LITR 4632: Literature of the Future

Sample Student final exams 2007

 Pamela Richey

What Makes Me Human?

I came into this class a bit wide eyed and naïve. To me science fiction was merely a good yarn. It was something to curl up with and enjoy. And because it was a bit more on the intellectual side of literature I did not even have to hide the title from those who look down on “light” reading. Through the progression of the course I have reevaluated my earlier suppositions. I am now able to see the social conscience behind many of the better written books and short stories of the genre. One theme that has come up more often than naught is the question: What does it mean to be human?

In House of Bones, the main character must explore his own humanity. Can he kill the Scavenger and potentially jeopardize not only his precarious position in the tribe, but his survival as well? He must ask himself whether his survival is worth the barbaric killing of another sentient being. In accepting his own humanity and empathizing with the Scavenger’s plight, he not only comes to grips with who he is, he is also able to see the civilization of the Neanderthals he lived with.

Lauren in Parable must not only discover her humanity, but must also reevaluate it as she travels through an apocalyptic land. At first she only accepts into her small group of refugees those who can obviously add to their group, whether it is resources or strength or firepower. Later she must reevaluate her own thinking and begins taking in people who are potential liabilities, i.e. the corporate slaves.

In stories such as Homelanding, humanity is discussed so abstractly that it is almost impossible to see. In the end, humanity, as told to aliens, comes down to the emotions: grief over death, delight in the sunset, fear from a bad dream. While these are not all of humanity, it has the potential to connect us with sentient beings from another planet. If it can connect us with aliens, why can it not connect us with human beings from our own planet who merely have a different skin color or ideology? Discussion from Holly Bailey’s presentation of I, Robot brought up the point that often we use stories about robots or aliens in order to highlight or study our own humanity.

            Many times we use science fiction to soft peddle notions such as sympathy, mercy, and equality. We use time travel, aliens, robots, anything but us to drive home the answer to the question: What makes me human?