A penal colony is an area where those who are exiled or who are prisoners are sent as a punishment to be away from regular life away from the general population. The âapparatusâ in this story is a machine that not only forces its victims to suffer but it also informs prisoners of their sentence after being brought to justice. With the place that the characters are in being so hot, itâs suggested that the place is chaotic and very busy. Many of the things included in the story such as the âTeahouseâ and âcane chairâ may be a symbolization of the colonizers having power over everything going on in the settlement. The officer actually feels for those being executed and tortured. If the apparatus sentences you, you must take that punishment just the same as if a colonizer were to punish you, youâd have to take that punishment. The officer throws himself onto the apparatus because thatâs the only way heâd forgive himself for allowing such horrible things to happen to the prisoners who suffered the same fate. Some examples of people not having due process would be people sentenced to the death penalty for a crime they didnât do. In my opinion the only reason a person wouldnât face due process would either be that all of the evidence basically exposed itself or whoever was doing the sentence had a type of hatred for the person.
Handouts
Readings
- Aldiss, Brian–Supertoys Last all Summer
- Bacigalupi, Paulo–The People of Sand and Slag
- Bear, Greg–Shrodinger's Plague
- Bradbury, Ray–The Veldt
- Bradbury, RayâThere Will Come Soft Rains
- Butler, Octavia–Bloodchild
- Chiang, Ted–Lifecycle of Software Objects (long)
- Chiang, Ted–The Story of Your Life
- Dick, Philip K.–Autofac
- Dick, Philip K.–The Commuter
- Dick, Philip K.–We Can Remember it for You Wholesale
- Ellison, Harlan–I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream
- Forster, E.M.âThe Machine Stops
- Hodgson, William–The Voice in the Night
- Kafka, Franz–In the Penal Colony
- LeGuin, Ursula–The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
- LeGuin–American Sci Fi and the Other
- LeGuin–Introduction to Science Fiction
- Lovecraft, H.P. –"From Beyond"
- Sterling, Bruce–The Bicycle Repairman
- Tiptree, James (Alice Sheldon)–The Girl Who Was Plugged in
- Tiptree, James (Alice Sheldon)–The Women Men Don't See
- Vinge, VernorâThe Blabber (long)
Members
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Robert LestĂłn on BP#11: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale
- Robert LestĂłn on BP 11 – Joshua Caesar
- isaiah2099 on Alexis Xinol Morales – BP 11
- isaiah2099 on BP 11 – Khalil Issa
- isaiah2099 on BP#11: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale
Categories
Meta
Hello,
So you’ve identified key themes such as power dynamics, the absence of due process, and the moral dilemmas faced by the characters. How do you think the author’s portrayal of the penal colony reflects broader societal issues or critiques?
This is a good comment, Yamilet.
The post should be more than one paragraph. As I said in the instructions, you shouldn’t use the prompt to answer questions but as a beginning place to think through the implications of the story.
“The officer throws himself onto the apparatus because thatâs the only way heâd forgive himself for allowing such horrible things to happen to the prisoners who suffered the same fate.” Why do you say this, Ronneil? What reasons do you have to back this up?