George Orwell's The Flying Machine

507 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Technology as a destruction

Although such a thing seems to be entertaining to most everyone, technology is certainly an object that deems itself worthy of destruction and violence. The Emperor in the story, “The Flying Machine”, knew of this statement. He knew that if the brilliant yet perilous idea of the man’s invention had been spread out to his rivals or even the local civilians, China would be in danger.

Schemes progressing, armies soaring, the surrounding countries would glide over the great wall of stone that no longer protected China. The possibility of this was just too precarious. So what did the mighty Emperor Yuan do? What did he have to do so that peace would be kept across the land? He had to rip the dreadful masterpiece into as many bits as possible and had to make sure that the only person who knew how to create it would never make any more. The executioner was summoned and the very thought of human flight would vanish only to be kept by the man's meandering spirit. …show more content…

Endings in most stories, especially short ones, are a bit happier. Assuming that this one was on the lighter side, I would think that the author believed that getting rid of the machine and the maker was the right thing to do. Which would lead me to make the inference that that the author thought alike the Emperor. Both the author and the emperor thought that technology was something that breaks apart peace and tranquility, and therefore wrong. In the story The land was described as a well maintained perfect little country, and then this description was interrupted by a servant crying “A miracle! A miracle!” and Emperor Yuan says, “Yes, the air is sweet this morning.” He goes on about how his country and all the nature in it is perfectly miracle-like. Nothing he mentions is advanced, because nothing was then. Everything was technology

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Daniel Boorstin's The Discoverers

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    Boorstin’s bias against the Chinese is initially difficult to detect because, early on, he is constantly singing their praises; they are lauded for the organization of their government, their astronomical endeavors, their cartography, and other technological advances such as Su Sung’s astronomical clock. Later, however, they are portrayed as increasingly oblivious, naïve, and literally self-centered. On their otherwise-excellent maps, China was the central and largest figure, which accurately depicts what the Chinese thought other countries and their discoveries to be – insignificant. Regarding the invention of the clock, Boorstin stated that “Tradition, custom, institutions, language, a thousand little habits . . . became barriers,” which was why the “drama of the clock in the West was not reenacted in the East.” (Boorstin, 56) He believed that China’s barriers of the mind – their zealous nationalism and insistence that theirs was the best way – caused them to lag behind in discovery. One example of the degree that their egomania extended can be seen in their reaction to a giraffe being brought from Mozambique to the Imperial Court. Believing it to be a mythical animal signifying that all was perfect under heaven, it brought “an orgy of self-congratulation,” (Boorstin, 196) showing that “’the world’s curiosities had become mere symptoms of China’s virtue. So was revealed a Chinese Wall of the Mind

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Revolution Is Not A Dinner Party

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for

    Read More

  • Empress Wu and Buddhism: A Symbiotic Relationship

    2294 Words  | 5 Pages

    Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having studied George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', I intend to discuss the type of Government envisaged by Orwell and to what extent his totalitarian Party, 'Ingsoc', satirises past regimes. I will also discuss Orwell's motive in writing such a piece and how his writing style helps it become clear.The main theme of Nineteen Eighty-Four concerns the restrictions imposed on individual freedom by a totalitarian regime. Orwell shows how such a system can impose its will on the people through manipulation of the press, the elimination of democracy, constant supervision (courtesy of the Telescreens) and more. Orwell also shows how the state has more subtle methods for imposing its authority, such as the manipulation of language and control of the media.

    Read More

  • GWC

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Wall of China, one of the world’s eight wonders, is one of the most famous feats of human architecture in the history of the world. This ancient marvel is not only a great spectacle, but is also significant in the shaping and molding of the China everyone knows today. The Great Wall of China allowed China to possess some of the longest lived governmental structures in the world by providing a means of protection against hostile nomadic groups and other warlike peoples. This allowed the lifespans of the dynasties-- lines of hereditary rulers who rule over a country for a long period of time-- inside the wall to be prolonged. This massive structure is therefore a key part of China’s history, influencing nearly every dynasty that ruled the region, since the rise of the first emperor.

    Read More

  • The Achievements of the Tang and Song Dynasties

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang, and the compass and paper money of the Song, were perhaps ancient China’s most lasting and impactful inventions. Our whole lives could be different. A fireworks-less 4th of July, or maybe a world in which it costs 40lbs of copper for a loaf of bread. A world in which we live with porcelain-less toilet urinals. Oh the horror. On a more serious note, without the invention of gunpowder, this world will have seen less severe wars and longer reigns of peace, because wars without guns last much longer and cost a lot. This would prevent needless wars. So as to how beneficial gunpowder was to society, I think it did more harm than good. So remember, every time you’re at a urinal you can smile to yourself, because you know you’re urinating on what is essentially China.

    Read More

  • Jonathan Spence´s Mao Zedong

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jonathan Spence tells his readers of how Mao Zedong was a remarkable man to say the very least. He grew up a poor farm boy from a small rural town in Shaoshan, China. Mao was originally fated to be a farmer just as his father was. It was by chance that his young wife passed away and he was permitted to continue his education which he valued so greatly. Mao matured in a China that was undergoing a threat from foreign businesses and an unruly class of young people who wanted modernization. Throughout his school years and beyond Mao watched as the nation he lived in continued to change with the immense number of youth who began to westernize. Yet in classes he learned classical Chinese literature, poems, and history. Mao also attained a thorough knowledge of the modern and Western world. This great struggle between modern and classical Chinese is what can be attributed to most of the unrest in China during this time period. His education, determination and infectious personalit...

    Read More

  • George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    written in the period just after W.W.II. It details the life of one man, Winston Smith, and his struggles with an undoubtedly

    Read More

  • Ray Huang’s book 1587: A Year of No Significance

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty. In this initial chapter, Huang provides an anecdotal history of some of the events that occurred, and includes within it a discussion of the set up of the leadership, the repercussions that occurred in the event of certain actions, including the prospects of an audience with the emperor. Huang reviews these issues as he considers that actions taken by the Wan-li emperor, who was only twenty-four in 1587 and who had been a veteran of ceremonial proceedings, and considers his history as an element of understanding the progression of leadership.

    Read More

  • Humor In Alexander Weinstein's Saying Goodbye To Yang

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    As technology advances, people are adapting and becoming more reliant upon it. In the story, the narrator and his wife adopted a Chinese child and bought a robot named Yang. Weinstein uses the family’s relationship with Yang to criticize

    Read More

  • Story of the Stone

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cao Xueqin’s Story of the Stone is a classic in Chinese literature, showcasing the life and exploits of the wealthy Jia clan during the feudal era. Through Cao’s depiction, the reader is afforded a glimpse into the customs and lifestyle of the time. Chinese mode of thought is depicted as it occurs in daily life, with the coexisting beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism. While the positive aspects of both ideologies are presented, Cao ultimately depicts Taoism as the paramount, essential system of belief that guides the character Bao-yu to his eventual enlightenment. As was the case in China, Cao depicts the two forms of belief existing alongside one another, and not necessarily practiced exclusively to one another.

    Read More

  • Roman Technology Essay

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Han’s view of technology was predominantly self-glorifying; with good reason as the Chinese invented everything from paper to acupuncture. The Han seemed to feel that technology was about helping the people. As demonstrated in the letter in document 1, the first goal of technology is to ward off disaster, in this case a flood. This demonstrates a concern for the people, or at least the property, giving the impression that technology is there to aide the Chinese. This impression is increased by the obvious concern shown by Huan Guan in the second document, where he writes about the problems the lack of technology, such as iron plows, is having on the people. Huan Guan points out how technology has become useless as the tools ar...

    Read More

  • The Downfall of China

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    move that served China well but in the long run it was the downfall of China. While

    Read More

  • George Orwell's 1984

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thinking back into history, many important events have occurred in history since the publication of 1984 by George Orwell in 1949. In no specific order there would be the Holocaust, The creation of the United Nations, NATO (North Atlantic treaty Organization), and even The Iron Curtain being established. After 1984 was published huge events also occurred in history. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean war, the Vietnam War, the creation of the Berlin Wall, and the destruction of the Berlin wall, Joseph Stalin dies, and Khrushchev gains power....etc, etc. No matter when a book is published the events in history will always surround it, such as this book.

    Read More

  • Battle Of Shanghai Essay

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    Six months of air operations all but exhausted the Chinese air force. The Chinese seek to purchase. Modern aircrafts from a number of countries. A large influx of Soviet aircrafts and volunteer’s pilots promised to modernize the Chinese air force.

    Read More

More about George Orwell's The Flying Machine

Open Document