The Farthest Shore

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Why are Lord Benderesk and Lady Serret so hospitable to Ged? What is odd and suspicious about the Court of the Terrenon? Taoist philosophy is represented in all the books of the Earthsea cycle. Have students use print and electronic resources to research the origins of Taoist philosophy, its fundamental characteristics, and influences. A little man of no age appeared. Young he was not, so that one had to call him old, but the word did not suit him. His face was dry and colored like ivory, and he had a pleasant smile that made long curves in his cheeks. “What’s the matter, Ged?” said he.

How does Yevaud try to manipulate Ged? What does Ged's reaction to Yevaud's offer reveal about his character? What does he learn from his encounter with Yevaud? How would you describe the place where Ged meets the shadow? How does it come into existence, and why does it suddenly disappear? In this wood no birds sang. It was silent in the noon light and hot. About them stood the trees and shadows. The story of this book is really simple and can be explained in a few lines, but the I think Le Guin is trying to tell us a lot in the subtext that is the important part of this book, that is what appealed to me a lot in this book and changed my perception.Yet I was unable to embrace them. Even once Miloš & Brontë asked if we could stop reading, even after I stopped reading aloud and went on by myself (in Ged-like fashion), even after finding myself captivated by the final search for Cob, the death of Orm Embar and Ged's sacrifice, even after recognizing the importance of Arren/Lebannen, I couldn't cross the emotional distance to embrace this book. SOMEWHERE TO THE WEST OF the Great House of Roke, and often somewhat south of it, the Immanent Grove is usually to be seen. There is no place for it on maps, and there is no way to it except for those who know the way to it. But even novices and townsfolk and farmers can see it, always at a certain distance, a wood of high trees whose leaves have a hint of gold in their greenness even in the spring. And they consider—the novices, the townsfolk, the farmers—that the Grove moves about in a mystifying manner. But in this they are mistaken, for the Grove does not move. Its roots are the roots of being. It is all the rest that moves. Years before, Tenar and Ged had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan—she, an isolated young priestess, and he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him not by choice. A lifetime ago, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Now they must join forces again, to help another—the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny remains to be revealed. What explanations do Ged and Estarriol have for the strange behavior of the shadow—for its taking Ged’s form and its inability to defeat Ged by speaking his name?

There are surely better passages to quote than the above to encapsulate the meaning or theme of this book but I think it's a fine example of Le Guin's beautiful writing and her ever-present wit. Besides, “to make doing nothing at all seem the very crown of wisdom.” is a skill I would like to acquire; where do I sign up for that?It’s a world in the grip of a strange malaise, slowly being drained of the magic and meaningfulness that had formed the ground of its existence. Wizards are forgetting their spells, artisans their craft; even the great, powerful and dangerous dragons are losing the language that is woven into their being, the creative words of the Old Tongue. The springs of life are running dry, and all is turning to dust. Pero en esta ocasión Le Guin está en su mejor momento y demuestra la Maestra que es. No hay ni un viaje de Gavilán que sobre, ni una conversación que falte y ni una línea de más. Es un libro redondo, de principio a fin, donde cada frase es una lección de vida, donde se nos habla del egoísmo, de la inmortalidad, de la elección que tenemos entre hacer lo correcto pero complicado o lo fácil pero que nos lleva al mal. How would you describe Ogion? What is Ogion's philosophy about magic? What does Ged find surprising about him? In the South Reach, first. Latterly even in the south of the Archipelago, in Wathort. There is no more magic done in Wathort, men say. It is hard to be sure. That land has long been rebellious and piratical, and to hear a Southern trader is to hear a liar, as they say. Yet the story is always the same: the springs of wizardry have run dry.” Tell it, then,” the Archmage said gravely, but like one yielding to a child’s impatience; and while Arren spoke, he looked again at the crystal curtain of water drops falling from the upper basin into the lower, not as if he did not listen, but as if he listened to more than the boy’s words.

What do you think Goha means when she says she doesn't know what a wizard is but does know what one does?

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It may be that he, too, knew Ged’s name, but if so he never spoke it. They greeted each other in silence. What do you think Sparrowhawk means when he says of Hare, "For all his craft in sorcery, he has never seen the way before him, seeing only himself"?