Compare And Contrast Sandkings And The Little People

Science Fiction’s Perspective on Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of government led by people who believe in absolute obedience or submission to their own authority, and additionally the administration of that conviction through the mistreatment of their subordinates. The stories used to compare forms of authoritarianism are “Sandkings” by George R. R. Martin and “The Little People,” a Twilight Zone episode written by Rod Stirling. The main character in “Sandkings” is Simon Kress. He is a rich man that lives in a manor and loves to collect dangerous exotic animals. While Peter Craig, the main character in “The Little People,” is the only co-pilot of a spaceship and has been traveling on it for what seems to be a long period of time. The similarities and differences between the two characters playing God, the actions of the side characters, the plots of both stories, and the settings in which they occur, make each story individually an interesting read. One major similarity between both stories is that they depict men playing God and authoritarianism; however, both stories also have distinct differences such as the characters social backgrounds. Kress and Craig are portrayed as men with authoritarian personality types meaning they have …show more content…
In “Sandkings,” Kress ends up being killed out of revenge. He was outsmarted and trapped by the evolved orange sandkings, the ones he mistreated the most, as they carried him toward a house built of crumbling sand while all the little orange children have his face on them. Ironically, “The Little People” ends with Craig being put in the same position as the little people were. One of the two “giant” men, who landed on the planet to make repairs on their ship, picks him up and accidentally crushes him to death in his hand. Their deaths depict that in life, what goes around comes around and that all actions have consequences no one can