LITR 4632: Literature of
the Future
Sample Student Midterms 2003
Complete In-Class Essay Example X
Corrie Lawrence
Midterm Exam
During the course of this class I have found the scope of Literature of the Future much further reaching in implication and content than initially perceived. This category of literature is not merely defined by the scads of widely known and read popular fiction found on the shelves of every major book dealer in the modern world; the bounds of this genre span the works of the Apocalyptic religious prophesy such as St. John’s “The Revelation,” all the way to the anachronistic visions of William Gibson’s “The Gernsback Continuum.” Futuristic Literature is no longer confined to the mold imposed on it by the perceived stereotypical definition of sci-fi literature. It is a much better rounded genre than this, and one that lends itself to matters more important than it first seemed. Literature of the Future has been produced over a great expanse of time and is not important only in its literary value, but also in what it says about humanity as a whole. Political and ideological overtones, as we have found, are strongly exhibited throughout the various eras and narratives here studied.
In this class we have scrutinized literature of multiple eras; ancient Biblical texts, late 19th century classic material, all the way to the last decade of the most cutting-edge sci-fi and technology narratives. In this approach to the literature, the common perception of the genre as a fairly recent and limited form of pop-romance is completely shattered. While we have yet looked at the various bodies of work as belonging to the romance-narrative category, it has been in the broader sense of how each text may or may not embody romantic appeal or be ascribed few or many romantic characteristics. In this interpretation we have become familiar with the ominous tones of the ancient prophets and the dead-pan narrative of the cyberpunk.
It seems also, as we have moved through the three major narrative forms of Literature of the Future, that we have found a variance and shifting in the romantic quality of the narratives told. We began with the aforementioned Apocalyptic writings of the Bible, finding that the sense of romance – the escape from bitter travail, the mysticism, and the anticipation of a happy ending , “no more death, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain,” (Rev. 21:46) – is an overriding theme throughout.
Similar to the Apocalyptic narrative, it is possible to find the same sort of romantic notions in the Evolutionary narrative. Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower introduces the same idea of the transcendence of human-kind in the face of great adversity. Religious tones remain, however this time in the form of an evolving New Age philosophy presented by the type of a strong-woman and empathic character. What distances this work from the Apocalyptic texts is the vision of a world that does not end: “…the/Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among/The stars,” (Butler 68). This is the prophesy uttered by the main character of her vision for her followers; her people, “Earthseed,” will transcend earth’s chaos and devastation by taking a new place above the earth. The thrust of this story remains romantic though it abandons the Apocalyptic idea of justice for all evil and Biblical retribution brought about by the omnipotent God. Eternal reward is substituted or replaced by survival.
The third narrative form found in futuristic literary works is where we encounter the modern voice of the cyberpunk, the tales of technology invading the personal, and the infinite possibilities of splintered, spliced, and branching tracks of space and time. While the Alternative narrative seems to be a category expanding to include all Literature of the Future not conforming to either of the Apocalyptic or Evolutionary narratives, the works we so far have covered such as Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner’s experiment in anachronism, “Mozart in Mirrorshades,” and Jorge Louis Borges historically set, “The Garden of Forking Paths” seem to shy somewhat from the romantic appeal offered by “The Revelation” and Parable of the Sower. The idea conveyed in “Mozart’s” main character, Rice, and “Forking Path’s” protagonist, Yu Tsun, is that life and time are more of an experiment than a reality, and each time-line or history is merely the product of a conglomeration of innumerable variables to produce the ever-fleeting present. In Alternative tales such as these, it is suggested that time is constantly diverging into infinite branches of time-lines. In this, individual actions somehow lose or gain a world of meaning as Yu Tsun aptly relates of his actions, “What remains is unreal and unimportant.” (Borges 101). His actions were of little meaning to him, though in terms of historical importance, they meant the world.
This narrative form is dedicated largely to the ideas of exploration and experimentation. Implications of destiny and fate are somewhat thrust aside, making way for speculative experimentation and alternative thinking. In this vein, a path is cleared for the cyberpunk and modern techy to put their pens to flight. We see this in the dead-pan cynicism of William Gibson’s “The Gernsback Continuum” and Alison Baker’s gender-testing tale, “Better Be Ready ‘Bout Half Past Eight.” In this diverse collection of readings, the Alternative genre is a stage for historical reflection and emphasis in “The Garden of Forking Paths” as well as a platform for the exploration and advocating of cultural change as in Baker’s “Half Past Eight.”
The scope of literary works covered in this class is incredibly wide and of great variance. Certainly the definition of Literature of the Future finds new breadth in the collection of texts offered here. What results in this class accordingly, given the space of time spanned and the inclusiveness of content, is a complex convergence of subject matter, cultural commentary, and ideological assertions in an incredible variety of settings requiring a slew of varying assumptions. A medley of voices rises from across the ages creating in the class itself a sense of anachronism and struggle. The Apocalyptic meets a challenge in the Evolutionary. While the Alternative is equipped to challenge everything, itself included. Naturally a sense of conflict ensues, lending great interest and possibility to the class.
As Travis Kelley emphasized in his future-vision presentation on Thursday, June 5, 2003, “It is impossible to escape the idea of politics…” even in this highly-conjectured area of literature. Politics, being fueled by ideologies, are naturally present in every work here studied. Given the breadth inherent in Literature of the Future as defined in this course, it would seem almost that the possibilities for this class and its discussion are as near infinite as the “Many Forking Paths” of Ts’ui Pen’s “garden.” As initially stated, I have been astounded by the variety and scope of the material studied and the depth of possibility therein. We swiftly move from the fantastic future-visions of authors, past and present, into the realm of their political ideas, and then often into the more fundamental sphere of ideology and human beliefs. This course makes a most fascinating launching pad for the discussion and dissection of the texts, not only as works of literature, but as products of the human, cultural, and ideological at work in a given space of time.
Also most compelling is to observe the shifting views, historically, as we move between the older to later texts, as well as between the three prevailing narratives. One wonders in the time-line of Future Literature what the literature of our own time, our own anticipations of things to come, and the evolution of the future narrative, conveys about us as a historical people, while yet the people of the fleeting present – and what might we further project from this?
Even this begs an ideological question: Is the future already written – or has it yet to be seen? Is our destiny hidden in the pages of “The Revelation” or do we ever stand at a path diverging in a “Garden of Forking Paths”? I imagine that we could bring this to table in class discussion, and that the possibilities would certainly be endless…