By Maleeha Silveira and Joshua Blackman
The Word for World is Forest is a science fiction novella published in 1972 by Ursula K. Le Guin. It follows the stories of characters on each side of a conflict between Terrans (humans from Earth) and a humanoid race called the Athsheans, from the planet Athshe. Within the novel there are striking similarities to international humanitarian law and conflicts from the past, such as the Vietnam war. Le Guin, like many other authors, chose to present her ideas through the vehicle of a fiction novel, and as such it can be read as a commentary and shift in perspective based on both parties throughout historical events, revealing racism, dehumanisation, and entitlement as common themes.
Immediately in the novel, the reader is introduced to a military camp where we discover that the Terrans have come to Athshe to colonise the planet and to farm resources, most notably the rare material of lumber. We also find out that there is resistance from the indigenous race, the Athsheans, against the colonisation of their planet and the extortion of their labour. Their mistreatment eventually causes a rebellion, led by an Athshean named Selver whose wife was raped and killed by a powerful Terran Captain Davidson. The Athsheans are characterised by their peaceful and timid nature, looked down upon as fundamentally incapable of interspecies violence. Furthermore, we see the introduction of an organisation known as ‘The League of Worlds’ much like the United Nations and its predecessor The League of Nations – which oversees the interactions and relationships between states (or worlds in the context of the novella). This choice of name is notable given the failures of The League during the preliminary events to WW2, often acting as a concessionary force without any real preventative ability. Prior to the introduction of international humanitarian law, many countries and cultures had their own ideals about how war should be fought, with recognition of this between countries being known as customary international law. An example of this in the novella is the concept of an enemy becoming hors de combat, reflected in the practice of the Athsheans of sparing an enemy who surrenders by laying on their back and exposing their neck. IHL reflects this as it aims to treat those on both sides of the conflict with humanity, giving protections to wounded combatants, prisoners of war and prohibitions on unnecessary suffering.
While Le Guin does not place considerable emphasis on the guerilla-style conflict between the Athsheans and Terrans, preferring for the conflict to be ended quickly by Selver and for negotiations to end more peacefully. It is important to note both the parallels between the arms used by the Terrans to the conflict in Vietnam, and the disconnect between supposed non-violent orders from Terra and the destructive weapons provided to those on Athshe. Firstly, the ‘fire jelly’ often referred to by Davidson holds strong comparisons to the deployment of napalm on innocent civilians in Vietnam, the use of which has since been prohibited by Protocol III of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (due to being indiscriminate and causing unnecessary suffering). There is a seemingly purposeful disconnect on the part of Le Guin between the orders from Terra, that the Athsheans ought to work voluntarily rather than be enslaved or to solely act in self-defence in the case of a native attack, and the weapons provided in the form of flamethrowers, fire jelly, and large machine guns. The inherent purpose of these weapons, and therefore the inherent message of arming a small colony with them seems apparent.
Additionally, there are themes present surrounding colonialism which are handled under IHL. Le Guin cleverly presents these concepts throughout the plot of the novella, she uses language and mentions of events in passing to leave the reader clues about the world she is creating. In order to present a colonialist mindset in the character of the villain, Captain Davidson, she utilises the way that things are named. The planet instead of being called Athshe is referred to as New Tahiti by Terrans, other places in the novel are referred to as New Java and Smith camp – these names have connotations of colonialism. There is a definite sense that the Terrans regard themselves as a more advanced and civilised society. To an extent they are more technologically advanced, however, as the reader gains insight into Athshean society we can see that they have merits of their own. One of these is their treatment of women who take up political and leadership roles in their villages. Terran women are objectified and sexualised, as Davidson describes one as a ‘chesty little euraf’, and are seemingly shipped as cattle for the purpose of reproduction to the colony. Le Guin purposefully silences these women as we do not hear one female Terran voice throughout the novel, whereas Athshean women hold important societal roles in implementing the concepts of individuals who can translate dreams. The Terrans also seem to believe that due to the absence of a centralised government, the Athsheans are easier to conquer or to take control of but in the book that is evidently not the case. The Athsheans also have a tradition of dreaming which both shows their spiritual connection and gives Selver the legitimacy of power to command his fellow Athsheans – this spirituality further distinguishes them from the Terrans.
Both racism and dehumanisation of a sentient and humanoid race are at the forefront of Le Guin’s work and are used to reflect how inhumane the means of conflict are in both current and former wars. Le Guin places distinct emphasis upon a shared ancestry amongst multiple human races initially deriving from Terra, yet starkly contrasts this fundamental similarity with Davidson’s views of purity and supremacy. Davidson evidently looks down on the Athsheans, given his use of the slur ‘Creechies’ and understanding of them ‘as men [that] were a bust’. He therefore consistently treats them as animals, firstly via slavery before then treating them as an infestation to be exterminated. Le Guin uses the discomfort of these direct forms of dehumanisation, such as Davidson’s comparison of Athshean forced labour to the raising of cattle as compared to slavery, to create parallels to concepts of racial purity.
Concepts of racial purity and the actions of Davidson hold strong comparisons to both the Holocaust and Zionist expansion for differing reasons. The conceptions of Jewish people within the Holocaust, and means by which they were dehumanised as ‘lesser’ people, are reflected in Davidson’s conception of them as rats to be exterminated. Comparatively, however, the actions of the Terrans in seeking to colonise the world as some kind of birth right, or as Davidson puts it ‘New Tahiti was literally made for men’, can be currently compared to the expansionist ideology of individuals like Netanyahu, in which the promotion of settlements as a means to lay claim to land is commonplace. The resistance of the Athsheans, however, is purposefully imperfect despite the fundamental immorality of the Terrans’ actions. Le Guin presents this imperfection as a scar on the collective consciousness of the Athsheans, as Selver was both forced into conceptualising murder and then introducing it to the remaining Athsheans to allow for them to survive.
Overall, we enjoyed reading the novella and found it admirable that Le Guin was able to successfully convey such complex themes and ideas through such a short book. Despite containing serious content, the book was enjoyable and accessible to read. The message the book conveys is, and likely will continue to be, relevant. This not only goes to show the prowess of Le Guin in conveying themes relating to societal conflict but ultimately also indicates there may never be a world in which there is no conflict.
