The Dispossessed

How do Urrasti views of superiority and inferiority shape their view of race? Of the differences between animals and persons? Shevek is shocked by many of these views. Choose one scene of his reaction to an Urrasti conceptand discuss the text’s critique of life on Urras. 

Anarres is not by any means a utopia: it is bereft of resources, and according to some characters, is governed by stifling public opinion. Is there a critique of socialism and anarchism in this text? How complicit are the Urrasti in the poverty on Anarres, and how do Anarresti themselves perpetuate it? 

Shevek falls ill twice. The first time, he speaks with Rulag; the second time, he speaks with Efor. What significance do these periods of illness and recovery have? How do they contrast with one another? What do they suggest about bonds forged by blood, versus bonds forged by shared experience?

Chapter Ten refers to Shevek as “he,” rather than by his proper name, and unfolds the story of his time in the dust mostly through dialogue with a truck driver. What effect does this have on narration? What does it imply about Shevek’s time in the dust? 

Tirin’s play features an Urrasti on Anarres and is referred to throughout the text as a drama that scandalizes his society. How does this fictional Urrasti’s experience on Anarres compare with Shevek’s on Urras? Why does this play scandalize the Anarresti? Discuss the role of satire in Anarresti society. 

Shevek is a staunch individualistand says that the only true freedom is in the human mind. But many of his revelations are nestled within dialogues: with Bedap, Takver, Keng, and others. Choose one scene of dialogue and discuss what it indicates about the individual will and its limits. What role does conversation play in expanding individual consciousness? Of attaining true freedom?

The novel frequently introduces the reader to Shevek’s thoughts on physics. What significance do the specifics of his theories have? What are the limits of Sequency theory? Of Simultaneity theory? Are these two theories metaphors for life on Urras and Anarres? 

Shevek’s mother leaves him in a youth dormitory, and he has a contentious relationship with her when they meet in his adult life. By contrast, he and Takver remain close with their daughters. What commentary does the text make on the importance of childrearing? On the bonds between parents and children? On the responsibilities a society has to its next generation?