”The Machine Stops” is a story written by the E. M. Forster. The stories time period takes place years into the future where the earth has become an abandoned wasteland and all its natural resources gone. Leaving the earth to perish and ruins. LIfe in the future takes place far underground and life is ruled and controlled by a machine.
When reading the first paragraph or two you begin to wonder if Vashti sick and in a mechanical wheelchair who is also teaching a class, but when you read on there is a better understanding of what is going on. When receiving what is to be believed a phone call from her son Kuno there is a sense of realization that it’s the future. The interesting thing is when Kuno starts talking about calling saying she is either busy or isolated you get an eerie feeling about how society has evolved.
The story hits you with a realization of how life could be in the future for humanity. when I continue reading you realize how much society has evolved and what has become of society. The way they live in a room, where everything is a click away literally to take a bath, you throw a book and it has gone to give lectures and communicate with life is all in one place. The whole idea is kind of scary where is the scene of adventure what happened to exploring and discovering new thing. when reading that they kill babies that are to grow and have the sense of being athletic is not an option or a question.
When Kuno asks his mother to visit him she has a sense of fear. The understanding that she doesn’t like to leave her room is unsettling. To be scared of going through a tunnel that you have not been through since you gave birth is outrageous. There is fear of the unknown, but there should not be fear of going to visit your son because when traveling and seeing the real sky gives you no ideas or interesting things to talk about. How is it the future is meant to be the turning point if everyone is so secluded and to themselves.
The interesting was when reading this i thought of the movie Walli. Where all of civilization is gone and the earth is left in ruins. All that is left on earth is a robot that collects nicknacks.The only difference between the movie and the story is that instead of the story taking place in space like the movie it takes place underground. Both worlds are surrounded by technology that runs there lives.Within the movie and the story there are characters that begin to understand and wonder what life would be on the surface of the earth.
When Koun tells his Vashti that he is to become homeless for searching and exploring to find ways to get to the surface of the earth. Without the means of going through the system to go to the surface of the earth and basically is faced with death because he is curious to see what the surface is like is sad.In all life should not evolve in such a way that there is no longing to see and explore new things and machinery should not have control of what you can and can not do.
