Blog #4

I would like to discuss different thoughts on the two main (or what I would consider to be the main) characters of the story, Genly and Estraven. At the beginning of the book, I had the idea that Genly was a physically weak person, even going so far as scrawny and skinny. He seemed to be the kind of person who was more mentally strong and intelligent. As the story progressed, I got the same impression of Genly as my initial one. He is a smart diplomat but does not quite understand the Gethenian culture, which is what I attribute to his shortcomings as envoy. I considered Estraven to be a good person at heart, despite his first apperance as a cold, emotionless person. Even though many people thought he would be Genly's enemy, I saw him as a misunderstood character who would actually be helping Genly throughout the book. Some think that he has underwent a character growth/development because he helped Genly escape from prison. However, I believe it was not Estraven who changed but rather the readers' perceptions of him that changed. I see him helping Genly to succeed by the end of the book.