How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"[…] Forays are worth no one's trouble across space." I did not speak of war, for good reason; there's no word for it in Karhidish. (3.34)
No word for war…yet. But that doesn't mean they can't create one. Hey, language changes.
Quote #5
But on Gethen nothing led to war. Quarrels, murders, feuds, forays, vendettas, assassinations, tortures, and abominations, all these were in their repertory of human accomplishments; but they did not go to war. They lacked it seemed, the capacity to mobilize. They behaved like animals, in that respect; or like women. (5.3)
Okay, that's Ai talking there, not us. Ladies, don't shoot the messenger. The idea here is that Gethenians get ticked off, but they can't organize well enough to launch all-out war. (Seriously, Le Guin? Women can't organize? Tell that to a working mom.) With that said, there may be no war, but that's an impressive list of violence all the same.
Quote #6
"[…] Our shadow grows too long. It will cover Karhide too. A feud between two Clans, yes; a foray between two towns, yes; a border-dispute and a few barn-burnings and murders, yes; but a feud between two nations? a foray involving fifty million souls?" (6.66)
This makes us ask: is war especially bad because of the scope of its violence or is violence equally bad regardless of how many it involves? Something to consider.