questions part two

Study Questions – Part I of E. M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops”

As you are reading, pay attention to any dystopian characteristics you see.  Who are they?

List:

a) People who believe they live in a perfect world. The waiter on the plane and the other people lives in the machine.

b) People who are really totally controlled. vashti

c) There is at least one character that recognizes the flaw in the society. kuno

d) Those who are unwilling to accept the truth about the society. kuno

e) A major flaw in the society will eventually destroy the society. When the machine is not working very well and ill people and old people stat distrust the machine.

1.     What does Vashti look like? Vashti is the people the machine really controlled and she thinks she just lives in the machine, she did not treat the machine like a god but really at the end of the story, she treat the machine like a god, she pray to the machine. Write one quotation that supports your answer.

2.    Describe Vashti’s connections with others. (What has enabled Vashti to be accessible to other people?) vashti can talk to other people through the video, the things vashti enabled to do is she only can talk and see the people but she cannot touch them.

3.    Describe the relationship between Vashti and Kuno. The relationship between those two people is parents and child. But when kuno tell vashti that he thinks machine is not good, she felt shame to give birth to this child. When vashti knows kuno will be a homeless she felt angry and sad.  Give at least two quotations to support your answer.

4.     What does the Book of the Machine say about “parenting responsibilities”? parent only have to give birth to the child and machine will take care of child for rest of his or her life. Does Vashti feel responsible for Kuno? No, when kuno tell her that the machine gone stop, she do not trust him and when kuno ask her to come over, she said is too far and she do not want go. This shows vashti do not care about kuno very much.  Find a quotation to support your answer.

5.    What is Vashti’s reaction to Kuno’s desire to walk on the surface of the earth? She is very surprise and she wants to know why he made this decision.

6.    Why does Vashti decide to visit Kuno? Because kuno whats to tell some things to vashti, but kuno do not want talk through the machine. Describe the ordeal that this presents for her.

7.    After talking to Kuno, “For a moment, Vashti felt lonely.” What comforts her? She go on her video and start to talking to other people.

8.    What does the word “ideas” mean in the story? Everybody lives in the machine should not have any idea and they just do what machine tell them do and do come up with the idea that is against the machine’s law. How do Kuno and Vashti differ on this? Kuno think new idea can improve people’s lives and vashti thinks idea are breaking the law.

9.    Does religion of any sort exist in this mechanical society? Yes, people in this story treat the machine like a god and when machine stops working, everyone pray to the machine hope it will work again. Support your answer.

10.  At the end of section one, what is the irony in Vashti’s statement, “No ideas here,” when she views Greece from the air ship? Greece is a country come up with many different ideas and their ideas influence the Europe’s history. But vashti said there are no ideas in Greece.