LITR 4632 Literature of the Future

Sample Student Midterms 2009 

Christi Wood

24 June 2009

Turning the Lights Out on Our Bright Future

When I saw “Literature of the Future” I thought, “Wow, this will be fun.” I was thinking of easy readings of utopias and semi-technological advances. I never dreamed that there are narratives out there that are this in-depth. I have never been a sci-fi buff, but I cannot put these books down. I feel a connection with the narrators that put me in the future and allow me to see how it could be. I myself have always thought that the future would be bright, but reading these novels has given me new insight and allowed me to see the future in a different light. I have developed a love for these futuristic novels and their creators, and hope to continue in my learning of this new world. I am enveloped in these novels and this course with a joy that I have not felt in any of my other literature courses. As I finish one novel, I must pick up the next, because my thirst for this new subject is invigorating. I feel as if I cannot get enough of the future and plan to dive full force into the next half of this class. This is the most mind-opening literature course that I have taken. I believe it is because the texts are fictional, but not too farfetched from reality. As you read through the plots, that seem impossible to even happen, you come across those scenarios that seem real, and you stop to think “what if.” The texts keep your mind spinning and keep you on your toes constantly wanting to know what is next. This course helps you escape reality and go to a place that you possibly may revisit one day in the future.

With “Minority Literature” I felt as if I was in the stories, riding along as the narrators told their tale. I also had a hard time putting down the novels because I felt a relationship with the people and wanted to know what happened to them. I feel like these futuristic texts make you feel the same way, it’s just not real. But, in the back of my head, I keep thinking it could be real, and I feel that bond with the person telling the story.

Human beings have a need to tell their story, to share their experiences with others so that other people can learn from them. Either the story is an actual depiction of something that has happened, or a myth or fable that has been passed down, but every narrative has a moral and circumstances that can be reviewed and learned from. Many of our values in society come from stories that have been told, either from the Bible or other sources. Cheryl Voskamp, in a midterm from 2007, says that story telling is “a way of making sure that future generation would have better than the previous generations.” I understand her theory, but is it true? As we glance into our past, is it a fact to say that our present or near future is actually better than what we had, or have our advances in technology actually hindered some of our other strengths such as knowledge and individuality? As we read our novels of the future, we see stories that show a dark portrayal of what is ahead of us and wonder just how much we have learned from the stories we have heard in our past.

Genesis introduces us to the creation story, where the apocalyptic story begins and then it ends with “Revelation,” which prepares us for our final days. Everything has been created in the first six days of existence, and there will be a linear path that must be followed to lead us to the end. Choices must be made that will add branches to the path leading to each person’s destiny. As in “The Garden of Forking Paths” with it maze where certain choices will lead to certain fates, you see this labyrinth effect from the very beginning of Genesis or creation. Adam and Eve had the choice to eat the apple or not, and they chose to eat. They then saw and knew everything and were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. But suppose they hadn’t eaten the apple. The alternative future that we could image could be the utopia that everyone wishes for. The eating of the apple begins the presentation of paths that are presented to each person, one choice leading to another, leading to another. This labyrinth of life has the paths that we follow which, in an apocalyptic view, will lead us to our final death and final lasting place of heaven or hell.

Symbolism is a theme that is presented throughout most of our novels and short stories. Fear and survival are symbols or themes that we see. “Stone” has always known that he must survive the Bungle to keep his life. He has found a secret water source to aid in his survival until he is chosen. Sower has an overall theme of survival with Lauren making it her number one priority to learn how to survive and implement her knowledge outside the neighborhood. In this story knowledge is certainly a source of power, the more a traveler knew about how to survive, the better their chances. After reading these two stories I tried to put myself in their shoes. It reminded me of when we had to face our fears and learn to survive during Ike. We didn’t lose everything, but we did have to learn to adapt without the things that we normally had. Items like water and gas became scarce or extinct and people were running around crazy not knowing what to do. When faced with this reality, humans must take the knowledge they have and use it to survive their dilemma.

Sower begins as an apocalyptic novel, because it seems that their world is ending. But as we get to the end of the novel, there is a rebirth of life in the harvesting and starting new. This gives the opportunity of evolution, the chance for the world to begin again. Evolution is also about the survival of the future. Whoever survives the apocalypse would therefore evolve into the next generation or species. Because of the survival theme, and Lauren accomplishing this fate, she has evolved or started over. “The Time Machine” also has references to both apocalyptic and evolution. As the time traveler keeps going further and further into time the world seems to be getting worse as if it will eventually end. But, when he goes to the land of the White Sphinx, there is a new species that gives the idea of evolution. Even if humans had been extinct, another species evolved and continued to multiply along with plant life.

As we explore these narratives, we wonder why our futures seem so dismal. We have learned so much about technology and about our world that you would think we would have a promising future. But as we become more dependent on machines and technology we begin to lose part of ourselves. As Victoria said in her discussion of “Mozart,” “people lost their creativity.” After Mozart heard his music, he had no intentions of actually creating it because it was already there for him to enjoy. There was actually a part in “Mozart” where Rice is speaking to Count and says “you ever hear of guillotines?” Count responds, “I wish to hear no more of your machines.” The people of this time were so wrapped up in our future that they could not decipher it from theirs. Many people believe that as we become more dependent on computers these things will eventually become beings and take us over. We already have cars and planes that are driving for us, is it possible to have robots that will think for us? These are questions that we must ponder about our futures. The characters in these stories possibly never thought that these advances would lead to their ending or having to start over.

There is also a saying that “God is Power” and in Sower Lauren refers to God as “Change.” Does this mean that change is power? If you view these two things together you get a very scary scenario. As the world changes with this technology the person or people who control this change gain the power. Whoever holds the power holds the world, as in “Gernsback,” and this could lead to a destructive future. I believe that this is the moral of our futuristic novels, for us to learn what could happen and try to prevent the same fate for our futures.

I believe the future is being written. In most of our novels, the future is very grim and sad, which most people would say is impossible. But, as people change and technology changes and we allow ourselves to become less in tune with God and more in tune with computers telling us what to do, we become like these people in our stories. As in Wall-E, I believe it is possible for Earth’s occupants to become so dependent on this techno-God that our once believed in religious God could become obsolete and the technology could take us over. It is very farfetched and in the far future, but it is possible if we allow ourselves to be changed into this way of living. I believe that we should extract from these stories a sense of what could happen if we allow our future to take us over. We must be careful of how far we push technology and who we give our power to. Our future is in the hands of our future generations, so we have the power in our present to give them the knowledge they need to maintain a healthy and happy world that will prepare us for our final destination.