Essays: Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov

Submitted By quickjinx
Words: 468
Pages: 2
Open Document
Diego Reyes
Pd.7

Advanced Technology vs. Society The science fiction genre is shown in both stories, in "August 2026" by Ray Bradbury and "The Machine That Won The War" by Isaac Asimov. In "August 2026" Ray uses personification and irony, Isaac uses an epiphany and symbolism. Even in the most complicated situations we humans go through, we are most likely to ask for help. There is where technology comes into place in our lives, to make our lives that much simpler. But what both authors are trying to convey is that technology always has needed human intervention for it to work efficiently.

"The Machine That Won the War,” by Isaac Asimov, is a story that teaches a valuable lesson about humanity and also has an ironic twist at the end. After all the time and effort put in to making the Multivac to make decisions but in the end the people ended up making the final decision for themselves. Jablonsky said, "But I could never be certain that what Multivac seemed to say, it really did say; or what it really said, it really meant. I could never be certain," this epiphany clearly indicates the sudden realization that in the end Henderson was the one that knew all of the information but just didn't necessarily want all the pressure on him. The coin toss symbolizes how difficult we make it on ourselves, in the end something as simple as a coin toss was better than a programmed computer making it for them.

In "August 2026," Ray Bradbury uses personification to indicate the human like behaviors and actions of the technology controlling the house. With the house not be attended technology seemed to keep on functioning as if there were people in the house. But it's ironic how something as simple as a branch
Show More

Related Documents: Essays: Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov

Essay about science fiction novels

12060 Definition Essay July 16, 2012 Science Fiction novels Science fiction novels are literacy genre which has antecedents back to mythology. Its earliest pioneers are H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds and Jules Vernes’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. However science fiction actually exploded in the twentieth century when the industrial revolution gave rise to so many new inventions based on the scientific principles discovered in the previous centuries. It is a genre of fiction, a kind of imaginative…

Words 563 - Pages 3

The Universe Rigid

Isaac Asimov wasn’t the only person who considered the future during the 60s and got it right. The science fiction author and biochemist looked at the world 50 years into time at New York City’s World Fair in 1964. He proposed the thought of cars with “Robot-brains”, now known as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Asimov believed that one day robots would replace human workers. He also envisioned kitchen units to be able to heat water, fry eggs, grill bacon, etc. Today, most homes come equip with…

Words 942 - Pages 4