Blog Set #4

The story "The Star" by H.G Wells, to me seemed to be going nowhere. Yes it does fall under the science fiction genre but it really did not fascinate me in any way. What it does use is a lot of science, like using the word "observatories" and "instruments" which makes this story sound very legitimate. H.G Wells makes us feel a little tense when he wrote " "it is nearer!" (page 42) but I feel like that is the only sort of build-up we have going on in this story. I do like the fact that H.G Wells writes about when "it" is getting brighter and nearer, the people have a kind of tension and they start to think all these thoughts; whether it be final moment thoughts and how they would spend their last moments together or people thinking how fascinating the big bright light is and not really thinking about the end of their world as they know it. Some people are oblivious and some are not, I think if I saw a bright light coming from the sky I would start to question things like " is this bright thing that is approaching earth good or bad?" When you put yourself in that situations, reactions from many different people may vary but the result at the end is the same.

"Speech Sounds" by Octavia E. Butler I thought was really good. It shows how humanity works and that not everything is like a type of Utopia. The dystopic "near future" stated in this story is quite opposite that of a perfect society. This story to me shows how imperfect society is and miscommunication we have as people. Most of us do things on emotions while some logically think events through but that was not the case in this story. I still do not quite understand the reason or origin of the miscommunication but is shows how we use assumption and jump into conclusions. At the end Butler shows how communication is key to a civil society and that we must use it at all times.

Blog Set #3

       "That Only a Mother" had a very interesting setting. That being that it takes place in a middle class suburban home, when most people assume that most science fiction stories are portrayed in outer space or another weird environment. I think the setting on this story makes it relatable to the reader in the sense that most people live in middle class suburban houses, so it gives the reader a sense of belonging in the story. With that being said, in the story the baby has no legs or arms because of a mutation so it gives the reader an eerie feeling of relating but not relating at the same time. Throughout the story the mother to the limb-less child is somewhat oblivious (to me) that her daughter has no limbs, but somewhat acknowledges she has no limbs when she says "why a child of your intelligence can't learn to keep a diaper on the way other babies do" (page 217)  which to me signifies that she knew her baby had no arms or legs but ignored it to a point where she believed it and genuinely thought her baby had limbs. This story perfectly explains a mothers never ending and unconditional love. The child was perfect to her even though the baby came with flaws, which is what a lot of mothers still do till this day which is look past their child's imperfections and sees nothing but beauty. In a major way, this story and " We See Things Differently" both have to deal with the environment and post global war/terrorism.
       In the story " We See Things Differently" it clearly shows the "future" America in decline, but how? To me it is because the Americans only seem to have one person to look at as a sign of hope; who is Tom Boston. The fact that we only have one person (or so it seems) as a beacon of hope means to me that America has been wiped out in the sense that it is no longer the dream machine it once was. That it is no longer the go-getter country, and it certainly wasn't the land of hope it once was. This "future" America had people from all over trying to tear us down, which come to think of it is currently happening nowadays, but we haven't let them conquer. But in the America portrayed by Bruce Sterling, we lost that battle and started to decline.

Blog Set #2

As crazy or weird as it sounds, science fiction does reflect on humanity in more ways than one. Many (but not all) authors use a futuristic approach when it comes to their writing. Authors also use the theme of aliens, and in the story "Passenger" written by author Robert Silverberg, he uses both the futuristic and alien theme. For instance, around the third or fourth paragraph he talks to a compter and asks "her" what time and year it is. The year "Passenger" was written was in the year 1968, but the computer tells the narrator that it is the year 1987. Here is a clear use of the futuristic theme. I find it interesting because in today's world some people have Siri on their phones, and if you ask Siri was the date, time and weather are she will dictate it to you much like the computer told the narrator the date, time and the weather, and to me that is amazing because that technology that was being described in the story was nowhere near existent. In the next couple of paragraphs you see the theme of the future being used a lot. The computer makes a concoction in the kitchen for the hungover narrator and clearly in the 1960's this automated kitchen idea was not in existence either. Another theme that was used in "Passenger" was the aliens. What i noticed in the story was that the aliens took over the humans body as if the aliens where playing pretend, much like you do when you are a child. So these aliens posses these bodies and are free to do anything with them, which some find it to be a frightening idea; not be able to control your own thoughts or actions of the body.

In the story "Out Of All them Bright Stars", by author Nancy Kress uses the same alien but takes place in present 1985, except the alien in this story is friendly and does not have any harmful intentions onto the human race. The alien names "John" was a mild mannered, soft spoken, sweet alien who had nothing but good coming from him. He faced adversity and discrimination because of the fact that he was blue. Many where mean to "John" except for Sally Gourley, who saw the human essence in him unlike her boss and co-worker. This surely reflects onto humanity in the sense of racism or being a unique individual; because he was blue and didn't quite fit in. The fact that he was being threatened by the owner of the diner, in my perspective was wrong. Also reading the introduction was a great help and made me understand the essentials of science fiction writing, as well as how this genre slowly paved its path onto being one of the many popular genres to date.

Introduction

My name is Gabriela and this is my blog. Here is where you will get everything and anything about science fiction. This would have to be my favorite genre because of the fact of how the authors mind works while writing a novel on this genre. They create characters, and settings that are quite different in the sense that some take place in the future. I feel like many science fiction novels sparked ideas about the future and how it could or could not be. What machines, what kind of clothing or how will the government work in the future are just questions that some science fiction novels have answered, or try to answer. Hope you enjoy.