The Machine Stops

"The Machine Stops" is a very interesting story. It depicts a society wholly reliant on social media and Internet technology for communication in all forms, where people live underground and separate from one another, and spend most of their time on their devices.

The most interesting part? The story was written in 1909.

Do you see parallels in what he writes with today's world? Was the man some sort of prophet?

Objectives:

Our goals for this project are simple:

Analyze the social implications of technology development through the lens of various media, including literature, film, and journalism.
After reading “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster, choose an aspect of the story and discuss how it seems to predict our current state of technology and/or society today.

How to Complete - Your Task

Read the story. It's a little longer than a short story, but should go pretty quickly and is an easy read. I recommend this site to get the text but there are other sites holding it as well (it's in the public domain): https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
What struck you? What stood out to you in reading this story? What connections do you see to today's world in the characters, what they do or represent, or the dystopian future in which they live?
Write about it. What you choose to write about is open - our goal is simply to do some analysis on this story to understand it and how it relates to today. Your paper should be at least 2-3 pages in length.
If you're stuck for where to go with your analysis, consider any of the following questions for guidance:
- Though this story was written more than 100 years ago, what parallels can you draw to what’s happening today with the Internet, mobile phones, social media, the way we do business, and so forth? Was Forster on to something?
- Another interesting story about futuristic technological advances in a dystopian society comes from Kurt Vonnegut called "Harrison Bergeron." Read this short story, written in 1961, and compare and constrast it with "The Machine Stops."
- What does Forster's story imply about future medical and environmental advances? Are there any correlations with what's actually happening today?
- How does the contemporary society of 1909 that Forster lived in contribute to this story? What are the societal, cultural, and historical influences present here?
- Can you draw a correlation between this story and others that we may be more familiar with in today’s popular science fiction? Which ones, and how are they similar?
- Consider the entirety of the story, and also consider specifically the ending. Is “The Machine Stops” a hopeful story, or a cynical and cautionary one? In what ways?

Turning it in

Submit your paper to the assignment in Module 3 of our BlackBoard Course

How you're graded

	Unacceptable	Beginning	Developing	Proficient
Introduction and Thesis 7 points	Not submitted	Thesis is unclear and unsupported, or misunderstands assignment or the text.	Thesis is somewhat clear and somewhat supported with concrete details and commentary.	Thesis is very clear and well developed. Main points are introduced clearly. Interpretation is supported throughout with concrete details & appropriate commentary.
Evidence 5 points	Not submitted	Evidence given doesn't support argument, or very little evidence is given at all.	Evidence is present and sometimes supports argument.	Evidence draws on direct quotations often to support argument with persusasive and effective choices in evidence.
Analysis 8 points	Not submitted	Ideas/evidence not well explained in body paragraphs. Evidence not used to connect to the argument in the essay.	Supports argument of the essay, though ideas may be obvious or basic.	Creative/original thought interpreting the evidence.
Grammar and Mechanics 5 points	The paper contains more than three major spelling and/or grammatical mistakes; OR is not turned in.	The paper contains two to three major spelling and/or grammatical mistakes.	The paper contains only a small number of minor spelling and/or grammatical mistakes.	The paper contains no spelling and/or grammatical mistakes.

Resources

Video versions: The story has been treated in several video formats over the years. YouTube allows us to view some of these:

From Out of the Unknown, a British TV series in the 1960s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvrGUnIFuRs
A short film interpretation by the Freise Brothers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRIlegVJIoQ