Book Analysis In The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, protagonists Estraven and Genly Ai embark on a bleak journey across the Gobrin Glacier only to discover that they will fail without the balance between light and shadows. In response to Estraven falling into a crevasse that none of the characters could see, Genly Ai draws a yin-yang sign and tells him, “light is the left hand of darkness… how did it happen? Light, dark. Fear, courage. Cold, heat. Female, male. It's you, Therem. Both and one” (Le Guin, 267). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Although their journey depends on the combination of darkness and light to be able to see on the ice, the novel exploits each of the contradictions you mention and their codependency on each other. The contradiction between cold and heat appears almost instantly as the planet Genly Ai visits, Gethen, is just steps away from being a frozen wasteland. However, the climate in Gethen and the opposing warmth between the characters prove significant beyond the story's setting. Indeed, there is a lot of meaning to the ideas of heat and coldness in the plot beyond the temperature and setting in The Left Hand of Darkness. Heat has a wide range of meanings in literature, and its meaning changes in The Left Hand of Darkness as the plot develops. When he arrives in Gethen, Genly Ai participates in a celebratory parade only to find himself uncomfortable and hot. Moments later, Genly Ai notes her immediate distrust of Prime Minister Estraven, saying, “I do not trust Estraven, whose motives are forever obscure; I don't like; yet I feel and respond to its authority as surely as I do to the heat of the sun” (Le Guin, 7). This situation causes the reader to associate warmth with a character's discomfort, which proves true throughout the rest of the story. novel. However, for Genly Ai, this discomfort becomes a symbol of the value of certain relationships. For example, during their journey, Estraven prepares to enter kemmer, the state of sexual readiness or being "in heat". Just before Estraven mentions this, Genly Ai repeatedly mentions the "heart of warmth" that surrounds them when they are together (241). He also discusses how Estraven used the warmth of his hands and breath to thaw Genly Ai's frozen eye. Then, after heat is mentioned multiple times, Estraven admits to Genly Ai that he's been avoiding it since being in kemmer, and they agree that it's best not to have sex. When Genly Ai explains that their love is based on difference and that having sex would only cause them alienation due to their differences, she is reiterating the fact that the discomfort she would find in feeling Estraven's intimate "warmth" is a sign how much he values ​​their relationship. The duality of warmth and coldness deepens the relationships between the characters and therefore the plot as it relies on the reader's investigation. Although the reader must look for warmth and its meaning for the novel, coldness and malice are everywhere. After their uncomfortable fireside conversation and Genly Ai's revelation that he has been cold since he arrived, Estraven asks Genly Ai what the Ekumen, a United Kingdom, is. National type organization, he calls Gethen, to which Genly Ai responds “Winter” (Le Guin, 20). At this point, the discomfort does not belong to the characters, but to the reader: the Genly Ai and the Gethenians are skeptical of each other, but Estraven's revelation that he has fallen out of favor with the king and cannot help Genly Ai makes the readers fear what awaits them. After this point, both Genly Ai and Estraven have a.