LITR 4632: Literature of
the Future
Web-Highlight 2005
Thursday, 9 June: narrative: evolution "Stone Lives" (handout) and "Bears Discover Fire" (FP 17-28); "Somebody up there Likes Me" (VN 208-237)
Web-highlighter:
Liavette Peralta
Sample Student Midterms 2003
Complete In-Class Essay Example Y
Some of the most entertaining materials covered in LITR
4632 come under the category of evolutionary narratives.
The down-home humor of Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson made it
a delightful read. It was a
different spin on most of the evolutionary literature that deals with humans
evolving. In Bisson’s story, it
was the bears who evolved in response to the warmer climate and the development
of “newberries.” Similarly, the
high-tech quirkiness of Ralph Lombreglia’s Somebody Up There Likes Me
seemed to indicate that although computers were evolving and improving to
astonishing levels humans were still bound by their emotions, bad relationships,
and lack of judgment.
Complete Sample Student Midterm 2001
Throughout "Stone Lives", author Paul Di Filipo
weaves both an apocalyptic and evolutionary narrative that contains even an
element of an alternative future. Stone lives in a world of little personal hope
until his retrieval by what we can only assume is his biological mother. It
would be terribly difficult to argue that the world had not reached an
apocalyptic state of affairs but Stone is taught and given opportunities that
will help him construct a new civilization bringing about an evolutionary
process. Evolution is given another reference in Alice Citrine’s choice of
pet, a lemur created of genetic material retrieved through the methods of
science that enhance the futuristic element of survival beyond time. Questions
must be addressed by Stone of the benefit of extending human life beyond the
traditional bounds. Stone’s decisions become those of a man about to discover
an alternative future path.
Sample Student Midterms 2003
Class-wide Excerpts
This reality, my reality, has come knocking on my door,
forcing its way into my life… so whether I am ready for it or not, literature
of the future is now a part of my reality. [JD]
Questions:
1)
In what ways have the texts we have covered in class changed your view of
the future? Has it become a part of
your reality or do you merely view the texts as science fiction?
2) In what other ways is evolution evident in “Stone Lives” and “Somebody Up There Likes Me” and what are some of the possible endings to these stories?