Question 1 Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Damon Knight, Alfred Bester, Philip K. Dick. When people hear these names the first thought that pops into their heads is “What great science fiction writers”, and they are not wrong. Isaac Asimov won the Hugo Award. Arthur C. Clarke has an award named after him! But Damon Knight, Alfred Bester, and Philip K. Dick did not want to become “the next Isaac Asimov” or “the next Arthur C. Clarke” and their writing styles showed that. Philip K. Dick writes more about specific characters in his stories as opposed to Isaac Asimov. A man who mainly focuses on groups or societies as a whole. The short story “Second Variety” by Dick focuses on the two humans, Major Joseph Hendricks and Rudi. He also focuses on the different versions of the robots, or “claws”, referred to as Tasso, David and Klaus. In the short story “Nightfall” by Asimov, he focuses on a group of scientists who have their predictions about …show more content…
In “Helen O’Loy”, which was written in 1938, portrays the main purpose of robots as being a house maid that was made strictly for helping humans in chores such as cleaning and cooking. The same goes for “Robbie”, a short story that was written in 1940. The short story “Second Variety” that was written during the time of the Cold War portrays robots, or “claws”, to be helpful in war in killing the Soviet Union soldiers and helping the United Nations to victory. Sadly, the claws repair and redesign themselves in underground factories which are run without any human oversight. Eventually, the claws not only end up destroying the Soviet Union soldiers, but also the United Nations soldiers, and eventually each other. Even though the claws started out as an advantage for the United Nations in the war against the Soviet Union, they eventually turn out to be the reason the human race had to move to the
Ray Bradbury, from small town America (Waukegan, Illinois), wrote two very distinctly different novels in the early Cold War era. The first was The Martian Chronicles (1950) know for its “collection” of short stories that, by name, implies a broad historical rather than a primarily individual account and Fahrenheit 451 (1953), which centers on Guy Montag. The thematic similarities of Mars coupled with the state of the American mindset during the Cold War era entwine the two novels on the surface. Moreover, Bradbury was “preventing futures” as he stated in an interview with David Mogen in 1980. A dystopian society was a main theme in both books, but done in a compelling manner that makes the reader aware of Bradbury’s optimism in the stories. A society completely frightened by a nuclear bomb for example will inevitably become civil to one another. Bradbury used his life to formulate his writing, from his views of people, to the books he read, to his deep suspicion of the machines. . The final nuclear bombs that decimate the earth transform the land. The reader is left with the autonomous house and its final moments as, it, is taken over by fire and consumed by the nature it resisted. Bradbury used science fantasy to analyze humans themselves and the “frontiersman attitude” of destroying the very beauty they find by civilizing it.
Ray Bradbury does an excellent job of making his literature both interesting and fascinating to read. This makes him a great American author. He wrote a novel, The Illustrated Man, which is filled with details about futuristic events. An effect on the outcome of the way this piece of literature was the time it was written. The time period was revealed through the use of characterization, and setting. Throughout the novel, Bradbury uses the literary elements simile and theme to get his point across.
Out of all the great authors and poets we have studied this semester I have chosen the three that I personally enjoyed reading the most; Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, and Walt Whitman. These three Writers stand out above the rest for each has contributed substantially to bringing forth a newly earned respect for American Writers of Literature. Up until this point in time most literature had come from European writers. Hawthorne, Poe and Whitman brought not only great works of art to our newly formed nation, but also to the world in general.
Robert Heinlein is often thought of as one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. His most popular book; A Stranger in a Strange Land; created a counter cultural revolution. Which resulted in many cults built around his fictitious culture that challenges every axiom of society. *Note that this book was written in the 1960's when "free love" was widely accepted by the younger generations. It arguably influenced the "free love" movement and the "sexual revolution "in general.
In this quote, it talks about what happened when the nuclear bomb was dropped as most the Earth was destroyed and many animals including owls got extinct. This tells us how devastating this nuclear bomb was as it destroyed most of the Earth, resulting a rebuild of society somewhere else like Mars. Here, Dick uses a stylistic device of a metaphor as he is comparing two things without using the words like or as. He is comparing the dust to the nuclear radiation from the nuclear bomb that was dropped on the Earth and destroyed most of the planet. This is a good comparison as nuclear radiation looks like dust and uses this term to describe all of the planet’s surface got filled with dust. This connects back to the thesis of Philip K. Dick presenting
One of the major technological advancements in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the development of robots. The Mechanical Hound, a fierce creature that seems to have powers greater than human ones, “represent[s] the whole technological society for Montag” (Kerr). This creature was created to catch criminals a...
The Cold War was an important event in United States history which occurred during the years of 1947-1991. During this time frame the world was at the greatest risk for the development of a third world war. The Cold war was not an actual war with contact fighting of both sides, but a conflict between western democratic nations and eastern communist nations which was more fear tactics and rivalry. The Cold War is a sensitive topic which should be refrained and be avoided from being discussed with children. The Cold War and The Butter Battle Book have similar and events which center around war, threats, and deaths. These topics should not be in a children's book.
The Golden Age of Science Fiction featured many of Science Fiction’s greatest and most prolific authors. American author Philip K. Di" (1928 - 1982), active from 1952 until his death, was one of those who helped shape science fiction during the three decades during which he was active (Behrens and Ruch). Throughout his career, Di" wrote more than forty novels, one hundred short stories, as well as numerous essays. Amongst the author’s numerous works, eight short stories and four novels were eventually adapted to the silver screen (such as the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968) which became Blade Runner (1982) and the short story “Adjustment Team” (1954) which was loosely adapted to eventually become The Adjustment Bureau (2011) (Kimbell). Nevertheless, something was eating the author away despite his success.
H.G. Wells, author of mind blowing novel The War of The Worlds, used foreshadowing and both external and internal conflicts to show the theme those humans should not assume that they are the superior race. Wells was the author of more than 100 books, almost half of them nonfiction, published over a span of 52 years.
The Cold War was an interesting time period for the world, seeing that it was after one of the biggest and most memorable wars ever. Yet, it was a different type of war. One that no one had ever seen before, it was a war without fighting (kind of). It was a war fought in between the USSR and the United States. Each side also included their allies: the US had NATO and the USSR had the Warsaw pact. The timeframe of this war was from 1947 to 1991. Despite the fact that this war is one of the longest in our history, I have chosen three main points that I think are vital for understanding the Cold War.
The age of McCarthyism from 1945 through 1963 was a time of great tension and fear in American history. The emotions in society influenced the writing of that time, resulting in two of the most powerful plays ever written: Inherit the Wind and The Crucible. These stories reflect the attitudes and personas of what was prevalent in the world at the time they were written.
Isaac Asimov is one of the most well known of science fiction writers as well as one of the worlds most prolific writers of any genre. Isaac was born to Anna and Judah Asimov on January 2nd, 1920 (White 3), in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was a a short-lived republic that formed after World War 1. He later emigrated to Brooklyn, New York, with his family when he was only three years old (White 7). While living in Brooklyn, Isaac taught himself to read English before he was five years old, but retained his ability to speak Yiddish. Isaac Asimov's work has shaped science fiction writing into what it is today.
Asimov’s robots can be described as clumsy, hard-working, cost-efficient, soulless, strong, fast, obedient, human-made, a cleaner better breed, more human than man.
Sci-Fi novels have been around for almost a century. Sci-Fi has the most potential of any genre to capture and explore the imagination of the world we know , or don’t know. Like any other genre Sci-Fi has tried to teach us lessons , or warn us of our arrogant choices as a whole civilization. But like all things, it changes with time. Sci-Fi writers adjust their styles accordingly based on current economic, political, or environmental problems around the world. The language in the writings change as well in an ongoing effort to keep up with the trends of popular culture.
Robots are made to run without flaws and can outperform the average worker. This is because there are fewer employees working that need to get paid. This is not a good thing as it might seem. In China, robots almost completely replace human workers to save money.