The Left Hand Of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Week 9

I had planned not to write this essay, partly because I'd only read just over a quarter of the book. Realising a couple of hours before the deadline that I wanted to read other people's opinions, I wrote this quite quickly.

Some of my thoughts are possibly a bit confused as they were emerging as I wrote. I changed the thesis at least once and it could have used more editing for clarification.

The story seems to me to be about perceptions of duality and how point of view influences our thoughts and opinion. I think I managed to get some of that across and I felt I was heading in the direction of what Peer 2 writes, although I didn't express it as well.

I agree with Peer 4 that I slipped up in describing the scope of the reaction to the character Genly, but I disagree with their second point as I qualified my statement about the reader's point of view by saying that is what a reader would think "at the outset". That is, it sets up one of the main tensions of the story.

Thanks, as ever, for the comments.

The Left Hand Of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

A cursory reading of Ursula LeGuin's "The Left Hand Of Darkness" might lead the reader to conclude she is writing about gender as a source of antagonism. She dispenses with other traditional origins of conflict: there are two non-antagonistic religions on Gethen and racism and inter-society conflicts are either rare or low-level. The extreme cold seems to exacerbate the struggle for survival to the extent that large-scale competition over resources seems a luxury no one cannot afford and the implication is that the societies have developed more slowly as a consequence. There is however, a highly-developed system of politics in Karhide based on social status and while it is from this the initial conflicts emerge and amplify, LeGuin makes it clear how an individual's context informs their viewpoint and gender is a lens through which we view all things.

Genly vainly attempts to unravel his own feelings about Estraven's lack of gender, but can only do so from his own context: "Was it... this soft, supple femininity that I disliked and distrusted in him? ...and yet, whenever I thought of him as a man I felt a sense of falseness, of imposture: in him or in my own attitude to him?"

Even when Estraven is trying to warn Genly about his lack of favour within the society, Genly has a hard time overcoming his gender perceptions to grasp the former's meaning: "I at last saw that I was missing another signal. Damning his effeminate deviousness..."

The Karhidians' respond to what they learn of Genly's biology by dismissing him and his people - and by implication all non-Karhidians - as "A society of perverts".

Ironically, by removing gender altogether, LeGuin succeeds in making biological context such a strong source of conflict at the outset that the reader immediately questions whether a resolution will ever be possible between such antithetical beings.

Responses

Form: 2/3

peer 2 → I cannot complain about the form of this essay.
peer 3 → The structure is ok but piling a lot of information in the first paragraph is not very appropriate… Any way, the expressions used are generally good.
peer 4 → Your essay was generally well-written and understandable. There are a few problems with form. Some examples: 1) "a luxury no one cannot afford" should be "a luxury no one can afford" or "a luxury one cannot afford." The double negative is poor form. 2) Your use of commas is incorrect and frequently confusing.
peer 5 → A well constructed and thought out essay.Well done.

Content: 2/3

peer 2 → This was well written. The problem is you start by suggesting that gender isn't the only issue, then say the society/government is the antagonizing issue, and then write "LeGuin makes it clear how an individual's context informs their viewpoint and gender is a lens through which we view all things." So that's a bit confused. Genly is so unsuccessful in incorporating the Gethenians for so long because he doesn't realize that his own gender bias is distorting his perception of their society; it's almost as if they are speaking another language. That's why the government and the culture is so antagonizing to Genly in this text.
peer 3 → The thesis is expressed clearly ---- the gender issues. However, about half of the essay is taken up by quotes from the story. Giving more of your own opinions may be better.
peer 4 → Your theme is understandable, but I see some problems with it: 1) You state "and by implication all non-Karhidians." I disagree. Your statement might be correct if you had said "and by implication all non-Gethenians." 2) You state "the reader immediately questions whether a resolution will ever be possible between such antithetical beings." I disagree. I think Le Guin does answer the question. I believe your essay misses one of the points of the book.
peer 5 → This essay is very well written. the thesis/agrument is clear and concise.

Comments

None.

The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Week 8

The only Ray Bradbury I've read previously was in English classes at school where we read the short story collection "The Golden Apples of the Sun". Although it includes the classic "A Sound Of Thunder", I don't clearly recall any of the other stories. Reading this excellent book has opened a door to further reading, exactly what I'd hoped for from this course.

Insightful comments this week. I had got distracted from my original thesis by some interesting ideas and was in a rush to submit. If I'd started earlier, left it overnight and returned to it, I might have picked up the problem and fixed it. Thanks to the reviewers.

The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

Only forty years separate the writing of Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" and Burroughs' "A Princess Of Mars", but the two books are clearly from different ages.

Burroughs' story is rooted in the nineteenth century and he transposes the Wild West to Mars to act as a backdrop for heroic adventure. By contrast, Bradbury's post-modern narrative is a product of the twentieth century which examines the mechanics of colonisation in a collection of stories replete with irony and black humour.

Burroughs signals otherness by casting the Martians as a physical analogue of Native Americans whose strength is literally in their strength. Bradbury though pushes further, evoking a sense of the uncanny in the astronauts' interactions with the Martians through the latter's telepathy. When the first expedition to Mars ends in the death of the astronauts, interplanetary warfare isn't the cause: the men are killed by a jealous Martian husband who tells his wife he's “Just hunting...” When the second expedition fails, the mental impact of Martian telepathy leads to the astronauts' murder and a Martian psychologist's suicide.

Were Bradbury merely writing an adventure about the inevitability of colonisation and the triumph of humanity, the rule of three would lead us to expect two failures then success. Instead he adds irony by having the third landing party killed and making the Martians appear unassailable. Yet, like the Martians who succumbed to the common cold while attempting to invade Earth in H.G. Wells' “War Of The Worlds” and the Incas killed by the smallpox virus, humans overcome Martian resistance by inadvertently infecting them with disease.

Mankind does not deserve to have conquered Mars. His victory is an accident, a side-effect. And Bradbury forces us sympathise with the Martians as subsequently, human after human blunders foolishly and selfishly across their planet.

Responses

Form: 2/3

peer 1 → You write well and saw no obvious errors in grammar or use of language. However, your conclusion didn't mirror your introductory paragraph.
peer 2 → Nice clear comparative structure and effective language use
peer 3 → Clear exposition, correct grammar and a nicely constructed flow of sentences.
peer 4 → The form is fine. Spelling grammar and word usage. It is well laid out and paragraphs logical. The exposition and argument are unclear.
peer 5 → The essayist clearly possesses a decent mastery of the English language, and his grammar and vocabulary are relatively well developed. However, I personally found the essay to be a little unfocused; the introduction seems to propose an impending comparison between Bradbury and Burroughs, but Burroughs is abruptly and conspicuously dropped in the midst of the essay. The third paragraph is particularly suspect; from that point onwards, the diction of the essayist makes him sound as if he is going off on a tangent.

Content: 2/3

peer 1 → I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion that man's victory was an accident. Earthmen didn't give up easily even after losing several expeditions. They were persistent, which is usually what is required for conquest. Also I'm not sure that Bradbury's sympathies lie with the Martians. They are absent through most of the book. As I have mentioned, from your introduction I thought you were going to compare Burroughs' and Bradbury's approach in writing about extraplanetary conquest but you veered off half way through. Nevertheless your essay makes some good points about Bradbury's post-modern narrative.
peer 2 → Nice ideas
peer 3 → A novel, absorbing and nicely narrated work displaying a good understanding of Ray Bradbury's work.
peer 4 → The essay is interesting but doesn't tell me anything new. You start off by telling us that the books are clearly from different ages but this doesn't seem to be the premise that you argue through to a logical conclusion. I would have liked to see some comparison between the two showing how they are " clearly form different ages".
peer 5 → A relatively well written essay; the background knowledge, and the contextual interpretation and comparison, does make a striking point when viewed in that respect. However, as mentioned, the essayis should focus his essay a little more, possibly focusing on either the Burroughs-Bradbury comparison or the colonization/alienation theme, which would make for a narrower, more detailed, and this more engaging essay.
peer 6 → I like what you are saying with Wells bringing to light the uncanny, but I don't see how Burroughs connects into the essay. It's as though you started with one idea and then changed.

Comments

peer 1 → It would have been interesting to pursue Bradbury's novel as an example of post modern fiction considering its structure, the ironic playfulness and its ambiguity of meaning.

A Princess Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Week 7

 

I struggled to keep reading and only made it about 20% through this book, so the essay tends towards the generic. I can't really argue with the comments.

A Princess Of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

 

Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess Of Mars" is a prototypical superhero story which bridges the 19th Century western and 20th Century interplanetary science fantasy. John Carter, the lead character is a 19th Century prototype for 20th Century superheroes, who - like Superman - finds his abilities are enhanced to super-human levels when he changes environments. This strength compensates for his outsider status on Mars, providing him with curiousity value and garnering him the respect of the violent Green Martians who are the first race that he encounters.

Transposing the American West to the planet Mars, with the civilised Red Martians in conflict with savage Green Martians, the story follows a narrative popular for over 100 years prior to its publication. The captivity narrative tells how a hero adapts when captured and imprisoned in an unfamiliar society. Carter's outsider viewpoint sees him define each race by the qualities he observes. Like the society from which Carter himself originates, the Red Martians' society is structured around control of resources, in their case the Martian canals. By contrast, the Green Martians are violent, nomadic and communal, in common with many popular depictions of some Native American tribes.

What seems so impressive in hindsight is how Burroughs weaves such familiar, yet disparate elements into a coherent story, writing about things he knew and at the same writing infusing his stories with elements of the fantastic. Anyone attempting the same feat now would find numerous sub-genres into which their tale would fit. Burroughs had very few antecedents and was effectively blazing a trail for a new type of fiction that would come to be one of the most popular and imaginative forms of the next one hundred years.

Responses

 

Form: 2/3

peer 1 → I 'm not a fluent english speaker so i'm not able to evaluate your grammar and vocabulary properly. In my humble opinion you write correctly and use appropriate words. Your argumentations flow from a sentence to another soundly.
peer 2 → The grammar and structure has minor error, but the essays very understanable
peer 3 → "when he changes environments": he did not. "Carter's outsider viewpoint sees him define...": too many words for too little. "What seems so impressive in hindsight is...": "hindsight" may not be a right word.

Content: 2/3

peer 1 → You said A Princess of Mars stays within his time. It trasposes the just concluded American West epic to the red planet and compares savage Green Martians with American Natives and Red Martians with European Colonizers. In my opinion you should better setting out any obiection to this drastic separation right/wrong,
peer 2 → The content make some insight to the reader, but likely lack a clear conclusion as the main ideas about the story
peer 3 → I see you did your homework. A lot of information, unfortunately, not anything new. So, where is your original problem and your thought about it?
peer 4 → Interesting and article is well organized.

Comments

peer 2 → Maybe add more word to make some exploration about the story will make this essays better.
peer 3 → Try to expand your own ideas. That would make your essay more interesting.

The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells

Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Week 6

Although I only made it 60% of the way through during the week, I enjoyed The Invisible Man and felt I managed to pull a decent essay together.

The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells

In The Invisible Man, Wells continually shifts the forces of antagonism as the story progresses in order to reveal different qualities of his protagonist, Griffin, through their interactions. He does this by making each antagonist represent a different form of morality.

The landlady Mrs. Hall is a sympathetic woman with a strong personal sense of morality based on traditional values of respect and politeness. She tolerates Griffin's brusque manner for business reasons, but stands up to him when he threatens to transgress the boundaries of politeness: "Mrs. Hall was quite alarmed. But she was a resolute woman." Although volatile, Griffin too has standards and knows he should respect her, despite his exasperation: "And he mumbled at her - words suspiciously like curses." Politeness dictates that Mrs. Hall respect her guests' wishes, but Griffin's abruptness begins to grate on her and she refuses to let him dominate her.

Marvel, by contrast is cowardly, corrupted and co-opted into Griffin's emerging scheme. Marvel's weakness is an inadequate source of antagonism, so the villagers must band clumsily together to form a mass of sufficient volume to repel Griffin. Together, they represent a collective form of morality which emerges through their response to circumstance. As the village's response coheres, its response is personified in the policemen who represent the law as the highest form of social morality.

The calm, rational Dr. Kemp is a voice of reason; a man of science and therefore a fundamental threat to Griffin. Through enquiry and debate, Kemp seeks to understand Griffin's problem from a scientific viewpoint while at the same time wrestling intellectually with the moral implications of helping or denouncing a criminal.

These different levels of morality - the individual strength based on traditional moral sense, the collective knowledge of right and wrong, and the intellectually validated moral response - ultimately combine, the people cooperate and the immoral Griffin is overcome.

Responses

 

Form: 2/3

 

peer 1 → Good use of language
peer 2 → Your essay follows a very clear, logical structure. It's obvious you've thought carefully about how your ideas relate to each other. My only complaint is that the paragraph about Dr. Kemp does not have as much support as the other paragraphs. I did not take off points for this because I realize we are restricted to 320 words, which makes it nearly impossible to provide equal support for each claim.
peer 3 → Very nicely written.
peer 4 → All in all, your essay is well constructed. (Maybe that's why) I think it needs a better constructed bibliography.

Content: 2/3

 

peer 1 → Good argument
peer 2 → The ideas are very illuminating and explore an aspect of the novel that I hadn't thought too much about. My only complaint is with the sentence: "in order to reveal different qualities of his protagonist, Griffin, through their interactions." In your essay you do not explore Griffin's qualities so much as the other characters he encounters.
peer 3 → I really liked the topic you wrote on. It definitely added to my understanding of the reading.
peer 4 → I enjoyed your topic. I think you chose a good one and, somehow, developed it well. This could make a better essay (there is a lot more to be said, I bet). Well done!

Total: 4/6

Twice Told Tales, Mosses From An Old Manse And Other Stories - Hawthorne

Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Week 5 

Despite stories from Poe and Hawthorne being on offer, I stuck with Hawthorne. After a bit of digging, this essay the points I identified seemed to cohere around morality and I was pleased with the result.

Twice Told Tales, Mosses From An Old Manse And Other Stories - Hawthorne

As obsession increases we are drawn ever deeper into the world of madness. Hawthorne uses different methods to signpost this by choosing to locate an objective voice differently in three of his tales. In each case, the victim or victims lose their sense of perspective, but a voice of reason exists to define the moral centre.

In "The Birthmark", as Aylmer's obsession leads Georgiana into a madness which will ultimately overwhelm her, the author relects her descent through an ironic lifecycle image system which passes through puberty: "...a crimson stain upon the snow..."; marriage: "...he led her over the threshold..."; procreation: "...a... fragrance, capable of impregnating the breezes..." and finally "...he was as pale as death..." Once Georgiana dies, the narrator's voice returns the narrative to an objective voice.

By contrast, in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger himself appears objective. His four elderly friends who taste the elixir are so seduced by the feeling of youth they momentarily experience, they resolve to dedicate the remainder of their lives to seeking, obtaining and consuming it. The wise Heidegger looks on, apparently remaining the incorruptible and objective scientist, but at the same time responsible as the catalyst of their downfall.

In "Rapaccini's Daughter", one objective voice is the wise protector Guasconti, who warns Giovanni that he has "...fallen into fearful hands..." by coming under the spell of Beatrice and her father. Giovanni is so enchanted, he refuses or is unable to listen, but a second protector in Baglioni provides an antidote which finally results in Beatrice's death.

Ultimately, this makes the latter the more moral tale. Rapccini's transgression is punished, Heidegger is revealed not to be the benign figure he originally appeared, while Aylmer may never escape from the delusion he has fallen into.

Responses

Form: 2/3

peer 1 → Very well written. Excellent use of quotations. Very well structured.
peer 2 → Well written, with clear examples taken from the stories to defend your point. Clear and concise with a very easy-to-follow structure
peer 3 → I like it very much, I would like you to give a title, as I always say, but no matter, the essay is well written and calibrated, everything is clear and the comprehension is fluid and pleasant...
peer 4 → "As obsession increases we are drawn ever deeper into the world of madness." I really liked how this sentence was worded, and that it was the beginning of your essay. You have a very clear beginning that helps the reader know what to expect throughout the beginning. This is a very clear and matter-of-fact form of essay. The grammar is correct and the words are properly used.
peer 5 → very well-structured

Content: 2/3

 

peer 1 → I learned a thing or two from your insightful analysis, and appreciate it very much.
peer 2 → Good insight and comparison among the 3 stories. I like your final summary in the last sentence. It really expresses in a concise way the point you want to make in the essay
peer 3 → Contents are interesting, the question of madness is an important point in Hawthorne's poetics. I like how he/she deals with it, the examples are well explained and the fil-rouge is clear. Bravo!
peer 4 → "Hawthorne uses different methods to signpost this by choosing to locate an objective voice differently in three of his tales." This is a very interesting insight. I was amused reading your essay.
peer 5 → This is so far the best essay I've read this week

Total: 4/6

 

Comment

peer 1 → This is the first score of 6 I have given to any essay so far in this course. Well done!