Category: Cici Liu

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Week 1: Response to “The Machine Stops” E.M. Forster – Kyra Bachman

Edward Morgan Forster’s 1909 short story seems to be eerily foreshadow the internet age and the central role it plays in modern society. The setting takes place in a dystopian underground society where civilization has prophesied a machine that manages and provides for the workings of their daily lives. The implications of dependence on technologies is expressed symbolically following the dynamic between Vashti and Kuno. Tension arises between Vashti- a pious worshipping of the machine and Kuno, who questions the value of the machine. Kuno wishes to interact face-to-face with his mother but this behavior viewed as impolite and unsophisticated. It has become that people’s existence is completely dependent on the machine. Kuno eventually discovers the truth after his journey above ground where he learns that the machine is simply a product of human invention that is now controlling them. Once the machine stops, the entire society unravels and descends into a mass chaos .

Given that this piece was published over a century ago- long before the invention of internet, smartphones, or artificial intelligence- I found Forster’s prediction on the damages of dependence on technology especially interesting due to its relevant application to modern day. “The better a man knew his own duties upon it, the less he understood the duties of his neighbor, and in all the world there was not one who understood the monster as a whole” is a fitting visualization. The short story presents a dilemma how to continue on the path of technological advancement without letting the ease and illusion of it take priority real life.

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Week 1: Response to “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster- Cara Chang

E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” closely relates to our society today. In the short story, what is left of their society is a broken world controlled by one singular machine. As our own world progresses into this new era filled with the internet and social media, people are slowly becoming more glued to their cellular devices and less involved with other people. This can be compared to the story, as Vashti refuses to see Kuno because they can easily communicate with each other through the Machine. I personally thought that the specific part where Kuno longs to see his mother can be very relatable to kids in our own world. Vashti thinks that it is enough to only talk to her son through a mechanical device, whereas Kuno demands a face to face interaction, even though it is highly risky,  because their society took advantage of The Machine so heavily, leaving their own world to rot. Like many children to their parents in reality, many kids feel the longing need to see their family, but only to have their parents give the excuse that they must work, and that communication can be easily done through any video call app, such as FaceTime or Skype. In the story, the reader can see how in the end, as people take advantage of The Machine, the human race deteriorates and the world ends up crumbling apart. If we ourselves cannot control the way we utilize the advantageous tools we have, we are set up for the same fate. A similar example can be the way people rely on cars that consume gas to get from place to place. We consciously send gasses into the air, depleting our ozone layer one step at a time. The same can be applied for factories and any other unit that releases toxic gas in the air. The way that our society uses the internet/electronic devices to complete everyday tasks can lead humans to become dependent on the internet, rather than only referring to it as an assisting aide. Many things that come with the age of the internet come with many advantages yes, but if used in a manipulative manner that controls everyone’s lives, it can very easily lead to the world’s destruction, relating to the same ending as “The Machine Stops”. 

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Week 1: Response to “The Machine Stops” E.M Forster – Xavier Juhala

This reading was an interesting take on what has become our societies dependence on technology to perform even the most basic human tasks. I think that the fact that Forster is illustrating this in such a way; by showing us this in a dystopian type of story enhances the argument that society is heading towards total dependence on technology. The fact that it is a story makes it interesting to read and puts the argument in a space separate from our own so that we are able to see the truth in it. I think if this was just a rhetorical piece it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it could easily be dismissed as over the top and just an article trying to scare people. Vashti’s character accurately shows in today’s world our human interactions are becoming diminished as rather than living in the moment we become absorbed in the world within our devices, this is represented in her not even wanting to see her son. Even seeing her son becomes a hassle for her as it seems she would rather stay in her home, absorbed in her comfortable protected world. The “machine” represents this world which we are heading towards and I think that this story serves as a powerful warning that we shouldn’t forget about our human needs and emotions and that we should be cautious on over-reliance of our technology. 

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Response to E.M. Forster—Kimmy Tanchay

In the short story, “The Machine Stops”, Foster conveys the dystopian future of a “machine”-controlled world where any spare human thought or essence is heavily discouraged. Told in a third person narrative and follows the characters of Vashti and Kuno, the story heavily suggests the detrimental effects on the human race when the power of technology becomes uncontrollable.

Although the Machine was able to save the human race as a species, the characteristics, such as morals, thoughts, emotions, real interactions and ideas, that make human beings human has been lost in the process. The capitalisation of the “Machine” conveys the significant presence of technology amongst the lives of human beings that it has become more than a mere object. In this world, human beings not only conform to the rules dictated upon them by the Machine, but they also refuse to criticise or go against it with Vashti stating, “Oh hush! You mustn’t say anything against the machine.” () Hence, further showing the power of the Machine and foreshadowing its destructive nature as it is able to spark fear in humans despite machines being created by us. This perhaps may allude to symbolism for human being’s current relationship with religion or even strong political government censorship such as in China.

In the end, the Machine Stops provides a foreshadowing of the dangers on the over-reliance of machines and technology to human beings. This is extremely relevant in a time when digital media and technology has quickly taken over and integrated into many of our daily lives that we often fail to remember how to live without them. 

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Week 1: Response to “The Machine Stops” by E.M.Foster – Khaliun Dorjderem

In “The Machine Stops” by E.M.Foster, Vashti, who is completely adapted to the machine dominated world, talks to Kuno, who wishes to leave without these machines, through the use of machine. It reminded me of how I FaceTime with my mother who lives thousands of miles away from me, and I was afraid by the possible changes in the world described in the reading. It is a prediction of the future, but seeing us today, how much we rely on technology, I thought that prediction has a possibility to take place in real life soon. 

Even today, we are so used to smartphones that most of us will refuse to give up using that technology. We do everything with our smartphones, we communicate with each other through internet, we play online games when we’re bored, and we even order food when we’re hungry. It is just like the buttons we press to satisfy our needs in the little room described in the reading.

Seeing the similarities between the reading and real life today concerns me that the percentage of our future becoming like the reading is much more higher today than when it was written. I can’t imagine the world where we won’t talk face to face, where we only communicate through the use of machine, and where we can’t do anything without the help of machines.