A Door into Ocean, I conclude, effectively uses science fiction to demonstrate pragmatic ways in which contemporary feminists can move beyond ideological resistance to active resistance. I then turn my attention to Gene Sharp’s landmark 1973 work, The Politics of Nonviolent Action, which Slonczewski has called “a virtual textbook of the methods of nonviolence.” I examine how specific methods from Sharp’s book appear in the novel, and argue that the eventual outcome of Shora’s resistance fits with Sharp’s theory about effective campaigns of nonviolent civil action. In the story’s introduction, the reader sees a distinct, physical difference between the leavers, The Sharer People and the takers, The Valan People. I begin my study by examining the threefold influences on the Shoran’s philosophy of resistance: postcolonial resistance, ecofeminism, and Quaker theology. These two groups are personified differently in Joan Slonczewski’s science fiction novel A Door Into Ocean. Unlike many dystopian and utopian novels, which provide social commentary and offer up ideals but not practical solutions, A Door into Ocean depicts the citizens of a peaceful alien nation, Shora, using various practical tactics of resistance against invading Valan forces that can be applied to contemporary protest and political action. In this essay, I examine how Joan Slonczewski’s 1986 feminist science fiction novel A Door into Ocean outlines a practical program of nonviolent resistance to oppression.
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