“All fiction is metaphor. Science fiction is metaphor. What sets it apart from older forms of fiction seems to be its use of metaphors, drawn from certain great dominants of our contemporary life" (Ursula K. Le Guin)
Q1: Binti goes
the Oomza Uni against her parents’ wishes, as her mother tells her, “There is a
reason why our people do not go to that university…You go to that school and
you become its slave” (14). What do you think she means by that, and how might
it explain why she’s the first person of her tribe to study there?
Q2: Somewhat related to the above, Binti tells us that the Himba “prefer to explore the universe by traveling inward, as opposed to outward” (21). How might this explain her family’s occupation, and why she was chosen to study there in the first place? (also, what other book in class does this statement remind you of??)
Q3: What is the significance of the otjitze, and why is it such a precious commodity to Binti? And why, when the Meduse wants some of it, does she reflect, “I couldn’t give all my otjitze to this Meduse; this was my culture” (49)?
Q4: How might the humans vs. Meduse conflict in the book be a uniquely science-fiction metaphor for some aspect of our own world and its conflicts? Remember that, as we discussed in class on Monday, all science fiction is metaphor…the future, space, aliens, and technology, are all different perspectives of looking at our own world. Why do you think she chose to examine it like this?
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