Reading Questions for Le Guin

(1) Briefly explain the social and political structures of the two world, Urras and Anarres.

(2) The subtitle for The Dispossessed is “An Ambiguous Utopia.” Traditionally, utopian novels depict some ideal or idealized society and dystopian novels depict a society the author dislikes (think 1984 or Brave New World). What do you think is “ambiguous” about Le Guin’s societies? What might that tell us about Le Guin’s beliefs and values? (Reality and Ethics, our first two units!)

(3) Ursula Kroeber Le Guin of Portland, Oregon, is the daughter of the famous anthropologist Alfred Kroeber (who spent much time in the field with his family studying Native Americans) and the famous children’s author Theodora Kroeber and the wife of science historian Charles Le Guin. How might her novel The Dispossessed express some of her own personal and cultural background?

(Threaded Discussion Question) If you were to write about your own perfect society, what might you include in it? How would that express some of your own beliefs and values?