Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The novel "The Left Hand of Darkness", set on the planet Gethen, won both the Nebula (in 1969) and the Hugo (in 1970). It was not, however, the first time LeGuin had "visited" Gethen. Which earlier short story was also set there?
2. "Four Ways to Forgiveness" (a collection of four intertwined short stories which LeGuin has dubbed a "story suite") is set on twin planets whose economy is based on slavery. What are the names of these planets?
3. You've probably seen the 2009 blockbuster movie "Avatar". Well, James Cameron must have read this obscure 1972 LeGuin novella, set on the planet Athshe, which has many similarities to the plot and themes of the film.
4. The 1974 novel "The Dispossessed" concerns a colony of people who follow an anarchic, revolutionary philosophy that puts them at odds with their planet of origin. What is this philosophy called?
5. Name this book: The planet Aka, in its efforts to bring itself into the space age, has banned its traditional culture and religion and forces its citizens to conform to a new, "modern" way of life. Sutty, an Ekumen Observer who comes from a planet that was nearly destroyed by religious upheaval, eventually learns to put aside her negative feelings towards religion generally and joins in the resistance against the repressive government.
6. The planet O appears in only three short stories, and is characterized by what unusual social practice?
7. LeGuin's works are connected by a sort of United Nations of inhabited planets, which is generally referred to as the Ekumen. However, in many earlier works, the Ekumen is called by another name. What is it?
8. LeGuin's universe does not have light-speed travel (a few stories involve attempts to develop light-speed ships) but it does have an instrument that allows information to travel instantaneously. What is this instrument called?
9. It is said at various times in many works that the peoples of all inhabited planets descend from the people of one original colonizing planet. Which planet is this?
10. In "The Left Hand of Darkness", characters frequently refer to a particular deeply ingrained social code. It is best described as a sense of honor which, among other things, prohibits them from giving advice to others under most circumstances and which allows them to save face in various crises. The word for this is:
11. In "The Telling", the story focuses on the Ekumenical Observer Sutty, who, due to her past, has great difficulty accepting the validity of the quasi-religious way of life. What planet does Sutty come from?
12. In the short story "The Matter of Seggri", published in the collection "The Birthday of the World", the planet Seggri has a very unusual gender issue, which has shaped the society. What is this issue?
13. The novella "City of Illusions" concerns a planet subjected by a frightening alien race with unusual powers. What are these aliens called?
14. In "The Dispossessed", the character Shevek takes the unprecedented step of leaving his homeworld of Anarres to visit the planet of origin, Urras. He does this because he has slowly come to the realization that his anarchist culture, though it lacks laws and government, is stagnating due to fear of innovation. Because his ideas differ from the accepted norm, he is being prevented from making new inroads in his field. What is Shevek's profession?
15. The short story "Solitude" from "The Birthday of the World" describes life on a planet that was once very technologically advanced, but on which the population has plummeted and society has since reverted to the Stone Age. What planet is this?
Source: Author
DanaanMI
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agony before going online.
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