Extremely well written, a lot of visuals, and it made me think about what has become of society as technology begins to take over our lives. The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, touched on the concept of this so-called Machine being some kind of bigger than life thing where human beings follow the rules of “the book”, and holds some kind of biblical meaning to one of the main characters named Vashti. Her son, Kuno who is against the rules of living by boundaries is a wiser person who has been wanting to escape this “Machine”.

“You are beginning to worship the machine” (Forster 11)

The reason why this story touched me was because of the way the main character Vashti, lives an introverted life and is accustomed to buttons doing all the work in her life. Much like today in real life where now we are so accustomed to technology and devices like tablets, computers, etc. to do all our work. The text even mentions her not walking, but moving in an chair that is mechanical, which I assume is an electrical wheelchair. The humans are described as introverted, separate, and physically weak because the Machine wouldn’t allow strong humans to be produced. Something that I thought of reading the passage was studies that have been conducted on teenage kids and young adults who are under the age of 21 that are more stuck onto a chair daily and are less outdoors. Of course we aren’t bound to rules like the Machine in the text, but it’s an interesting thing that I connect to in life. Her son, Kuno wants her mother to escape the realm of the Machine and come outside of her room and into the open. She refuses, but then she takes the flight to visit Kuno to her home. She realizes that the Machine is a cruel world and that the remains of the Earth still remain during her air-ship flight. During this part they explain homelessness and how any human who would dishonor the Machine’s rules would become homelessness. Which means they would be exposed to air, in any case they would die because of it. As I kept reading, I noticed that the story was becoming less and less about Vashti’s introvertness and more of the evils of the new world she lives in. It’s a bubble of madness where they follow rules, almost a religion, and if anyone is born with anything they’re against with such as physical strength, are killed. The book in which are kept by the humans are something they deeply keep and is something compared to the bible. Each human lives in a hole in the wall surrounded by darkness and buttons that they control to do their daily work. I think this part of the text caught my attention a lot because there’s a message by the end of the text. To me it means not to let technology dominate my life. There’s much more to it and we are not to bound by the advancements of it, no matter how much it may make life easier. It’s always better to explore and enjoy the fresh air a lot more than to be glued to a computer chair or the screen of your phone.