There are four themes running through out the novel A Wizard of Earthsea. The first message appears to be that we are the product of our experience and environment. Secondly, life is learning. We have some control over what we choose (and refuse) to incorporate into our being, but we all learn something as we go through the stages of our lives. Exceeding the limits of our capabilities, and the consequences of doing so, is another theme that is repeated several times. Finally there is a message to control one's own life through responsibility and discipline, instead of letting circumstances take dominance. All four of these elements weave together into a single truth: life is a journey of discovering ourselves.

Everything we experience in life marks and changes us. That is not to say we are totally devoid of anything that influences our lives. Most theorists agree that we are born with a basic temperament that skews our perceptions from the earliest moments of awareness. But our experiences, especially in the early years, still strongly shape our inner selves. Role models are especially important for the young. Ged's earliest adult influences were an abusive father and an aunt whose main concern was power. As a result, he "gre wild . . . proud and full of temper." He hungered for power but was not taught the responsibility that goes with it until after his formative years. These problems, the desire for power, pride and a wild temper, plagued him throughout the book. His earliest experiences impressed weakness upon his being that he would have to fight and guard against in the future.

This only underscores that life is learning and an experience of realizations. More than the skills of our profession, we discover the truths essential to our being, to living, and to knowing ourselves and others. Everyone we meet, everything we experience, teaches us about who we are and our place in the world. Children instinctively know this, although they can't clearly express it. But they are incredibly eager to learn, from bad teachers if good ones are not available. They are sponges ready to soak up everything they see, hear, and experience. Even Ged in his pride took every opportunity to learn something from everyone he met. He understood that "few indeed of (our) meetings are chance ones" long before he could articulate this truth. Instead we are revealed to one another and ourselves in these meetings, sometimes in small ways. Such insight is integral to who we are and who we become.

Hopefully one of the things we learn is the limits of our strengths, and the consequences of overstepping them. Early in life we exceed these limits frequently, not knowing ourselves well wnough to be aware of these important boundaries. Youth, fortunately, gives us a resiliency to recover from such abuse of ourselves. But, as we get older, we risk more each time we go beyond our capacity and our bodies gradually impose the confines of our limitations. Every time we cut into our reserves, we risk more of ourselves and we become less available to those who may need us.

This is a lesson Ged seemed to have great difficulty learning. He continued to push himself beyond the boundaries of his power, strength, and emotional and mental energies. He depleted himself repeatedly, requiring not only time to recover but also the help of others. During this time his body and mind needed complete rest. He wasn't any good to anyone. The last time he was so drained, he awoke not knowing where he was and with no clear memory. There was no energy left except what was needed for healing. And that took time.

Yet this was a choice he made. Whether it was made out of careful consideration, impulsive action, or thoughtless reaction to outside forces, it was still a choice. Even by not actively choosing, a choice is made. Not choosing is to let circumstances take control. So, while Ged thinks at one point that he "did not choose to be here", he actually did choose by allowing circumstances to control his life. This is not the way to truly live. It is becoming a slave to fear, wondering what the next event will do to us.

Living and becoming all one can be is done through selfcontrol and discipline. We actively make choices for ourselves, carefully determining what our actions will be in a particular situation. We then take responsibility for those actions and the repercussions that follow, learning from our successes and our mistakes. Only then do we truly love life instead of being ruled by it. When we do so, we truly find ourselves, as Ged did when he finally faced the shadow and became accountable for his actions and his life. He discovered that his fear was unfounded, for he "had neither lost nor won but . . . had made himself whole: a man: who, knowing his whole true self, cannot be used or possessed by any power other than himself and whose life therefore is lived for life's sake." His journey is now genuinely begun as he discovers his true inner self.


A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin
Essay written September 17, 1996
grade: A