An Analysis Of Anti Technology Themes In The Machine Stops And Wall E

1080 words - 5 pages

Missing Works Cited

In 1909 E.M. Forster wrote the ground-breaking short story “The Machine Stops”, it foretold of a dystopian society where mankind entrusted itself to a machine which took care of al their wants and needs, and ultimately lead to their demise. In Forster’s “The Machine Stops”, he illustrates the need for man to become less dependent on machines and technology for their livelihoods and life in general. In Disney’s “WALL-E” we se many of these themes again. In both cases humans have become so inept at taking care of themselves that the loss of the machine or machines that care for them would be catastrophic and deadly. Humans have invested so much trust and power into these ...view middle of the document...

Since Auto is completely autonomous they have no control over him he nearly stops them before they are able to switch him off.
Another theme that arose in both cases was how technology caused an extreme alienation from nature that the people in the stories experienced. In “The Machine Stops” everyone lives in underground mechanical cities completely run by “The Machine”. In their cities they have absolutely no contact with the outside world, so much so that even contact with outside air can cause blood to pour from the ears and nose(Reader, 151), and usually death. The closest they come to nature is on the airships which ferry them between underground cities. Even here most of nature is shout out and the mere thought of being touched by sunlight is horrifying(Reader, 145). Outside of their physical separation from nature, there is the mental aspect. People no longer think about nature, there is no longer a need to answer any questions about nature since everything is “perfect” the way it is, it is so removed from their society that they don’t even know what snow(Reader, 146) is anymore. We see this same alienation in the people from “WALL-E”, they have spent their entire lives on space ships, having never seen Earth. They have no concept of nature or it’s beauty. In one scene the captain of the ship has no idea earth, or soil, is, nor does he know what seas, plants or farms are. Having never been around nature they have never learned what it is or had a chance to.
The final and most important theme that these two stories share is how technology has caused them to lose their human nature and become nothing more than an extension of the machine. In both cases it seems that people have given up their humanity for material well-being. Both use the insect motif to illustrate the loss of humanity. In “The Machine Stops” Forster describes the inhabitant’s rooms as “hexagonal in shape, like the cell of a bee.”(Reader, 141), creating the imagery of humans as insects, living in tightly packed quarters. In...

Hamlet Study Guide- Plot Summary, Character Analysis of Hamlet, Major Themes of the Play, Techniques in the Play and Key Quotes

2615 words - 11 pages or by chance. A complex personality at the play's start, Hamlet is all the more fascinating because he undergoes dramatic character development. 3. What do you see as the major themes of the play? Discuss two in some detail. Again support your ideas with evidence from the play The theme of revenge against an evil superior is a major theme of the play. As in many revenge plays, and, in fact, several of Shakespeare's other tragedies, a

Lord of the Flies: Analysis of Themes and Its Relevance to Today’s Society

2559 words - 11 pages LORD OF THE FLIES: ANALYSIS OF THEMES AND ITS RELEVANCE TO TODAY’S SOCIETY Lord of the flies was William Golding’s first published novel and since its appearance in 1954, it has become one of his best known works. Golding was forty-three years old when he wrote the novel with the aid of his experience serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Thus his experience in world war has influenced him to produce such a masterpiece that

The Door in the Wall

736 words - 3 pages telling what his father assumes is a lie. In time, and as a result of this punishment, Wallace succeeds in suppressing the memory. But he can never quite forget it completely and often dreams of revisiting the garden. Throughout his life he unexpectedly comes upon the door in the wall in different parts of London, but each time he is rushing to an important commitment of one sort or another and does not stop to open it. Wallace tells his friend

Comparison of the Yellow Wall Paper and the Awakening

606 words - 3 pages Erin Feeney October 3, 2009 AP Lit Period 3 â€œThe Yellow Wallpaperâ€ and The Awakening The Victorian Era put great constraints on society. The social standards had an intense impact on the people, especially the women. Woman reacted in an array of ways to the male controlled era. This contrast is evident in â€œthe Yellow Wallpaperâ€ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. The woman in these works had similar

This is an analysis of the characters in the old man and the sea

500 words - 2 pages does not speak and we can not read his mind, the marlin is certainly an important character in the story. This fish was18 feet long and 1500 pounds and Santiago spent most of the story tracking, killing, and attempting to bring him home. After Santiago harpoons the marlin and attaches it to the outside of his boat, a number of sharks mutilate the fish by tearing out chunks of meat. By the end of the story nothing remains but "the long backbone of

Major Themes In The Theory Of Evolution

2629 words - 11 pages Major Themes in the Theory of Evolution The world around us changes. This simple fact is obvious everywhere we look. Streams wash dirt and stones from higher places to lower places. Untended gardens fill with weeds. Other changes are more gradual but much more dramatic when viewed over long time scales. Powerful telescopes reveal new stars coalescing from galactic dust, just as our sun did more than 4.5 billion years ago. The earth

Stoic Death Themes Of In The N

1025 words - 5 pages Tolstoy puts it, among an aristocratic society. He moved up in rank and earned a raise in salary. This new power, although not taken advantage of, was accessible in Ilyitch's eyes, and hence the mere thought of corruption existed as a tool for possible future use. He married, not because of love, but because he felt it would be an asset to him. This lack of self value is an example of ignorance that produces a person with no meaning in life.He had

The report "E-Marketing in tourism with emphasis on Marriott's" looks into the development of the internet technology in the company

280 words - 2 pages The report "E-Marketing in tourism with emphasis on Marriott's" looks into the development of the internet technology in the market place. The Study starts with a look into the tourism industry with relation to the development of the internet. It then goes into the history and development of The Marriott's chain, the company's IT developments and various implementations to change with the development of technology and the changing demand of the

About Grains Peeling Machine of the Type Described in Detail

526 words - 3 pages as the supporting equipment for our other grain peeling machine type. MTPS Series Oat Peeling Machine is one of the grain peeling machine types and used as the supporting equipment in oat processing technology or as the single equipment. Oat peeling machine has the outstanding features of high yield and low breakage rate. MTPS oat peeling and awn removing machine can remove oat bran and awn. It is the ideal supporting equipment in modern oat

Oppression and the Wall Paper

2506 words - 11 pages . Education would be substituted with learning motherly skills and how to be a fair and impressive housekeeper. As a result, females wouls aspire to be the best women and properly and successfully fill her ‘role in life’. Jenny, the narrator’s sister-in-law, shows us the conformed housekeeper who could “hope(s) for no better profession” (Gilman 906). As the industrial revolution matured and technology increased, many of revolutionized opportunities

The Great Wall Of China

1215 words - 5 pages , sheepfolds, and storage areas. The body of the wall was the key part of the defense system. It usually stood 21.3 feet wide at the base and 19 feet at the top, with an average height of 23-26 feet (Great Wall of China;britannica.com). The structure of the wall varied depending where the walls were being built, and who was building them. The oldest section of the wall began in 221 B.C, the Qin dynasty. This was short after China was unified

Discuss The Themes Addressed In Over The Wall And The Devices Used

1363 words - 6 pages Discuss the themes addressed in Over the Wall and the devices used to express and examine these themes The play ‘Over the Wall’ is very interesting and unique, in that instead of having names for each part, the parts are numbered from 1-9. This removes all pre-conceptions you may have had of the characters. The characters keep changing to different numbers throughout the play; this is to highlight the different types of people in

Analysis Of Themes In Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country

499 words - 2 pages The family in Cry, the Beloved Country involves themes emphasizing the home and family. From the James Earl Jones seeking for his son to the other priest searching and wanting a place of her own, this movie shows how one reacts to the attraction of home and family. The home symbolizes a place of refuge and belonging which are exhibited throughout the movie as James Earl Jones searches for his lost son. It gives the movie viewer the sense of

The Ultimate Betrayal: Cordelia Gray, Ronald Callender, And The Establishment Of An Anti Heroin

1608 words - 7 pages The Ultimate Betrayal: Cordelia Gray, Ronald Callender, and the Establishment of an Anti-heroin In the contemporary literary scene, heroes enjoy an increased moral complexity. Mid-20th century playwrights such as Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard have given viewers anti-heroic protagonists recognizable by their lack of identity and determination. Film noir detective stories of the mid-20th century have seen characters such as Sam Spade, who

Comparison Of Themes In The Outsiders And The Kite Runner

917 words - 4 pages . The reason behind the social partitions in each book is due to different reasons; The Kite Runner describes a religious division and The Outsiders has an economical split. The majority of the population in Afghanistan is Sunni Muslim. Hassan is a Shi'i Muslim, part of a religious minority, and is why he is assaulted. His blue eyes flicked to Hassan. "Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true