Superior Essay Writers | The Machine Stops

The Machine Stops

1.This story was written in 1909. What modern technologies did Forster capture? List five.

2.Why is Vashti irritated in general? How does this relate to our society?

What gives Kuno an idea? Why does “this” inspire him?
After talking to Kuno, “For a moment, Vashti felt lonely” (3). What comforts her? Are there any parallels with our society today?

5.What does Vashti’s ritual with the Book of the Machine remind you of? Why is this significant? (Machine is not a proper noun. Why does Forster always capitalize it?)

What does the following passage mean? “Rapid intercourse, from which the previous civilization had hoped so much, had ended by defeating itself. What was the good of going to Pekin when it was just like Shrewsbury? Why return to Shrewsbury when it would all be like Pekin? Men seldom moved their bodies; all unrest was concentrated in the soul.”
What does this passage symbolically convey: “The sun had conquered, yet it was the end of his spiritual dominion. Dawn, midday, twilight, the zodiacal path, touched neither men’s lives not their hearts, and science retreated into the ground, to concentrate herself upon problems that she was certain of solving.”
Why is it ironic that Vashti hides Greece behind a metal blind, saying “no ideas here?”
What is “Homelessness”?
Where did Kuno go? Why? (What is symbolically significant about this society living underground?)

11.Why does the narrator seemingly argue against learning “first-hand?” How does this tie to the earlier comments about avoiding “direct experience?”

Kuno states that “[h]umanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself.” How does this connect to Vashti’s request that the Machine grant her euthanasia?
What is happening to The Machine?
What lesson does Kuno argue that humanity has learned?
The theme (or narrative argument of “The Machine Stops” is _____________________________________.

Helpful article? https://interestingliterature.com/2021/02/em-forster-the-machine-stops-summary-analysis/

Sample Solution

group of Nottingham workers met in private, planning to destroy machinery. They felt their skills for the crafts they had learned and mastered were being forgotten, as machines replaced labour. The physical way in which the Luddites functioned did not require literacy, yet they generated a large following, this was in part due to the amount of attention vandalising machines would receive, in the form of reward posters, that unintentionally advertised the movement. Though it must be mentioned, the Luddites did write threatening letters to officials and factory owners. This physical approach of protest however, did not work in their favour as the hostility was eventually met by military force. Luddites being shot by factory owners was also a frequent occurrence. The motives behind the Luddites were radical, if they were politically inclined instead, they might have been more successful. In addition to the development of protest towards the industrial revolution, this also represents the drastic and violent response of the government. This reward poster, accounts the time a group of masked men armed with hammers, clubs and pistols entered a factory destroying five stocking frames. The poster offers 200 pounds to anyone who can supply information about the offending individuals. 200 pounds was a considerable payout in 1812. However, it cannot be ruled out that this reward might also have been aimed at members within the Luddites group, as a member on the inside would have been able to bring down the Luddite movement incredibly effectively. The last paragraph states: ‘WE the under-signed Workmen of the above-named George Ball, do hereby certify that we were employed in working the under-mentioned frames…when the mob came to break them…we had never been abated in our Work…by the said George Ball, our master ; of whom we never complained, or had any Reason so to do.’>

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