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ARTICLE CRITIQUE: The Dispossessed

·      Does each fact in the article have an appropriate, reliable reference?

o  In the setting section, there are no citations. It badly needs a citation when it references the setting’s supposed allusion to the United States.

o  The article often does not site its primary sources in the plot section.

o  In the themes section, there are few sources listed in the first paragraph, even though there are several points about the authors posed questions which would need a source.

·      Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?

o  Everything is relevant.

·      Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

o  The reception section is a bit lopsided; it shows overwhelmingly favorable criticism for the book. Adding a few more negative or critical reviews could be helpful.

·      Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources?

o  The sources seem mostly neutral. There are many studies on the different themes of book that argue for a certain point, but they seem to do so with reliable sources and arguments.

·      Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?

o  There is a lot of focus on the political messages of the book. There could be more information on other themes, for example, feminism.

·      Check a few citations. Do the links work? Do you see close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?

o  The links seem to work. I do not see signs of plagiarism.

·      Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

o  The information is up to date.

·      What is the writing style like? Are there appropriate word choices? Are there transitions between ideas? Overall, do the entry’s points comes across clearly?

o  The sentences tend to be slightly unclear. The writing could be cleaned up to improve the clarity. For example, there are some long and convoluted sentences in the plot section that could be modified.

·      How has the author organized the information in the entry? Are there any images? If so, do they fit well with the content?

o  The organization is the weakest part of this entry. The information is not appropriately separated between the sections. For example, there are elements describing the plot in the themes section of the article. There is also some repetition between sections.

o  Additionally, points mentioned in the introduction, especially the points about themes, are not clearly covered in the main body of the article. The themes section should be broken up into those categories listed in the introduction, not just the category of “Utopianism.”

o  There is only one image – the cover of the first edition of the book – which is appropriate.

The plot

The story takes place on the fictional planet Urras and its habitable twin Anarres.

The chapters alternate between the worlds and in time. The even-numbered chapters, which are set on Anarres, take place first chronologically and are followed by the odd-numbered chapters, which take place on Urras. The only exceptions occurs in the first and last chapters, which take place in both worlds.

Chapter numbers in chronological order
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13

In order to forestall an anarcho-syndicalist rebellion, the major Urrasti states gave the revolutionaries (inspired by a visionary named Odo) the right to live on Anarres, along with a guarantee of non-interference, approximately two hundred years before the events of The Dispossessed. Before this, Anarres had had no permanent settlements apart from some mining facilities.

The economic and political situation of Anarres and its relation to Urras is ambiguous. The people of Anarres consider themselves as being free and independent, having broken off from the political and social influence of the old world. However, the powers of Urras consider Anarres as being essentially their mining colony, as the annual consignment of Anarres' precious metals and their distribution to major powers on Urras is a major economic even of the old world.

Anarres (chapters 1,2,4,6,8,10,12,13)

Chapter One begins in the middle of the story. The protagonist Shevek is a physicist attempting to develop a General Temporal Theory. The physics of the book describes time as having a much deeper, more complex structure than we understand it. It incorporates not only mathematics and physics, but also philosophy and ethics. Shevek finds his work blocked by a jealous superior, as his theories conflicts with the prevailing political philosophy and are thus distrusted by the society. His work is further disrupted by his obligation to perform manual labor during a drought in this anarchist society; in order to ensure survival in a harsh environment, the people of Anarres must put the needs of society ahead of their own personal desires, so Shevek performs hard agricultural labor in a dusty desert instead of working on his research. He arranges to go to Urras to finish and publish his theory.

Urras (chapters 1,3,5,7,9,11,13)

Arriving on Urras, Shevek is feted. Shevek soon finds himself digusted with the social, sexual and political conventions of the hierarchical capitalist society of Urras. He joins in a labor protest that is violently suppressed, but he escapes to safety. Finally, he is sponsored by ambassadors of Terra who provide him safe passage back to Anarres.

Themes

Symbolism within The Dispossessed

The ambiguity of Anarres' economic and political situation in relation to Urras is symbolically manifested in the low wall surrounding Anarres' single spaceport. This wall is the only place on the anarchist planet where "No Trespassing!" signs may be seen, and it is where the book begins and ends. The people of Anarres believe that the wall divides a free world from the corrupting influence of an oppressor's ships. On the other hand, the wall could be a prison wall keeping the rest of the planet imprisoned and cut off. Shevek's life attempts to answer this question.

In addition to Shevek's journey to answer questions about his society's true level of freedom, the meaning of his theories themselves weave their way into the plot; they not only describe abstract physical concepts, but they also reflect ups and downs of the characters' lives, and the transformation of the Anarresti society. An oft-quoted saying in the book is "true journey is return." The meaning of Shevek's theories—which deal with the nature of time and simultaneity—have been subject to interpretation. For example, there have been interpretations that the non-linear nature of the novel is a reproduction of Shevek's theory.

Political Themes: Anarchy and Capitalism

Le Guin's foreword to the novel notes that her anarchism is closely akin to that of Peter Kropotkin's, whose Mutual Aid closely assessed the influence of the natural world on competition and cooperation.

Many conflicts occur between the freedom of anarchism and the constraints imposed by authority and society, both on Anarres and Urras. These constraints are both physical and social. Physically, Odo was imprisoned in the Fort in Drio for nine years, and the children construct their own prison in chapter two. Socially speaking, 'time after time the question of who is being locked out or in, which side of the wall one is on, is the focus of the narrative.' Mark Tunik emphasises that the wall is the dominant metaphor for these social constraints. Shevek hits ‘the wall of charm, courtesy, indifference.” He later notes that he let a “wall be built around him” that kept him from seeing the poor people on Urras. He had been co-opted, with walls of smiles of the rich, and he didn’t know how to break them down. Shevek at one point speculates that the people on Urras are not truly free, precisely because they have so many walls built between people and are so possessive. He says, “You are all in jail. Each alone, solitary, with a heap of what he owns. You live in prison, die in prison. It is all I can see in your eyes – the wall, the wall!” ‘ It is not just the state of mind of those inside the prisons that concerns Shevek, he also notes the effect on those outside the walls. Steve Grossi says, ‘by building a physical wall to keep the bad in, we construct a mental wall keeping ourselves, our thoughts, and our empathy out, to the collective detriment of all." Shevek himself later says, “those who build walls are their own prisoners.” Le Guin makes this explicit in chapter two, when the schoolchildren construct their own prison and detain one of their own inside. The deleterious effect on the children outside parallels the effect on the guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971 (three years before The Dispossessed was published).

The language spoken on the anarchist planet Anarres also reflects anarchism. Pravic is a constructed language in the tradition of Newspeak from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and its intent is to restrict thought, as suggested in the Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis. Pravic reflects many aspects of the philosophical foundations of utopian anarchism. For instance, the use of the possessive case is strongly discouraged, a feature that also is reflected by the novel's title. Children are trained to speak only about matters that interest others; anything else is "egoizing" (pp. 28–31). There is no property ownership of any kind. Shevek's daughter, upon meeting him for the first time, tells him, "You can share the handkerchief I use" rather than "You may borrow my handkerchief", thus conveying the idea that the handkerchief is not owned by the girl, but is merely used by her.

Utopianism

The work is sometimes said to represent one of the few modern revivals of the utopian genre. When first published, the book included the tagline: "The magnificent epic of an ambiguous utopia!" which was shortened by fans to "An ambiguous utopia" and adopted as a subtitle in certain editions. There are also many characteristics of a utopian novel found in this book. For example, Shevek is an outsider when he arrives on Urras, which capitalizes on the utopian and scientific fiction theme of the "estrangement-setting".

Le Guin's utopianism, however, differs from the traditional "anarchist commune." Whereas most utopian novels attempt to convey a society that is absolutely good, this world differs as it is portray only as "ambiguously good."

Feminism

There is some disagreement as to whether The Dispossessed should be considered a feminist utopia or a feminist science fiction novel. According to Mary Morrison of the State University of New York at Buffalo, the anarchist themes in this book help to promote feminist themes as well. Other critics, such as Professor William Marcellino of SUNY Buffalo and Sarah Lefanu, writer of "Popular Writing and Feminist Intervention in Science Fiction," argue that there are distinct anti-feminist undertones throughout the novel.

Morrison argues that Le Guin's portrayed ideals of Taoism, the celebration of labor and the body, and desire or sexual freedom in an anarchist society contribute greatly to the book's feminist message. Taoism, which rejects dualisms and divisions in favor of a Yin and Yang balance, brings attention to the balance between not only the two planets, but between the male and female inhabitants. The celebration of labor on Anarres stems from a celebration of a mother's labor, focusing on creating life rather than on building objects. The sexual freedom on Anarres also contributes to the book's feminist message.

On the other hand, some critics believe that Le Guin's feminist themes are either weak or not present. Some believe that the Taoist interdependence between the genders actually weakens Le Guin's feminist message. Marcellino believes that the anarchist themes in the novel take precedence and dwarf any feminist themes. Lefanu adds that there is a difference between the feminist messages that the book explicitly presents and the anti-feminist undertones. For example, the book says that women created the society on Anarres. However, female characters seem secondary to the male protagonist, who seems to be a traditional male hero; this subversion weakens the any feminist message that Le Guin was trying to convey.