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…
the effect total darkness will have on their entire planet. Arthur C. Clarke writes mostly about Extra Terrestrials, and both Asimov and Clarke write about their stories taking place on different planets in other solar systems. Philip Dick, Damon Knight, and Alfred Bester write their stories taking place on Earth. Two of Clarke’s stories, “Recue Party” and “The Sentinel”, are based around Extra Terrestrials. The short story, “Nightfall” by Asimov takes place on planet Lagash. A planet located in a stellar system containing six suns. “The Star” by Clarke takes place in a remote start system. “Second Variety” by Dick, “The Country of the Kind” by Knight and “The Men who Murdered Mohammed” by Bester all take place on planet Earth. Philip K. Dick shows deep thought and consideration of Earth and its current state of affairs, while Asimov and Clarke fail to do so. “Second Variety” by Dick was written in 1953, just six years after the Cold War had started. The war was between the United States (and its allies), and the Soviet Union (and its allies). This story takes place during a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United Nations. Similar to what was actually happening in reality. Dick wanted his readers to be able to connect with his stories on a deeper level, even if his stories were science fiction. Even though Damon Knight, Alfred Bester, and Philip. K. Dick didn’t follow the same writing styles as Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke, that did not stop them from leaving their mark on science fiction writing. Each of their stories had the same impact on science fiction readers just as much as Asimov and Clarke did. They may have had different writing styles, but that did not seem to let science fiction readers down. Lauren Lynds Professor White English 223 21 February 2016 Question 2 War has always had an effect on a society. It changes people’s views and their opinions, whether they realize it or not. It makes them question things they used to think where fact. Literature is no different. There are many differences between literature before the Cold War, which lasted from 1947-1991, and literature after the Cold War. Authors started writing more about humanity coming to an end, about human emotion, or lack there of, and the views on technology helping humans changed. One major occurrence in literature during the Cold War was that humanity was coming to an end, and not because of an alien race. “The Star”, which was written in 1955, is about a group of space explorers from Earth who return from an expedition to a remote star system where they discovered the remnants of an advanced civilization, similar to Earth’s, that was destroyed because its sun went supernova. The story effected the humans that found this out because then they too also realized no matter what the human race will eventually become extinct. In the short story “The Last Question”, which was written in 1956, shows that generation after generation after generation of humans all worried about when the end time would come. They all asked the same question, “When would the world end?”. In the short story “Arena” which was written in 1944, before the Cold War, reads that the human race is on the shoulders of one man, Bob Carson. Bob must win a fight to the death match with an alien species he named the “Red Roller” in order to save the human race. Literature after the Cold War also talked more in depth about human emotion. Or lack there of. “The Cold Equation” was written in 1954. It is about an eighteen-year-old girl, Marilyn, who snuck on to an Emergency Dispatch Ship that was headed for the planet Woden to deliver much needed medical supplies. The only reason Marilyn snuck on to the ship was so that she could see her brother. She thought that if she got caught the worst thing that would happen would be that she would have to pay a fine, but she was wrong. Horribly wrong. Instead of being fined the captain of the ship informed her that she would have to be vacate the ship immediately due to weight load and if she didn’t the ship would crash. Instead of the captain throwing off Marilyn’s weight in medical supplies he has no sympathy towards her and she is removed from the ship and blasted in space. In the short story “The Star” the Earth explorers were deeply moved by artifacts they had found in a vault. Their emotions got the best of them and they were closely identifying with the dead race’s peaceful, human-like culture. The last major difference between literature before compared to after the Cold War is how robots where portrayed in these writings.
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
moon. The fact is, whether it is apparent or not, society and everything in society changes depending on the circumstances and situations going on at that time. The Cold War clearly had a negative impact on literature during that time. The view on humanity coming to an end, or “doomsday” if you will, seemed closer than ever before. Humans became more desensitized compared to earlier science fiction writing and robots where no longer viewed as technological advances that would end up helping humans, but rather end up killing them.
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.
Discussions of the causes of the Cold War are often divisive, creating disparate ideological camps that focus the blame in different directions depending on the academic’s political disposition. One popular argument places the blame largely on the American people, whose emphasis of “strength over compromise” and their deployment of the atomic bomb in the Second World War’s Pacific theatre apparently functioned as two key catalysts to the conflict between US and Soviet powers. This revisionist approach minimizes Stalin’s forceful approach and history of violent leadership throughout World War 2, and focusing instead on President Harry Truman’s apparent insensitivity to “reasonable Soviet security anxieties” in his quest to impose “American interests on the world.” Revisionist historians depict President Truman as a “Cold War monger,” whose unjustified political use of the atomic bomb and ornery diplomatic style forced Russia into the Cold War to oppose the spread of a looming capitalist democratic monopoly. In reality, Truman’s responsibility for the Cold War and the atomic bomb drop should be minimized. Criticisms of Truman’s actions fail to consider that he entered a leadership position set on an ideological collision course, being forced to further an established plan for an atomic monopoly, and deal with a legacy of US-Russian tensions mobilized by Roosevelt prior to his death, all while being influenced by an alarmist and aggressive cabinet. Upon reviewing criticisms of Truman’s negotiations with Soviet diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov and his involvement in the atomic bomb drop, the influence of Roosevelt’s legacy and Truman’s cabinet will be discussed in order to minimize his blame for starting the Cold War.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
Issac Asimov's I, Robot 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. Robots can be caring, gentle, self-aware, creative, intelligent and also evil, rebellious. Robots are made out of metal, plastic, aluminum, gears, bolts, wheels, sensors, memory chips, and other gadgets. TEXT STUDY Asimov’s book “I, Robot” is full of exciting short stories about human-robot relations. But the one story that really touched me was the first of the nine: Robbie.
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.
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.