Book ReviewIn The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, protagonists Estraven and Genly Ai embark on a dark journey across the Gobrin Glacier only to discover that they will fail without the balance between light and shadow. In response to Estraven falling into a crevasse that neither character could see, Genly Ai draws a yin-yang sign and tells him, "Light is the left hand of darkness...how did that happen?" Light, dark. Fear, courage. Cold, heat. Female, male. It's you, Therem. The two and one” (Le Guin, 267). Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an original essay Although their journey depends on the combination of darkness and light to see on the ice, the novel uses each of the contradictions that he mentions and their codependence on each other. The contradiction between cold and heat appears almost instantly since the planet Genly Ai visits, Gethen, is only a few steps away from being a frozen wasteland. However, the weather in Gethen and the opposing heat between the characters proves significant beyond the scope of the story. Indeed, the ideas of warmth and coolness have a lot of importance in the plot beyond temperature and setting in The Left Hand of Darkness. Heat has a wide range of meanings in literature, and its meaning changes throughout The Left Hand of Darkness as the plot progresses. develops. When he arrives in Gethen, Genly Ai takes part in a celebration parade only to find himself uncomfortable and hot. Moments later, Genly Ai notices his immediate distrust of Prime Minister Estraven, stating, “I do not trust Estraven, whose motives are forever unclear; I don't like it; yet I feel and respond to its authority as surely as 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, throughout 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). It also explains how Estraven used the warmth of his hands and his breath to thaw Genly Ai's frozen eye. Then, after the heat is mentioned several times, Estraven admits to Genly Ai that he has been avoiding her since he was in Kemmer, and they agree that it is best if they do not have sex . When Genly Ai explains that their love is based on difference. and that having sex would only alienate them because of their differences, he reiterates the fact that the discomfort he would experience in feeling Estraven's intimate "heat" is a sign of the importance he places to their relationship. The dualism of heat and coolness deepens the relationships between the characters and therefore the plot since it is based on the reader's own excavations. Although the reader must look for warmth and its importance in the novel, ice and malice are everywhere. After their uncomfortable conversation by the fireplace and Genly Ai's revelation that he has been cold since his arrival, Estraven asks Genly Ai what the Ekumen, a United Nations type organization, calls Gethen, to which Genly Ai replies " 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 each skeptical.