of the blizzard" Genly is up for some ups and downs and that he will have to face. 

Genly why you so cold?

                Gethen’s is an example of contributing to the theme of isolation and loneliness because he likes to think of himself as a tropical bird and he gives an example of that in chapter 3 when he says the fireplace does no good. Their type of kind learn to live with and without the cold environment that is now a part of them. I believe that he’s referring to is the lack of mental and physical warmth in gethen. However that goes for everyone whenever you feel cold you begin to feel lonely and worthless, which leads to depression. But for Genly it’s strange for him when he sees a lack of emotion and the lack of relationships. Genly and the state of isolation from his own kind, is always alone in the cold planet with no one to talk to or keep him company. Which is understandable as to why Genly would feel loneliness and become so cold. However gethenians do things completely different then we humans do. They reproduce without having any emotional connection with the other individual whereas with humans we find the right person we want to be with by spending quality time with them to better understand their personal qualities and not just their physical appearances. In my personal opinion I think if humans would participate in kemmering instead of taking vows to be devoted to one person only it would be pretty weird. There would be kids with more than one father and women with more than one baby daddies. I’m kind of glad we don’t kemmer that means there’s enough men for everyone.

Alexis Mora Period 5

The simple cold itself makes you feel lonesome and since many people don't like the sensation of the cold as it is, people have a natural tendency to avoid the cold. Since Gethen is cold you can tell that there aren't many Gethenyians occupying that area because they would rather stay warm that to possibly freeze to death if they're out in the cold for a long time. As everyone can tell when you're cold you just have the emptiness inside which you can't really seem to shake off, you almost feel very hallow inside as well. Who would even want to be in a place that is always cold either way, even so if a place is very cold its almost natural that it would be isolated due to the fact the for some they can't handle being in the cold. If Gethen is as cold as it says it is I'm surprised hw its not deserted because living in cold conditions is difficult due to not growing crops, maintaining live stock, and having difficulty in finding liquids to consume. To even sustain life in cold conditions is honestly surprising because you don't hear of many people wanting to live in the cold and if they do live in these cold conditions they wouldn't have as many people to communicate with probably due to blizzards  or storms which may pass by and will most likely get buried in their homes which makes it even more difficult to make contact with anyone

Wave 3: Myths and Folktales

Reflect on the myths presented in the various chapters of Left Hand of Darkness. Consider them as little symbolic parables and consider the following: What does this myth tell you about Gethan culture? However, some of the myths do have direct connections to the plot, especially the ones about Estraven. Discuss some of the Gethenian myths and folktales. Find one to discuss—the Place Inside the Blizzard, the Nineteenth Day, etc. How do such stories function in a culture?

Wave 3 Participants:

Caleb Q, Michelle R, Heidi R, Rebecca S, Dominic S, Victoria S, Alyssa T, Chris T, Brennan V, Marquis W, Monet W, Annalise W.

Winter May Be Cold, Yet I Can Feel The Warmth

From touching on this theme, I began to see how Gethenians truly express their interest of love and heartfelt connections. We can see that in Winter there is a ceremonious occasion called "vow kemmering",  this event seems to be very similar in both structure and basis to what we consider marriage here on Earth. In chapter 7, page 92, we get a full understanding of vow kemmering when Genley states "The furthest extreme from this practice os the custom of vow kemmering, which is to all intents and purposes monogamous marriage. It has no legal status, but socially and ethically is an ancient and vigorous institution." To have a couple that would dedicate themselves to such an establishment must mean that they must share a general feeling of love and compassion between the two Gethenians. We also see that, despite of the planet being in subzero temperatures, the general, or physical, feeling of warmth is not needed to feel enticed, it is mentioned that the fire in Karhide residences are to warm the spirit, not the body, and to have the hearth of each home within each household be aflame, could tie to the fact that there is a deep, yet not necessarily tangible, feeling of love within each Gethenian of Karhide; this could also point to a more meaningful love between partners as they have a much smaller and yet more intense attention to show their emotions. There may be those couple or groups who also join in kemmering, yet they usually have a consistent partner or group of partners they partake this mating ritual with. Lastly, vow kemmering is a very ingrained ritual in Gethenian society, its ancient laws dictate that, "one can only vow kemmering once" (92). This ritual does show that Gethenians, at least the Gethenians of the distant era, had a very affectionate love they would have with one other being, and following the death or separation of their partner, the law suggests that those bereft of their lover would be so distraught that they would not remarry, or go back into a state of vow kemmering. Genley being in a state of isolation from his own kind, seems to be alone on this cold planet. He has been introduced to many, the mad king most notably displays an innate fear of Genley, and this feeling would probably be shared by the rest of these Gethenians. Although Genley may seem like a total loner to keep to himself on his mission to observe Winter, he has found the only other outsider he may relate to, Estraven. Estraven and Genley seem to be very close even though they aren't of the same kind; almost as if they may be friends. They teach each other through means of how each would follow through customs set on each of their planets, and further more, Estraven demonstrates to Genley on how to survive outside the city, in the desolate wilderness of Winter. Even though these two may be different physically, in spirit they are one in the same.

Lack of Emotion Or Just How Gethenians Work?

From early on in the novel there are many mentions of cold. Genly, a foreigner, is not used to the cold at all. In Chapter 3 he refers to himself as a tropical bird. Genly mentions in Chapter 3 that the fireplace does no good. Fires in Karhide are to warm the spirit, not the flesh. There are advancements in their world, where they have central heating, but no one uses it. On page 28, Genly suggests they would “lose their physiological weatherproofing” if they were to stay warm the all the time. The cold environment is apart of them now. They’ve learned to live with it and without it, the whole order of their world would be off. On page 29 Genly notes that he’s been cold his entire time in Gethen. “Cold one way outdoors and cold another way indoors, ceaselessly and more or less thoroughly cold”, says Genly. What I believe he’s referring to is the lack of emotion or warmth in Gethen. Of course what follows lack of emotion is loneliness. I don't think the Gethenians are intentionally isolating themselves, that’s just how their world works. But for Genly who’s an outsider looking in, it's odd for him to see such a lack of emotion and lack of relationships. In comparison to our, society there's operates backwards. They go into kemmering, mate with someone who is also in kemmering, have a baby, and then decide if they want to stay together and vow kemmering to each other. In our world, we chose a partner based on our emotional connection before we start a family with them. We take into consideration our partner’s qualities and characteristics because we know that our baby will be half of their qualities and half of our own. The Gethenians reproduce without acknowledging the other person’s qualities, I’m not sure of they do this because that’s how kemmer works, or if they don't care about how the other half of their child will be.

Wave Two: Due Tuesday, January 19

How does the constant cold of Gethen contribute to the theme of isolation and loneliness? 
 
Reminder, your post should be between 250-300 words long. Anything shorter will not be effective. Also, include page numbers when you reference the text. 
 
Wave 2 responders, you have until 6:00 pm Tuesday, January 19th to post your response to this question. All other students in the class may comment on any of the LHoD posts at any time. 

Wave 2 Participants:

Jazmine H, Robin H, Briel I, Leslie L, Devon M, Marissa M, Alexis M, Jessica N, Johnathan O, Sandra O, Sarah P.

Genley Ai and our struggles

In chapter 6, "The Question of Sex," the Investigator Ong Tot Oppong stated that "One is judged only as a human being." (95) on Gethen and that "It is an appalling experience." (95) 

We as people live in a heavily gendered society, apparently one similar to the ones Genly Ai and Ong Tot Oppong are from. Our world is obsessed with both gender and sex. From the moment it's able to be determined, we are labeled by our sex. Blue paint for a boy's room, pink paint for a girl's room. Cars for boys, dolls for girls. Our lives and upbringings are segmented based on race, for no real reason. Our entire society could be categorized into what people attribute to men and what they attribute to women (with women getting the far shorter, more oppressed stick.) On Gethen, these notions do not exist. Male/Female only matters for 5 days and only if you've found a partner to Kemmer with. Those that are always one gender are labeled Perverts and shunned from society. To Gethenians, we are a society of pervets. And we are. Are world revolves around both of sex's definitions. Burgers are sold to us with breasts and romantic comedies are sold with an oiled up six-pack. None of this exists on Gethen. Sex is given a wide berth and remains a solemn and generally romantic notion. Kemmer is both a romantic relationship and a way to reproduce. You can not have children until you've found a romantic partner. You can't market sex to anyone because no one cares about sex unless they are in Kemmer. Genly Ai struggles to understand Gethenians and their ways, for many reasons. He is considered a Pervert, being always male, and is yet to really understand Kemmering and its ways. I believe the reason Genly struggles so much with Gethenian culture is because we struggle with their culture. I believe Genly comes from our Earth. He states that he is from "Terran", a name derived from the latin word Terra, which means earth or land. He labels speed in MpH, but specifically calls that a Terran measurement, the same measurement we use here. Genly is one of us and struggles with the same concepts we are confused about as we read this book.

Wave 1

Genly Ai has a hard time seeing the Gethenians as they see themselves because of the world he is brought up from. Like Earth, our reality is like Genly's reality. We categorize sexuality rather than looking past someone's identity like the Gethenians. Genly is so used to calling everyone by their sex such as "he" and "she" so it makes it difficult more him to look past the people of this planet, Winter. In chapter one, detail explains how Genly uses these pronouns. "Wiping sweat from his dark forehead the man--man I must say, having say he and his-- the man answers, 'Very long ago a keystone was set in with a mortar of ground bones mixed with blood. Human bones, human blood. Without him the bloodbond the arch would fall you see. We use the blood of animals these days.'" (Chapter 1 page 5) Gethenians don't settle down each specific gender until kenmering season. That's where they begin to justify each other. Genly sees the Gethenians as aliens because of his attributes and the Gethenians see Genly as an alien as well because of their attributes. "So he often speaks, frank yet cautious, ironic, as if always aware that I see and judge as an alien: a singular awareness in one of so isolate a race and so high a race." ( chapter 1 page 5) Thus, the communication between one another is rather difficult because since their views are different, it becomes harder to communicate.

Ai Don't Get It

Even though Genly Ai has been in Gethen for about two years, he still has yet to fully comprehend the Gethenian lifestyle. During a dinner with Estraven, Genly reveals, “Though I had been nearly two years on Winter I was still far from being able to see the people of the planet through their own eyes. I tried to, but my efforts took the form of self-consciously seeing a Gethenian first as a man, then a woman, forcing him into these categories so irrelevant to his nature and so essential to my own (12).”

Throughout the course of the novel, Genly Ai makes distinctions between himself and the Gethenians. The envoy differs in physical and anatomical traits from them; he himself is a tall, dark, and single-sex male. Unlike Genly, the Gethenians are yellow-brown or red-brown in color, short, and are genderless.  In his appointment with the Karhide-monarch, King Argaven, Genly reveals that people come in all different colors. The people of his home planet, Terra, not only differ in physical appearance, but in sexuality as well.

Genly’s confusion with the androgynous qualities of the Gethenians, especially their ability to transition from male to female during the phases of kemmer, reveals that the people on his planet are different in terms of their sexual physiology.  Genly’s confession hints that the people on his planet only can either be male or female because he refers to the Gethenians by using masculine and feminine pronouns to make his distinction. Since Genly comes from a planet of gender, he attempts to make sense of the Gethenian sex; “A person from Cime, a female (36).” In this passage he explains that he uses the word female because the Gethenians would identify it as a phase of kemmer. Genly admits that Gethenian sexual physiology is unique among human beings. 

LHoD

Genly Ai doesn't know how to feel about the Gethenians intersex nature and takes time for him to adapt to it. He doesn't really see how they could be gender less, and doesn't know really what to think of it. His misperception of seeing them as gender less eventually he comes around and starts adapting to what he's seeing the Gethenians. The Gethenians aren't really a gender free society, I guess they're more of an intersex society. He mentions that he can't help but see the Gethenians as male, but in some circumstances he sees them as feminine. Genly also mentions in the book how he doesn't remember what it's like to be around a woman. The Gethenians don't see each other as male or female until kemmer. I think that is Genly's biggest struggle about the Gethenians until he starts getting used to being "gender free". It's a struggle for him in the beginning to really not see them as male or female since they do consider themselves as not having a gender. He realizes that the world he comes from isn't like the Gethenians since he is used to seeing someone as male or female, and for him to not be around other women or men is kind of different for him.

Gethenians Who?

Genly Ai,  throughout the book struggles a lot to understand Gethenians and who or what they are. Honestly , I feel somewhat connected to Genly Ai because he's trying to understand these people and how they "work" you could say and while I'm reading the book I feel the same way. Like throughout the book he refers the king as he or him, but Gethenians don't stay the same gender. They don't have a perminante sex and that confuses Genly Ai because they see him as a pervert for what he sees as completely normal. On page 18-21 while Genly is speaking to Estraven , he struggles to read Estravens expressions and fails to see whether or not what he was saying was true or even had double meanings to them. As I'm reading the book I've noticed a lot how Gethenians don't really show emotion. Its weird because Genly Ai can misinterpret something a gethenian says.

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Genly Ai struggles to understand Gethenians as they see themselves because of how different the place is and the society in Winter. For example, Genly isn't too familiar with the genders of the Gethanians since it is difficult to determine if a person is a male or a female and since they all look the same. Also the kemmering that they have set up is confusing. Kemmering is like a phrase used to say that a Gethan is sexually active. They settle down as a male or female and wait til it's over. Which is totally different from how people are on Earth because we know what gender we are and what race we are. Another thing that is different from people on Earth to the Gethenians on Winter that Genly can't really understand is that the Gethanians don't have war. He sees these the Gethenians as aliens when the Gethanians see Genly as an alien because of how different they are and how he stands out. This all makes it hard for Gently to talk to the Gethanians and for the Gethanians to talk to Gently because they don't understand each other.

Genly Ai

Genly Ai has trouble seeing the Gethenian's as they see themselves because they have no gender. From the world he comes from he calls people he or she and the Gethenian's are neither he or she. His attitude about where he comes from reveals that he comes from a world similar to our world. Where the Gethanians come from they all are similar to one another and understand each othe where as Genly has trouble trying to see things the way they do. Even I had trouble trying to understand how you could be niether man not woman. Where Genly comes from it is normal to call someone he or she, but at Winter most of them are neither he or she. I think later on in the book he will eventually be able to accept and understand the the Gethanians live. 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Gethenian

To Genly, the Gethenian's world is mind boggling. Genly can't seem to wrap his head around the androgyny of the Gethenian people. This reveals a lot about the world Genly comes from. We know from the book that in Terra, everyone is either male or female. Because of this, Genly is constantly trying to mentally label people as one gender. He also recognizes certain male and female characteristics traits in androgynous people. A great example of this is when Genly goes to Estraven's home for dinner. Genly describes Estraven's table manners as "womanly, all charm and tact and lack of substance, specious and adroit" (12). He also comments on Estraven's "dark, ironic, powerful... masculinity" (12). This juxtaposition of male and female traits, as is seen in Estraven, confuses Genly. 
We can further take from the text that beyond having clearly defined gender, Genly's world has defined gender roles in which men are more important than women. We can infer this from a variety of subtle comments Genly makes about women and sexuality. He mentions disliking Estraven's "soft supple femininity", and also comments that "[The Gethenians] lacked, it seemed the capacity to mobilize. They behaved... like women" (12, 49). These quotes seem to reveal Genly's opinion that men are the ones meant to lead, conquer, war, and provide. Genly also refers to all people that he meets with the pronoun of "he", which I find interesting. This might also indicate the dominance of men in Genly's society. Even in regards to his "landlady", who he describes as a "a prying, spying, ignoble, kindly" woman, the pronoun he is used (48). 
The very fact that Genly is so bothered by the Gethenian's sexuality also tells us that Genly's world does not have the kind of egalitarianism (in regards to gender) that Gethenians have. In Genly's world, whether a person is male or female matters. Women have certain roles, and so do men. In Gethen, there are no such roles, and "nobody [in Gethen] is quite so free as a free man anywhere else"(94). With the label of "Male" or "Female" comes attached gender roles. In Terra, women bear and raise children; in Gethen, every reproductive age person can become pregnant, and children are cared for in big groups. In Terra, males protect and provide for their families; in Gethen, a lack of gender means everyone has the opportunity for every job.The world of Winter is a place where "there is no division of humanity into strong and weak halves, protective/protected, dominant/submissive, owner/chattel, active/passive" (94). 
Thus Genly is trying to live in a confusing world where all gender inequality is torn down, and he is left to ponder if this is for better or for worse. 

Discuss Genly Ai's struggle to see Gethenians as they see themselves. What do Genly Ai's attitudes reveal about the world he comes from?

Genly Ai being form a different planet where a human is categorize as male or female, faces a challenges being on the planet Winter. Genly is so used to looking at someone and calling them he or she because on Genly’s planet that’s the norm, you are either male or female 100 % of the time. On Winter the humans there aren’t female or male most of the time. Genly hasn’t really gotten over the matter of looking at Gethenians and not worrying about calling them a male or female. He hasn’t gotten past looking at them and just accepting it, he wants to be about to categorize because that’s what normal for him. But for Gethenians they don’t see each other as female or male until their kemmer season, they see each other as humans. They look pass their gender and look more at each other, like looking at a soul. Not being able to accept this causes a culture board for him in a sense, but what also cause a culture board is the fact that Genly seems to be more like a real life human (like from our reality, you know from Earth) which causes Gethenians to also not accept him, they see him as a pervert because he’s a male full time. Genly’s attitudes reveal about his world is that it’s more like ours and that their used to identifying each other as male or female. Calling a female she and male he, identifying them so Genly knows how and what to talk about with them.