“The Machine Stops” by E.M Forester depicts a very sad, yet all too possible future in which the human race is forced underground by some cataclysmic event. This might seem unrealistic now, but we rely on technology almost as much as the people in the story. There are many parallels between the dystopian future Forester portrays, and the present we live in now. For example, the main characters in this story are a mother and son, Vashti and Kuno. The only way that they communicate is through a machine that controls every part of their lives, but they don’t mind at all. Life is easier with the technology the machine provides, such as pushing a button and receiving food. Although the comparison between talking through the machine and FaceTime
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People could, for one, communicate much easier than before. At the push of a button, it is possible to “call” someone on opposite sides of the globe. As the Machine advanced, the contact between people was lessened more and more. Eventually, people only communicated by using a program of the Machine which showed the callers faces to each other while they talked, albeit the image was not perfectly clear. This could be likened to the FaceTime we use every day, although our technology seems much less malicious in comparison to Forester’s. While we might only use our devices for trivial reasons such as texting and social media, this leads to an underlying detachment from each other in society. This is clearly portrayed while Vashti is travelling aboard the airships, the Narrator says of this,” People never touched one another. The custom had become obsolete, owing to the Machine.” This is happening right now, although it will go unnoticed until it is too late. Unless we curb our communication affliction, we will fall into the same trap that Forester portrays. After the terrible event that left the earth’s surface “inhospitable”, people needed a way to travel through the poisoned atmosphere. They relied on the same old airplanes that were in use at the time the story was written. For some reason, this technology did not advance like the rest. Due to the advancement of the Machine, and as a result, technology,
People could, for one, communicate much easier than before. At the push of a button, it is possible to “call” someone on opposite sides of the globe. As the Machine advanced, the contact between people was lessened more and more. Eventually, people only communicated by using a program of the Machine which showed the callers faces to each other while they talked, albeit the image was not perfectly clear. This could be likened to the FaceTime we use every day, although our technology seems much less malicious in comparison to Forester’s. While we might only use our devices for trivial reasons such as texting and social media, this leads to an underlying detachment from each other in society. This is clearly portrayed while Vashti is travelling aboard the airships, the Narrator says of this,” People never touched one another. The custom had become obsolete, owing to the Machine.” This is happening right now, although it will go unnoticed until it is too late. Unless we curb our communication affliction, we will fall into the same trap that Forester portrays. After the terrible event that left the earth’s surface “inhospitable”, people needed a way to travel through the poisoned atmosphere. They relied on the same old airplanes that were in use at the time the story was written. For some reason, this technology did not advance like the rest. Due to the advancement of the Machine, and as a result, technology,