LITR 4632: Literature of the Future

Sample Student Midterms 2007

Laura Moran

17 June 2007

Putting a title on Things one thinks about Anyway

Although the course, “Literature of the Future”, conjured up images of pure science fiction reading, with an unwanted emphasis on science, I decided to be open-minded about the class. As a child I had always been interested in science fiction ideas but the actual reading of Ray Bradbury and H.G. Wells left me frustrated since the stories were written with an older, more educated audience in mind. Knowing that, as a teacher, I should at least be familiar with all genres, I came into this class with a positive outlook and have not been disappointed. Besides reading science fiction for this class, I have learned about the three types of narratives within literature of the future: apocalyptic, evolutionary and alternative.

While the reading itself has been interesting, the class discussions are what really make the course out of the ordinary. I would describe this class to a prospective student as being mind-expanding, giving one the opportunity to share one’s own ideas and listen to other people’s concepts of the future. I would explain that exploring alternative futures doesn’t have to be an intimidating topic; rather it is merely putting a title on things that one thinks about anyway, such as, “ if I hadn’t gone back to get my notes, I might have been in that accident I saw on the way to class,” as we contemplated in one of our class discussions. This led to, “can there really be such things as coincidence and deju vu?” Aside from reading some neat short stories such as, “Better be Ready ‘bout Half Past Eight” and “Johnny Mnemonic,” and thought-provoking novels, for example, Parable of the Sower and Time Machine, this class offers one the chance to see future presentations by fellow students that rouse exciting conversations among classmates.

While each of the subdivisions of literature of the future – apocalyptic, evolutionary and alternative – can stand alone, many narratives feature a blend of these styles. The best example I can think of for an apocalyptic narrative is “The Revelation”. As Liavette Peralta wrote in her 2005 midterm,

The book of Revelations is the prime example of apocalyptic narratives in that it speaks of the events leading up to Christ’s return and the end of the world. The details given are very descriptive and follow a specific order in which they will take place with the result of living in heaven and seeing your loved ones who have gone on before and to live eternally with Christ. Since the future has already been written in this book of the Bible, there is nothing that can be done to change it or prevent it but it does give a solution on how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whether one believes in the content of this piece of literature or not, the writing not only follows the pattern of the apocalyptic narrative, it stands the test of time as well. And, while this is classified as an apocalyptic narrative where all is destroyed, there is a bit of the evolutionary narrative at the end, where the tree of life perseveres.

Most of the works we have read, if not all of them, blend more than one of these subcategories together. While apocalyptic narratives present time in a linear pattern (a world is created, a world is destroyed) and evolutionary tales are cyclical (birth/life, death and birth/life again) the two subcategories can work well together. In Parable of the Sower, an apocalyptic event; the burning of Lauren’s neighborhood and the destruction of the safety wall, leads to a forced evacuation and a survival of the fittest-styled evolutionary path in order to carry on not only Lauren’s life but the constantly changing concept she has begun to create of God. The story itself is fascinating as we watch Lauren first disguise herself as a man in order to keep only herself alive, then her transformation into a sharing woman who learns that not only can she survive easier with the help of others if she learns to trust them, but that as a woman she can bring children into this new community she wishes to create and teach them her version of the world. A climactic, evolutionary moment in Parable comes when Lauren decides to plant seeds in honor of the family members who had died in the apocalyptic event, which sent this group on the road in the first place. I like the way that Parable ends with a verse from the Bible. It seems ironic that after Lauren spends the whole book creating her own version of God, the author chooses to sum up the adventure with scripture, as though the characters she created have come full circle.

When reading the evolutionary narrative, Time Machine, I couldn’t help but to think that his travels into the future might alter the original future, making this tale a blend of both evolutionary and alternative styles. Also, when the time traveler leaves at the end of the book, one cannot help but wonder, “where did he go?” and, “what will he do?”  No matter where the traveler’s machine has taken him, is he not sure to alter his world? Both Wells and Butler reflect the changes in the society of their era. Wells, born during the time period where the population was beginning to digest Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, explores the idea of our own humanity splitting into two distinct species, while Butler, in an era where crime is ever-growing and people have begun to think, “what next?”, shows the reader just what she thinks can happen and what people can do if an apocalyptic event were to happen. Both authors show both the good and bad sides of human nature by exploring the “what ifs” of their times. Each author also shows how the fittest survive give chilling accounts of what can happen if people do not work together.

The ideas of alternative futures and universes are fun to pursue as long as one does not become obsessed with the suggestion that each thing that one does can forever change the universe. Lori Nolen sums up the concept of alternative narratives nicely in her 2005 midterm:

The alternative narrative gives total freedom to the mind’s imagination of all the branches and possible paths of what might develop on the future. With these possibilities exists a message of responsibility and yet another forked path. Will those with the ability to travel to and create alternative futures accept the responsibility or dismiss it in pursuit of desire?

Although discussing alternative futures is fun, I found it a little tricky to get started reading the narratives. Knowing that “Mozart in Mirrorshades” is a work of fiction, it was still difficult to get into the mood of the story. It helped knowing that the real future could not be changed by the modern characters slipping in and out of the past, yet somehow my mind had trouble wrapping around these guys going back in time and treating the famous characters as common folk. I had to remind myself it is just a story, not fact. Pam Richey’s future presentation of the film, Serenity, started an interesting class discussion on alternative futures and the possible existence or non-existence of a Utopia and Dystopia. If one exists, must the other also exist? This is an excellent example where a class discussion helps one to get into the atmosphere of the genre. Something else I might share with a candidate for this course is that it is possible to have varied conversations within the class without stepping on anyone’s beliefs.

I believe that the future is being written as we live the present. I had never really thought about the world ending while I am in it so I was happy to find out about alternative futures/universes. I truly feel that I have a say in my future whether the world chooses to end or not. Of course if the world ends I will end with it, but hopefully I will have shaped myself into the type of person that made a positive difference with the time I had while here. One of the best things of being in a university environment is getting the opportunity to share ideas and thoughts about subjects that don’t usually arise at home, in the workplace, or even among friends. This class has reawakened my mind to the decisions that we all must make as we wind our way through this life; one hour, one day, one semester at a time and how those decisions affect not only ourselves, but others as well.