Question: In what ways does Tax (2002) suggest Earthsea may still be relevant today?
According to Tax(2002)’s research, Earthsea maintains a relevance in our society because it provides pure writing style of English and lead the audience think and feel outside of regular realistic patterns of other fantasy fictions. To fantasy readers, Le Guin is not only one of the purest stylists writing in English but the most extraordinary straightforward of writers. As Le Guin herself pointed out, “The great fantasies, myths, and tales are indeed like dreams: they speak from the unconscious to the unconscious, in the language of the unconscious--symbol and archetype.” Tax(2002) then goes on to indicate that one of the reasons that Earthsea is still relevant today is the masterpiece contains conflict between gender roles. For example, Tax(2002) emphasizes that male roles rule the world and define social conventions in Earthsea. Despite the fact in Earthsea, the male role has not changed radically in contemporary society and males are always considered to be the head of the household. Tax(2002) further illustrates that the theme and archetypes of characters in Le Guin’s book strike a chord with her audience. I personally agree with this point, not only with regard to Earthsea, but also the other fantasy fictions. The constant stability in Earthsea is the central character, the plot and the balance of light and dark (yin and yang).
Reference
Tax, M. (Jan 28, 2002). Year of Harry Potter, Enter the Dragon. In The Nation.
Le Guinn, U. (2005) Plausibility in Fantasy. Retrieved 15, Augst 2012, http://www.ursulakleguin.com/plausibilityinfantasy.html
Hi Doris, you've made a good start here - but I'd be interested to find out what parallels you can draw between gender roles in Earthsea and society today, as that's where you seem to be going with that train of thought.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the characters in the book fit into social stereotypes? Please respond this week.