“The Lathe of

Heaven”
Ursula K. le Guin
Ursula Kroeber
Le Guin
(1929-2018)
American novelist and anthropologist
 Genre: speculative fiction (science fiction + fantasy)

Title: lathe—precisely cutting machine

a quote from an ancient Chinese
philosophical text:

"To let understanding stop at what

cannot be understood is a high
attainment. Those who cannot do it will
be destroyed on the lathe of heaven."

dystopian future in Portland, Oregon

Setting: overpopulation, environmental
degradation and social unrest
 aracters and plo
Ch t

George Orr Dr. William Haber

his dreams have the power to
alter reality,
quiet, timid and empathetic
ordinary man,
morally struggling
very ambitious therapist,
uses George’s ability to improve
the world,
ethically ambiguous, his
motivations are complex
 Main Themes: “ T h e e n d j u
u
s
t
t i
w
f i
h
e s
a
t
t
h
i
e
f
a n s . B n d ?
m e s a n e
v e r i
power and its consequences, ther e n e
s m e a n s . ”
a v e i of
e h e
individual vs collective good,
a t h
All w e G uin , T h eL
.L
K
r sula Heav
en
nature of humanity, ― U

environmental crisis,
Thank
made by: Nadia
Kędzierska
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