I know we haven’t gotten to this novel in class yet but I figured since we have it coming up I might as well blog about it. I confess that until this semester I was not a huge fan of science fiction. I have always been a lover of words but for me, science fiction was hard to get into- the science and math that dominated the genre was often a turn off. I had of course read a few well known books such as the Star Wars novels and War of the Worlds but that’s about it. However, when I began reading for this semester the novels I gravitated towards the most were those from this class. There was nothing I read that I didn’t like but The Dispossessed seemed to resonate with me the most.
The Dispossessed was written by one of my favorite authors, Ursula K. Le Guin, in 1974. It has won the Nebula award (1974), Hugo award (1975), and Locus award (1975). Le Guin was drawn to writing at an early age and summited her first story at age 11 to Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 but didn’t manage to become published until the 1960s. Her works include the Hainish Cycle science fiction novel and short stories and the Earthsea fantasy novels.
The Dispossessed is a utopian science fiction novel that explores the topics of anarchism and revolutionary societies, individualism and collectivism, and the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis. Heavily influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, this novel consists mainly of opposites- a utopian novel that explores the imperfections of its model society, a feminist-themed account with a male protagonist, and a social commentary that presents communal cooperation as the truest human ideal, yet focuses on the inevitable separateness of the creative individual within such a structure. What is unique about the utopian world Le Guin creates is that it is not perfect. One of the purposes of a utopian novel is to critique existing societies by creating a setting where the flaws of real cultures can be clearly exposed. By creating an imperfect world Le Guin’s novel seems more believable, its flaws are the main focus of Le Guin’s novel and allows its ideals to become more apparent.
The novel takes place on twin planets Urras and Anarres. Two hundred years before the story takes place Odo, an anarchist who sought an alternative to Urrass’ current governments, started a revolution that eventually lead to the colonization of Anarres, Urras’s arid moon. The colonist wanted to build a utopian world where communal sharing and cooperation existed under a brotherhood of mutual tolerance. On Anarres there are no laws, no property, no governors, no nations, no money, no marriage, no police, no prisons. In creating laws they believed they would create crime and the need for police and prisons, to have property, money, a sense of ownership would inevitably lead to a division among men- once again there would be upper, middle, and lower classes.
“A child free from the guilt of ownership and
the burden of economic competition will grow up with the will to do what needs doing and the capacity for joy in doing it.” (p. 247)
However, Shevek, a physicist born 200 years after Anarres’s colonization, finds himself an exile in a world designed to be without exiles. He is a genius that has developed a theory to make instantaneous communication across space a reality. As he continues to develop his theory Shevek finds himself trapped by the de facto bureaucracy that has evolved on Anarres. Shevek's theories diverge radically from conventional Anarresti physics, are not welcome by the other scientists and while he is not prohibited from exploring them he is ignored and ostracized, left unable obtain the resources he needs. Based upon the assertion of custom and the pressure to conform, Anarres’s de facto bureaucracy eventually drives Shevek into exiling himself away to Urras. Here he believes he can continue his research in peace a perhaps bring the people of both planets closer together. Despite his enthusiasm, Shevek finds that instead of having a love for science and a desire for knowledge, the scientists of Urras only want power and wealth. They seek to use this knowledge to dominate not only Urras but the other planets as well.
“The State recognizes no coinage but power: and it issues the coins itself.” (272)
In case you haven’t finished reading the book I’ll refrain from telling you how it ends but suffice to say that Shevek finds surprising solutions for his dilemmas. I really enjoyed this novel, it was definitely a heavy read but Le Guin’s style allows the complex topics to flow from the novel into the reader. I hope most of you feel the same and I can’t wait to further discuss The Dispossessed in class next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment