"The Machine Stops" Rating: 4 planets
by E.M. Forster  
pub. 1901 in The Oxford and Cambridge Review  
rep. 1928 in The Eternal Moment  
collected in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IIB  
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Preview
In a Machine Civilization of the future where all human contact is mediated by technology, Vashti lives a contented life isolated in her apartment and cannot understand why her son Kuno wants to explore the world above ground.

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Background Data
Atom BulletThis novella, which predates both Brave New World and 1984, is one of the first anti-technological dystopias

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Navigation Guide
Atom BulletDescribe the Machine Civilization.
Atom Bullet How did the Machine come to evolve?
Atom Bullet Who is the narrator? How does he insert himself into the story? What is the effect of his presence on the story?
Atom BulletCharacterize Vashti.
Atom BulletCharacterize Kuno
Atom BulletCompare Vashti and Kuno. How do their perceptions of "ideas" differ?
Atom Bullet What does Kuno gain by his journey above ground? What does he risk?
Atom Bullet Why is Kuno unable to effect any change upon his return?
Atom BulletHow does the Machine change just before it stops?
Atom BulletWhy does the Machine stop?
Atom BulletIs the story's end optimistic or pessimistic?
 

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Further Exploration
Atom BulletLooking at Forster's attempts at extrapolation, how exaggerated were his predictions for technological advances in his future?
Atom BulletCompare this story to "Huddling Place" by Clifford D. Simak.

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© 2002 Agatha Taormina
Last Revised: January 4, 2005