How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #4
The effects of the Plague were visible in everything, it was itself still endemic, and yet it hadn't prevented war from breaking out. In fact the fighting in the Near East was more savage than it had been in the more crowded world. [...] This gave a line-up of twelve Nuclear Powers in all, six to a side. So went the speculations. Meanwhile Jerusalem was rubble, and in Saudi Arabia and Iraq the civilian population was living in burrows in the ground while tanks and planes sprayed fire in the air and cholera in the water, and babies crawled out of the burrows blinded by napalm. (6.48)
We hope you guys paid attention in history class, because this is another war reference. The mention of napalm brings us back to the Vietnam War, which was infamous for its extensive use of napalm on forests and villages all over Vietnam. But George also tells us about the spread of war in a way that reminds us of the Cold War, when the world was divided into nuclear powers that could pull the trigger at any time. In our world, they didn't—but in George's world, they did.
Quote #5
Orr knew, with dreary clarity, what he would get on with today: the war. The papers were full of it, even Orr's news-resistant mind had been full of it, coming here. The growing war in the Near East. Haber would end it. And no doubt the killings in Africa. For Haber was a benevolent man. He wanted to make the world better for humanity. (6.72)
There are a lot of things going on here, but we want to bring your attention to the phrase "Near East." What's that? Well, you're probably more familiar with the term Middle East, but they refer to pretty much the same place. So why is Near East being used instead? It's possible that the term Middle East has become too politically charged, so Le Guin is using a term that's a bit more archaic and refers specifically to members of the former Ottoman Empire, in order to distance the world of her novel from the real world and its current conflicts.
Quote #6
"I'll have to skip a bit. All right." Now it was his voice on the tape again, saying, "— peace. No more mass killing of humans by other humans. No fighting in Iran and Arabia and Israel. No more genocides in Africa. No stockpiles of nuclear and biological weapons, ready to use against other nations. No more research on ways and means of killing people. A world at peace with itself. Peace as a universal life-style on Earth. You will dream of that world at peace with itself. (6.93)
Dr. Haber is trying to end warfare, but do you think that a world like the one he describes is even possible? Why or why not?