The Word for World is Forest(Blog #4)

While reading The Word for World is Forest, I noticed that the two societies within the novel contrasted drastically. The Yumen and Athshean societies were basically opposite from one another. In addition, what I want to note on is how the term science fiction correlates with the contrasting societies as well as identifying the differences between them. Science fiction tends to have this futuristic setting with some aspect of reality that relates with humans in an uncomfortable way. When reading Sci-fi novels such as this one, readers begin to question what exactly is human and what is foreign. The "creechies" as Davidson calls them seem to be far from human, considering that they are only one meter tall and have green fur. Yet in retrospect, they are actually quite close to human beings themselves. This brings about the differences between the two societies. Athsheans primarily live their lives as passive – they know nothing of warfare and revolt. While Yumens or humans, come from a world of war, fighting, and resistance. Gender roles are also different in the novel. In the Yumen society, men ruled and made decisions, and used women primarily for sexual desires and reproduction. In the Athshean society, gender roles were more equal – the men made decisions and the women carried out the decisions in villages. Maybe what Le Guin was trying to poke at was the gender issues during her time.