The question I choice to answer is number 4, “ What are the main themes explored in the text, and how are they reflected in the narrative?”
The story “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster is about how, in the future, society will live underground in cells where the machine will take care of their needs. One theme in the story is emotion vs. rationality. In the story, the machine catered to humans at every whim, which caused them to give up on experiencing new things and emotions. For example, in the story, Vashti realizes she has no ideas or experiences of her own when she can’t even come up with an idea of her own. This shows how the theme is emotion vs. rationality.
The story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury is about how humans are destroyed by a bomb, but a house is still left standing, and the technology in it continues to work. One theme in the story is nature vs. technology. At the end of the story, there was a big storm that caused a fire to start in the house. But no matter how much the house tried to stop it, there was nothing they could do. In the end, the technology was killed by the fire. This shows how the theme of nature vs. technology was shown in the narrative.
The story “From Beyond” by H.P. Lovecraft is about a scientist who builds a machine that leads to discovering a reality beyond what our senses perceive. One theme in the story is the pursuit of knowledge, even if it is harmful. In this story, a scientist continues his experiment even after it causes the disappearance of servants. This shows how the theme of the pursuit of knowledge, even if harmful, was shown in the narrative. After reading “From Beyond,” I think it is not a dystopian text. I think it is not because I feel a dystopian is when a society is facing injustice or a ruling authority. In this text, I feel there is not an entire society feeling this, but just one person.
“From Beyond” definitely does tell us about taking that risk and going on a chase no matter the outcome.
It’s interesting to see how each story explores different aspects of society’s relationship with technology and knowledge, and how these themes are reflected in the narrative. How do you think the themes of nature vs. technology and the pursuit of knowledge manifest in the stories?
Your thoughts on “From Beyond” are very descriptive, I agree with everything you said!
It is always interesting to see how different authors create an interpretation of the idea of technology vs. nature, and it is very refreshing that in this case, it is not technology vs. humanity.
I like how you simplified your themes into three sections for a better understanding as a reader.