Topic > The Nine Lives of Ursula K. Le Guin: A Reflection on the Purpose of Life

Have students ever thought about what makes a short science fiction/fantasy story so great to read? "Nine Lives" by Ursula K. Le Guin "is a novel first published in Playboy magazine in 1968. Upon publication of the story in the magazine, Playboy asked her to publish the work with her initials UK Le Guin for keep male readers from nervousness about a female writer. The piece gained national attention after President Lyndon B. Johnson publicly praised the work" (Cove), which to mention is a bizarre place no one would have imagined is. was the biggest idea that struck her. journey to become an extradental writer to this day. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay However, Le Guin used the setting as the most important element because it has immense effects on the plot and characters which gives the atmosphere throughout the story and gives an idea of ​​what each character's role will be, the which defines how the story engages the reader to know more about what happens next. One way to make setting very important is to determine how you want to begin a story. For example, Nine Lives is set on a remote planet called Libra and primarily involves two workers, Alvaro Guillen Martin and Owen Pugh, tasked with locating areas for mining. Martin and Pugh send frequent reports to Earth, which has been almost completely destroyed by war and famine. Martin and Pugh receive help from ten clones, collectively called John Chow and distinguished by their middle initials. The story depicts the symbiotic relationship of the clones and the development process of the clones. When a powerful earthquake occurs, nine of the ten clones die, leaving one remaining clone, "Kaph". Kaph physically and emotionally experiences all nine deaths and suffers from severe depression due to separation from his companions. Without having a complete basis for any story, you need to include a theme and tone to explain to the reader some sort of reason why this story was created. (Whitney) Another reason why setting is important is to demonstrate how theme is created throughout the plot. Le Guin shows the ability of humans and clones to coexist and even understand each other. Eventually, when the new shipment of clones arrives, we are reminded that clones are replaceable. (Bay). This story focuses on themes of individualism and the importance of social connection. In a sense, this tale is torn between a challenge and a defense of the idea of ​​individualism. Although Martin and Pugh are an effective team, their combined effectiveness is initially shown to be less than that of the clone collective. The perfect symbiosis between the clones is, according to Martin and Pugh, something enviable. The idea of ​​collectivism over individuality seems to reflect the social mores of their time. This is reflected in the discussions between Martin and Pugh about the events that occurred on Earth that led to the initiation of the cloning initiative. The idea of ​​the value of the whole over the value of individuals is also evident when Martin and Pugh explain the choices that led to the decision to launch the cloning initiative. The rationale given for pursuing cloning is that clones are a valuable means to an end. Instead of focusing on the clones' quality of life, they emphasize the clones' value as workers and their value to society as a functioning group. While the clone unity is an advantage, it is also a serious disadvantage (Cove). Throughout the story, Le Guin refers).