Research Paper on:
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin and Taoism

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
philosophy because "it fits in extraordinarily well with Taoism," which she indicated to be her "main intellectual bent" (Slaughter 36). Considering this remark, the following examination of Le Guins novel  A Wizard of Earthsea, will examine it in terms of how it reflects Le Guins Taoist perspective. However, in order to do this properly, it is first necessary to  define the characteristics of Taoism and discuss how it differs from the traditional Western Judeo/Christian perspective. The term "Taoism" refers to an Eastern philosophy that originated in the  sixth century B.C. and is closely associated with the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu and his writing, the Tao Te Ching (LaPlaca 22). Taoism stresses being in harmony with nature, adopting  a "give-and-take" attitude toward nature so that the individual reacts naturally to the environment, as well as to situations as they present themselves (LaPlaca 22). Taoism is based upon the  concept that there is "action" in "inaction" (LaPlaca 22). This, of course, sounds contradictory to the Western mind. Therefore, a more "western" way of putting it would be to advice  that one "go with the flow" (Rux 11). An apt analogy that also describes Taoism is to picture a swimmer who is trying to go against a rip-tide current in  order to get to shore. The non-Taoist swimmer tires himself out fighting to get to shore. The Taoist swimmer doesnt fight the current, but rather swims parallel to the shore  until he or she is out of the currents influence (Rux 11). Then, getting to shore is a relatively simple matter. Taoism regards the laws of nature as the  best criterion for judging human behavior (Sabelli 429). Striking parallels between modern physics and the insights available in this Eastern philosophy have been discerned. For example, Bohr related quantum complementarity