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Essay / Comparison of two landscapes in "The Dispossessed"
The landscape in The Dispossessed contributes greatly to shaping the cultures and characters of Urras and Anarres. Although meant to be contrasting civilizations, Urras and Anarres are similar in that they both have very complex and highly organized ways of life. Complemented by their own values of government, geography, and society, the two civilizations complete the novel by presenting two sides of the spectrum. While Urras, an insular island, brings an isolated and free-spirited society, Anarres, a larger geography, has a stricter grip. The isolation of Urras forces its inhabitants to conform to the extravagant lives they all share. Although Anarres has a capital, Abbenay, which proves to be its pride and joy, the rest of its geography is barren and desert, leaving no room for expansion beyond what the government allows. The landscape and geography of The Dispossess influence the process of development of the cultures and peoples of every respected civilization. If the landscape and geography were described differently, society would likely change dramatically. Author Ursula K. LeGuin's idea that Anarres, a utopia built on deprivation, would be an ideal society would not be clear. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The geographical privileges that each civilization offers have an impact on the mindset of each culture. While the A-Io of Urras, the main country of the novel, is very fertile and has many types of resources, the people of Urras do their best not to take advantage of its overabundance; however, all industrious production is sustained, as evidenced by the mining to exhaustion of things such as heavy metals. With its capitalist economy, the government regulates virtually all life in A-Io of Urras. Because the Urrasti are aware of the wealth of their planet, they tend to be very wasteful. When Shevek first arrives in Urras, he is given pajamas to wear while he is in quarantine. Once the quarantine process is complete, the doctor burns their pajamas or “nightwear.” As the doctor burns the clothes, this is the first time in the book that an act of waste is introduced. The doctor describes the pajamas as “cheap pajamas, service problem.” He explains that we “wear them and throw them away” and that “it costs less than cleaning” (13). The fact that the people of Urras are so quick to throw away perfectly good pajamas underlines their view of economics. Because their society has so much stuff, they don't see the point in recycling clothes like they do in Anarres. In Anarres, residents are aware that their natural resources are limited and they must do their best to preserve as much as they can by not wasting. Their culture does not allow extravagance and favors the recycling of everything. Shevek does not know the term pajamas because in Anarres there are no clothes exclusively intended for one use. When the doctor burns his clothes, he is extremely confused by the doctor's reasoning. Due to the scarcity of resources that the geography of Anarres offers, the people of Anarres reuse a lot. When Shevek was invited to Vea's party, he was introduced to the ornate lifestyle that the people of A-Io led. While drinking alcohol, a commodity he did not get in Anarres, he was asked to tell what Anarres was really like. Shevek replied: “It’s an ugly world. Not like this one. Anarres is just dusty, dry hills. All skinny, alldry… Life is boring and difficult. You can't always have what you want, or even what you need, because there isn't enough of it. You, the Urrasti, have had enough” (228). It is a special moment where Urras and Anarres are compared in great detail by the protagonist Shevek. Urras is clearly a different environment from Anarres, and the honest description Shevek gives his listeners at Vea's party shocks them. Planets, Urras being a continent surrounded by water and Anarres being larger, plays a big part in the conformity of each civilization to the lives led. The isolation that an island-like geography provides its inhabitants forces the people of Urras to look very similar and spread conformity. If they question compliance, designated individuals forcibly take away their freedoms. When they learned that Dr. Shevek was from Anarres, they thought it was a strange phenomenon. Shevek was delighted with the appreciation given to his work. Because the people of Anarres did not know much about physics, there was no one to appreciate his teachings. Since the government imposed strict restrictions on the freedom of expression of Anarres residents, Shevek has not been able to freely preach his physics research. As Urras was eager to learn and be an innovative company, he was very happy to find a place where he could share his research and where people would find interest in it. Shevek took advantage of his position in Urras. He loved the freedom of expression he was afforded in Urras. He “wondered why the government didn’t stop him from speaking… He talked about pure anarchism, and they didn’t stop him” (144). Shevek definitely took advantage of the Urrasti's weak minds and fed them all of his intellectual beliefs. This is why the isolation of the island forces its inhabitants to be very open to new ideas. They accept what they are told and consider that it enriches their intellect. Anarres enjoys great geographical freedom, so its inhabitants tend to inhabit concentrated areas such as the coast and Abbenay. In Anarres, people in society put more pressure on conformity than on the fact that it is a deviant act. These densely populated areas receive much more attention than the arid areas around them. Abbenay, the capital of Urras, is the place most commonly inhabited by the inhabitants of Anarres since the other cities and the rest of the planet as a whole are covered in barren "dust". With so many people in one area, it is very easy for citizens to rub off on each other. Having an anarchist government, the Anarres place a lot of respect on the cooperation of others. Although the ideal is for there to be no government, no central authority, and no restrictions, this does not exist on the planet Anarres. Many people do not resist authority because there is no clearly established authority; However, Anarres is Le Guin's way of showing that even complete freedom will have some sort of authoritative entity suppressing individuality in one way or another. Since Anarres is described as a planet "not intended to support civilization", (167) it suffers from natural disasters such as droughts, which is not the case for Urras. This ordeal tended to encourage the inhabitants of Anarres to help each other more. Pregnant with Sadik, Takver was at great risk because she was not receiving enough nutrients to support herself and her child. The community helped her and other pregnant women with extra meals. “Pregnant women, like children and the elderly, were able to benefit.