Analytical Summary:
Le Guin begins the novel with the discussion and description of an unimportant-looking wall, one low and haphazardly made, but nonetheless one that created a boundary. Though climbable, it seemingly represented isolation and distinctions from other planets. The mention of the quarantine of any other visitors further indicated the power of the wall as a physical and recurring symbol in the novel: one that kept Anarresti society unique and untouched by the 'other.' The tension that is created in the spot by the wall that Le Guin discusses also indicates the feeling of isolation and then hints at resentment for those that are stuck behind it. However, it was also was meant to demonstrate freedom given that every Odonian was free from state rule, free from possessions, and free from capitalism, unlike those on Anarres. It is such a simple symbol that, throughout much of history, has come to mean so much: power, isolation, independence, freedom, segregation, and seclusion. Throughout the novel, Shevek battles with many of those notions. It almost defines his experience on Urras and guides the reflective nature of his headspace. His crossing of the "unimportant-looking wall" begins his physical, intellectual, and emotional journey in which the ideas latently held by the wall could be explored in Shevek.