Class In Antigone, Benito Cereno, and The Left Hand of Darkness

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planet Gethen. Both Ai and the inhabitants of the planet are extremely alien to each other. Genly is at a disadvantage as he is the "alien" and the "aliens" are on their home planet. Furthermore, in his diplomatic mission, Ai is obliged to move among powerful circles. This often places him in the difficult position of attempting to work out the protocol for diplomacy and the meaning of truth. This is also where class differences immediately make themselves apparent.

Genly is dealing with aliens of power: kings and prime ministers specifically. They are obviously aware of their advantage over Ai, most obviously because of class, but also because of gender and race. The alien race sees themselves as superior to Ai, since he is the one from a different planet. He is the only one who is physically very different from the rest of the inhabitants. The issue of gender comes into play with the ambisexual nature of the Gethen inhabitants. They are thus much less diverse as a ...

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a kingdom, above all when he does not and perhaps never will understand the foundations of power and the workings of government in that kingdom." (LeGuin 17)

Later, when Genly is associated with a traitor, this innate superiority is evident in the Argaven's words. Genly is a mere tool; he is not advanced enough to even be a traitor by his own design.

"I don't know what the devil you are, Mr. Ai, a sexual freak or an artificial monster or a visitor from the Domains of the Void, but you're not a traitor, you've merely been the tool of one."

The above shows that the issue of prejudice is based upon class awareness. The King and prime minister, and even the general citizens, are ...

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