LITR 4632: Literature of the Future

Sample Student Midterms 2005
Complete In-Class Essay Example Y

Bryan Lestarjette 

Judging from what other students have said, it would appear that I am one of the few Literature majors who actually reads the catalog descriptions of classes I might take. Whether this is a commendable thing, or I just have too much time on my hands, is a whole 'nother discussion. At any rate, I started the Literature of the Future class with a fair idea of what we would be reading, in general, and was familiar with the website and presentation approach from the American Renaissance class. However, Literature of the Future has been different in the sense that the focus is on ideas, and not so much texts. What we read jumpstarts the discussion, but the discussion is over ideas and possibilities. I suppose this is entirely appropriate for the subject matter; if we merely dissect the texts rather than think and look ahead to the worlds of possibility, the point of our authors would be completely missed. Future-focused literature is a way of imagining where we might go, and what we must do to get there (or to go somewhere else). Trends are made tangible. It is a way for society to examine its direction and set its priorities. And like all literature, it examines the human condition.

An interesting aspect of humans is that we like to use narratives or story-patterns to explain or examine our world and condition. Narratives are a way of getting a handle on our reality and justifying a worldview and set of values. Besides reflecting, narratives often shape the real world, as decisions are made within a particular narrative's framework. For instance, someone operating in a traditional Biblical framework is likely to be less concerned about long-term environmental issues than an evolutionist.

When looking towards the future, there are three basic narratives: apocalyptic, evolutionary, and alternative. The apocalyptic narrative always involves dramatic, drastic events that completely alter the known world, bringing it either to an end or a new beginning. The most well-known example of this is the Book of Revelation in the Bible, which tells a story of God's judgment, human redemption (or damnation), and the defeat of evil. This brings the Biblical story, beginning in Genesis, to a proper and fulfilling conclusion, as man is brought back into harmony with God.

The evolutionary narrative tells a cyclical story, as opposed to linear, and deals with change and adaptation. In Wells' The Time Machine, two human social classes have evolved into two separate species. With the complete domestication of nature (and subsequent extinction of most food sources), the workers (Morlocks) have resorted to providing for and eating the rich folks (Eloi), thus ensuring the survival of the once-human races. Di Filippo's "Stone Lives" tells of a future in which survival of the fittest is a daily affair for both the street people and the massive corporations. In the evolutionary narrative, humans are not necessarily the center of the future. Bisson's whimsically pleasing "Bears Discover Fire" hints at a near-future in which humans are no longer the fastest-evolving species on the planet. Vonnegut's Galapagos shows a de-evolution of mankind further into the animal world than that of The Time Machine.

The line between apocalyptic and evolutionary is often blurred, such as in Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Parable is set in the midst of an apocalyptic decline of civilization, but features characters who adapt to the change around them and work not only to survive but to eventually revive the culture around them. Asimov's "The Last Question" tells of humans and supercomputers ("AC's") evolving over billions and billions of years as the universe decays, with an eventual union of Man and AC discovering how to defeat entropy and create a new universe.

Besides the apocalyptic and evolutionary narratives, there has more recently developed an alternative. Rather than treating time as linear or cyclical, the alternative depicts time and history (and the future) as branching. As explained in Borge's "The Garden of Forking Paths," "when a man is faced with alternatives he chooses one at the expense of the others. In the almost unfathomable Ts'ui Pen, he chooses–simultaneously–all of them. He thus creates various futures, various times which start others that will in their turn branch out and bifurcate in other times." The concept is that every option is taken, with each option taking a new path through time. Between major historical events, individual decisions, and minute and major natural processes and catastrophes, each building on the countless preceding ones, the branches of possibility are nearly infinite. The alternative may contain any number of possible apocalypses and/or evolutionary cycles.

Wild story possibilities are present in the alternative narrative framework. For instance, "Mozart in Mirrorshades" has people from one branch of time invading another for natural resources. The main character of Gibson's "The Gernsback Continuum" catches brief glimpses of an alternate present as imagined by people of the 1930's and 40's.

All three narratives include the importance of the decisions we make. In apocalyptic stories, choices can lead to survival or destruction, or salvation or damnation. In evolutionary narratives, we must decide what kind of world and people should evolve, and how mankind should adapt to the changes around us. The alternative future narrative shows the drastic impact even seemingly insignificant decisions can make, and we must decide which branch of the future we will follow.

Future-focused literature is a useful means of analyzing our present decisions and forming an idea of what type of future we wish. We cannot know the future in certainty or detail, but, like the fraudulent "time traveller" in Bradbury's "The Toynbee Convector," we can imagine a favorable future, tell others about it, and then build toward it. Or, like a chess player or general, we can put ourselves in an adaptable position which allows us the most favorable options and possible outcomes. As KC writes, literature of the future "deals with how people overcome obstacles and find their way to a better existence." We do not have to have all the answers, just the right questions.