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How has your definition of SF changed throughout the course of this class?
All readers are shaped by their own “internal library,” or the cumulative effects of all the texts they have read.
How have your reading tendencies, practices, knowledge, and awareness changed over the course of this class?
What is the most useful thing, story, idea, practice, etc. that you have gained or experienced in this course?
And finally, for fun: what’s your favorite SF narrative, either inside or outside this class, in any format?

My definition of SF has changed throughout the course of this class because all I knew about SF before this class was based on television shows and movies. I learned about SF from classic SF books, which really gave me a new perspective on how wide the genre of SF can be. The stories we read we not all just aliens and space ships, but also technology, monsters, and robots. My reading tendencies, practices, knowledge and awareness changed over the course of this class because I learned how to read a text closer and think of it in totally different terms than I am used to. When we would discuss each text in class, my classmates and teacher prompts would raise questions and topics in the text that I never noticed when I read the short stories. I would literally be sitting in class thinking "how on earth did they get that from the text?" until we moved further in the class and it happened every discussion. I started to realize how much I learn from just talking about a text with other minds. The most useful idea I gained from this course is that a story can be ANYTHING the author wants it to be, and a good author, makes their story more than they ever dreamed it would be. Also I learned that fiction always benefits from going outside of t he standard storyline box. Throughout the whole course my favorite SF narrative was "For a Breath I Tarry" by Roger Zelazny. This is the story I chose to write my paper on and the story I feel i identified with most. I loved the main character Frost and his mentality and "heart". He knew what he wanted, and even though the odds were absolutely NOT in his favor, he persisted.

Thanks for everything AP! I really enjoyed your class!...which says a lot because I left my dorm at 7:30 to walk there every morning :D

Setting

Please address setting in at least one of the stories from this week ("Vaster than Empires" and "Bears Discover Fire"). How does setting help accomplish the work of the text? Why does setting matter?

In "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson, the setting that the story takes place in is Virginia. The main characters go from place to place though, including the highway, their home, a nursing home, the median, and the woods. The setting helps accomplish the work of the text because it adds character and flavor to the story. If the bears did not come on to the highway with their torches or sit around a campfire in the median, and stayed in the woods, the story would not be as comical. Also if the setting of the mother was not changed (from nursing home, to around a campfire with the bears) her death just would not have been the same and the overall effect of the story would be different. The main character, (I could not figure out his name) would not have felt so sentimental towards the bears had he, his mother, and his nephew not spent the evening with them, on the median, in the woods, around the bears' campfire. Overall, the setting in this story was not particularly far out there, but nonetheless unnatural. Bears do not normally congregate on logs around a campfire, while passing berries in a hubcap (haha).

I really enjoyed this story, I do not really know what the "point" to it is, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. I felt very at ease and amused as I read it. I want a bear friend with fire. :D

Nature and Enviroment

In class this week, we talked about how “nature” and “environment” are rather slippery terms. We also read an article that introduced ways of thinking about literature that discusses the nonhuman world. For this week’s blog, I’d like you to find something that uses one of these terms, such as a piece of writing, an advertisement, an image, a video (or movie, or TV show) etc. and discuss your source’s use of that term. How does this relate to our classroom discussion? Or to the reading we did for Tuesday? Please don’t forget to cite or link to the source you choose!

The source I chose for this blog post is the advertisement for REAL cigarettes posting in the course readings. REAL cigarettes is advertising a "natural" cigarette. What the company means by "natural" is that there is nothing artificial added to it, implying it is all tobacco which is a naturally occurring plant in the environment. In relation to our class discussion on what the meaning of "natural" is, I do not think these cigarettes are natural or apart of nature. Yes, cigarettes are made of tobacco and tobacco grows all on its own in nature, but cigarettes do not occur on their own in nature. Not to mention that the word natural usually implies healthy in this day and age, and there is definitely nothing healthy about cigarettes; artificial ingredients added or not.

On a different note, I do not think nature or environment can ever have a specific definition, as demonstrated in our "heated" class discussion (haha). There are so many different views on what nature and environment mean and they are all subjective. An indian that grew up in the jungle would have a totally different idea of what nature is compared to a person who grew up in New York City. Individual definitions of nature and environment depend on one's personal experiences in life and ideas about existence all around them.

Marx

Team, the theme or driving principle of this section of class has been Marx’s analysis of how society works: how work, money, and various ideologies such as religion or culture all interact to create life as we know it. For this week’s blog, take any of the stories from this section of class (the “Material World: Work, Culture, and Meaning” section) and look at it in terms of Marx’s ideas. Remember that the goal in using secondary sources like Marx is ultimately to explain either the text or one of its ideas; how does Marx either explain the world of the text or explain what the text is talking about? What can Marx teach us about this story?

In the story "Dead Space for the Unexpected", written by Geoff Ryman, the work force is dominated by machines that evaluate the worker's every action and situation response. The workers no longer find pride or accomplishment in the work they do if the score they get is not perfect. Success depends not on the actual creation or output, but on a machines evaluation of it. Marx would explain this new way of living as society conforming to a lifestyle dominated by machines. After years and years with technology, the top class would have made certain that technological advancements in every aspect of life would be attractive to all levels of society. Also, this would allow the ruling class to monitor everyone below them in the working class; those results have to be going somewhere, right? Therefore, the working class is working harder, always trying to improve their results, and never opposes advancements in society.

Personally, I agree with a lot of Marx's theories. The dominating class always tries to win the masses over, or to favor the top's way at least. When one looks through the different phases of history and the different ruling bodies, for example, Roman times or Medieval times, I think it makes these theories especially evident.

Novum

Often when someone in class asks, "Why is this story SF?" the answer we give him/her is the "novum" of the story: the extrapolatory technical device, concept, process, location, etc. that the story's author has invented for this story. It's the "new thing" that characterizes so many SF stories and makes them seem futuristic and cool. It's a concept coined by SF writer/critic Darko Suvin. For your blog, consider the concept of the novum. While many readers enjoy it purely for the shiny novelty value of a new thing, how can we as literary scholars discuss the novum in terms of the work we do? Why is it a valuable device? Why does SF use it? Think about the elements that make up the meaning in a story: - characters - plot - conflict - language/style - the reader - genre expectations specific to SF How does the novum create, enact, enhance, or enable any of those elements of the story? Why does SF use/need the novum? Use specific examples from our stories where applicable.

One of our assigned class readings this week was "Baby, You Were Great!" by Kate Wilhelm. In this short story the novum is a device that John Lewisohn created. It is a helmet that the user wears, with eight connection spots to the skull, and it allows the user to feel everything the other person (the one they are viewing) is feeling. In the case of "Baby, You Were Great!", it's pornographic and sexual stimulation. I think the novum is a valuable device in SF, because it places a totally out there device, thing, person, etc. into the lives of the characters and causes the reader to incorporate life with that novum into their imagination. In other words, it causes the reader to think more outside of the box. Literary scholars can discuss the novum in terms of their work because, especially in SF, the novum is often what the story is all about. While every story has a plot, often including love triangles, missions, and always something blocking those objectives, the novum is often the means the main plot or goal is attained through. SF needs a novum not only because it distinguishes a work as SF, but also to cause the main conflict. In "Baby, You Were Great!" the "emotion" machine ended up being John's only connection to Anne, Anne's inescapable nightmare, and Herb's moneymaking machine! All three of which caused the main characters conflicts with each other.

Personally, I like the literary device of the novum because it's usually awesome! In the stories we've read so far, while I wouldn't want the feeling device from "Baby, You Were Great!" or the machine that evaluates your performance from "Dead Space for the Unexpected" in my life, they are still incredibly interesting and cause me to think about what my future would be like with technology that advanced and incorporated into daily life. Already technology has taken over larger chunks of our lives than ever before. It can be scary at times.

:D

Close Focus Reading!

For my close focus reading, I want to use the following lines from "Liar" by Isaac Azimov.

    The psychologist paused in thought then looked up suddenly. "A girl visited him here at the plant half a year ago. She was pretty, I suppose -- blond and slim. And, of course, could scarcely add two and two. He spent all day puffing out his chest, trying to explain how a robot was put together." The hardness had returned, "Not that she understood! Who was she?" Herbie answered without hesitation, I know the person you are referring to. She is his first cousin, and there is no romantic interest there, I assure you."
    Susan Calvin rose to her feet with a vivacity almost girlish. "Now isn't that strange? That's exactly what I used to pretend to myself sometimes, though I never really thought so. Then it all must be true."
    She ran to Herbie and seized his cold, heavy hand in both hers. "Thank you, Herbie." Her voice was an urgent, husky whisper. "Don't tell anyone about this. Let it be our secret -- and thank you again." With that, and a convulsive squeeze of Herbie's unresponsive metal fingers, she left.
    Herbie turned slowly to his neglected novel, but there was no one to read his thoughts.

This scene in "Liar" is the scene where all of Susan Calvin's wildest hopes are confirmed: Milton Ashe loves her. Not only is she still learning about Herbie's "capabilities" but she receives just the information that will propel her into action towards the man she wants.

The opening line states her to be a psychologist, rather than just calling her Dr. Calvin, drawing attention to her occupation of studying behavior. Dr. Calvin was very involved emotionally in this scene, she paused in thought, contemplating the words she heard before this scene that grant her heart's desire. Her looking up "suddenly" puts a picture in the reader's mind of her snapping back into reality with excitement and waiting for the next answer. She notes that the girl was touring the plant half a year ago, pointing out that she kept track of the time that had passed, showing she really cares. When Calvin mentions she was pretty "I suppose" she is clearly very bitter and jealous towards this women. She points out the only flaws in the women she can compensate for, brains. Her jealousy even causes her to criticize Ashe, saying he was "puffing out his chest". Calvin once again bursts out, not at all hiding her frustration, saying "Not that she understood! Who was she?". Herbie was reluctant to solve her problems, or anyone's for that matter. He answered without hesitation, which shows just what kind of robot he was, he wanted to tell Calvin everything that would make her happy. Herbie is very specific and reassuring, he states "I assure you". Susan can no longer contain her excitement at this point in the scene and completely allows her thoughts and emotions unravel. The following lines of,
"Now isn't that strange? That's exactly what I used to pretend to myself sometimes, though I never really thought so. Then it all must be true."She ran to Herbie and seized his cold, heavy hand in both hers. "Thank you, Herbie.", really work to intensify the conflict of the story. If Calvin was not so excited and involved here, there would be no way for her to be let down and crushed so harshly in the end of the story. Next Calvin swears him to secrecy, which only she follows through with in the end of the story by destroying Herbie to keep her secrets safe. The last scene really invokes a sadness in the reader, making them feel bad for Herbie. He was no one. Especially the italics in his thoughts. It just makes the reader think "Aw Herbie needs help too!"

Reader-response

The concept of the week is the reader-response method of dealing with text. As you recall from class, this means that when you write about a text you walk us through your own idiosyncratic response to the text, explaining what you experienced and why. What can we learn from your reader's response to a text? Choose any of this week's or last week's stories to look at via the reader-response method ("When it Changed," "All You Zombies--", "Bloodchild," "Nekropolis," "Something to Hitch Meat To," or "Kirinyaga").

The story I want to write my reader's response on is "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick. When I first began reading the story I was excited, because I love learning about Africa and the ways of life there. However, I know that tribes have weird and sometimes unethical rituals in the eyes of outsiders, and the particular rituals the Kikuyu performed in "Kirinyaga" were hard for me to get past. I hate the idea of killing little babies, but also understand that to a person with the Kikuyu people's customs and religion, it is necessary. When Barbara Eaton came to negotiate with Koriba, the tribe's mundumugu, I kept thinking "Just give her the babies, witch doctor!!!!" because I was personally frustrated by their rituals. Eaton did not understand either and ended up leaving with no new terms with the tribe. For Koriba though, abandoning their native rituals is absolutely out of the question. He is the tribe's spiritual leader, and he is clearly going to stay devoted to keeping his tribe whole, no matter what the cost. Even the chief and other leaders tried convincing him to give in and he took a firm stand for their religion, leaving all of them feeling guilty. I know that the ritual at hand is obviously very controversial, AND I personally think it's totally wrong, but it made me relate it to myself. It's just the same as a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or any religion being told to conform and stop doing something that is part of everything they believe, and in essence, who they are. While in my eyes it is viewed as murder and stupid, in the eyes of the Kikuyu it is sacred and actually beneficial.
On a side note, the mention of Kirinyaga being on a planet other than Earth was totally confusing and out of place to me, but it did remind me that I was reading SF (haha).

Gender

Gender's role in fiction reflects this type of real-world problem. For this week, I'd like you to take a story from either this week or last week and think about it in terms of gender and the complexities that arise due to the way in which our genetic code is not necessarily the same as our behavior.

In "When it Changed" by Joanna Russ, the society on the planet Whileaway is completely made up of women. When men come back to the planet, inviting the women to come back to the newly "gender equal" earth, the women are offended and refuse. They grew up in a place where men had not been present for thirty generations, therefore they are completely sufficient without men, and partake in activities that are traditionally divided between men and women by gender roles. With regard to certain physical capabilities, women and men can do the same ordinary tasks equally. The men were baffled and disagreed with their lifestyles, simply because it was not the way they were conditioned to believe women should behave in life. The men wanted to be "manly" but so did the women, however, the women thought that the very concept of a "manly role" existing was wrong. I just think it is crazy that gender roles are so prevalent and normal in societies all over the world, to the point where we do not even notice them. It is only when I read stories like this, or a feminist article, that I realize how influenced I am by my environment. I do not tend to have any strong views on feminism or the like, but I do think individuals should be able to do whatever they want and act however they want without being discriminated against or pointed out. Unfortunately gender roles are so pressed on society and ingrained in who we are, when someone is acting out of their role it is hard to not see them as weird and/or more masculine or feminine. Not only that, but we have a tendency to think something just is not “right” with that individual. It is all very bizarre to me and makes me think about how we are all brainwashed to a certain point from birth (haha).

On a side note, really liked the way Simone de Beauvoir spoke on the subject as “the Other” in The Second Sex. It was a new point of view to me and I actually agree with a lot of it. I think most women do view themselves as “the other” without even realizing it, when in reality we are all created equal. These past few stories have been VERY interesting and mind-bending for me.

End of Robots, Computers, and Science!

"Burning Chrome" marks our last story in the "Robots, Computers, and Science" section of the class. I often like to take these section divisions to use as a time for reaction: what has this section of the course taught you? Things you may wish (but don't have to) think about:
- how has this section of the course met or thwarted your expectations of SF?
- what practical literary techniques have you learned that are valuable to you?
- What story from this section do you think best achieves/exemplifies the goals of SF? How so?

            The section of the course on Robots, Computers, and Science has definitely met my expectations for SF. Every story was SO different, and all the authors had totally different ways of telling their short stories. Some were in chronological order, some blatant and straightforward, others mysterious and scattered; it was a nice variety to read. I did not realize how broad of a genre SF was until reading all these different stories. “Liar,” “Algorithms for Love,” “Second Variety,” and “Frankenstein” all discussed artificial life, but in totally different ways. However, one thing they all had in common was that the artificial life ending up not being a good thing and the creator was usually left at the mercy of the created. The other three stories all touched on alternate realities, whether it was the supposed future in “Take Your Choice,” the new and transformed mind in “Flowers for Algernon,” or the inside of the computer systems and the different world the story took place in, in “Burning Chrome”. We have only read seven stories and already we have covered a wide variety of topics and writing techniques used in SF. The literary techniques I learned include using metaphors, different ways of describing time, the technique of leaving out certain facts so the reader must infer, and details, details, details! Also this particular array of authors all wrote in different tones, which really held the stories together, plus some authors revealed the main characters thoughts more than others. However, of all the stories in this section, I think “Algorithms for Love” best achieves the goals of SF. Not only was it my favorite story in the section, but also it tackled much larger issues than the other stories. The main character, Elena, was dealing with her own nervous breakdown and the destruction of her marriage, and all because of robots! She created them and made them so lifelike she wondered what was different about her human life and that of her robots. Eventually this all led to her demise, whether literal or symbolic is up for the reader to imagine.

Theme-#3

For this week’s blog, I’d like you to identify and discuss a theme in one of this week’s stories: either “Second Variety” or “Take Your Choice.”


Of the two stories we read this week, "Second Variety" and "Take Your Choice", I want to discuss the theme of uncertainty in "Take Your Choice". From the very start, the reader is just kind of thrown in to the story. The main character (who's name we do not know) is found wandering around looking for a "swimming equipment" store. I found myself feeling just as confused as him. Once the main character is inside the room with the three doors, he still does not know what to make of everything. He cannot get a straight answer to any of his questions from the "little man". If I were in his position I would feel incredibly irritated at the little man for not answering my questions, when I am about to give him two million five hundred thousand credits! He is there because he wants to change his future, which is a huge decision, and the "time travelers" give him such a short amount of time to choose which future. As I progressed in the story, I was more and more anxious and thinking, "What's the catch?" while the man who wanted the new future slowly convinced himself the whole show was legitimate. Overall, the reader knows that it was all a hoax in the end but the main character is completely in the dark, and actually believes he is in an alternate reality.

On a different note, I really liked the ending of the story when the two men that put on the time machine scam discussed what the world would be like with all these people thinking it will end in a decade. The human mind is so powerful, once something is in our heads it is hard for it to not shape and influence us. All the people that chose that reality will very possibly take the steps that lead to the destruction they chose and end up making it happen.

Conflict- Algorithms for Love

I’d like you to take a character that you’re interested in from this week’s reading and look at him/her/it in terms of our classroom definition of conflict. Questions that may be useful to you to think about as you write: What does s/he/it desire? What blocks that desire or prevents him/her/it from achieving that desire? How does that blocked desire make the plot of the story go? What’s the resolution? Why are you drawn to this conflict/character?

This week we read Frankenstein and The Algorithms for Love. Of the two stories, I liked Algorithms for Love the most. It really made me think and wonder, as well as attempt to relate it to today, what with all crazy technology coming out every year. The character from The Algorithms for Love that I want to look at in terms of our classroom definition of conflict is Elena. In the beginning Elena desired to create an amazing, intelligent doll, which she accomplished. Elena's doll, Clever Laura, was so popular the company could not keep up with the orders. As the story progresses, her doll creations become better and more advanced, she marries Brad, and her next desire is for a baby of her own, with Brad. The story never really elaborates on what was wrong with their baby, but their baby Aimee only lived for ninety-one days in intensive care. Therefore, Aimee's death prevented Elena from having what she desired most. The entire story is a result of what the loss of Aimee did to Elena. Elena completely lost it and wanted to create a robot child to help her, and mothers all over that lost their children cope. This began to destroy her marriage, and eventually her career. Her most remarkable creation, Tara, who looked like a five-year-old, was so human-like that Brad did not realize it was not a real child until Elena told him. Elena's entire mind was consumed with the idea that she was no different than robots and that there is an algorithm for everything in life, when in reality, she was just over-analyzing. One day she could not take it any longer and she destroyed Tara with a hammer. The story was not in chronological order, and began with Brad checking her out of a mental hospital. I did not really have a clear picture of everything that happened until the end of the story. Apparently Elena had attempted to commit suicide and Brad had her committed into the hospital. The story ends with Elena committing suicide again and leaves it to the reader's imagination as to whether she was successful or not. I was drawn to this conflict because I felt that it was very relevant to today. There are so many intelligent computers coming out that are more and more like a human brain. It is bizarre imagine but I think one day soon these types of conflicts will be more and more common.

As a side note, until we discussed the end of the story in class I had never thought about the possibility of Elena being dead in the last scene of the story and the doll picking up her sound waves. I thought that was really interesting and it totally changed the impression the story left on me when I thought of that possible ending. :D

Post #1 Science Fiction

January 13, 2012

1. How do you define SF?

2. What has your experience/exposure to SF been? How comfortable/familiar with SF are you? What do you like/know about this genre? What do you not know? What are your hopes and fears for this class?

Hmm, how do I define SF? When I think of SF the first thoughts that come to mind would definitely have to do with Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. I usually relate SF to space, technology and the future, as do most. It was not until we began talking about SF in class that I realized some of my favorite movies and stories are apart of the SF genre. My love for SF absolutely comes from my dad. I grew up watching Star Wars and going to the midnight show on opening nights; plus my dad watched Star Trek every night. I would definitely consider myself a dreamer, so when it comes to movies and books, I love anything that is imaginative. I love that SF/fantasy creates a whole new reality for the viewer or reader to live in for a short time, it can be a nice form of escape. I cannot count the number of times I have been reading a book and finally looked outside or looked at the clock to realize the whole day has passed. A good book makes me forget to eat (haha). I have already learned so much about SF that I did not know in just our beginning classes. I would like to learn more about the specifics of what makes something SF or not, even though I know it is a vague line. My hopes for this class include genuinely enjoying it, which I already do. It is nice when a required credit (LIT) is interesting and fun. Also it is a literature class so I know we will be doing plenty of writing, which scares me. So pretty much I would like to come out of this class being more confident of my writing skills, story analyzing, and a broad knowledge of SF.

-Thanks!
:D

Tara Caguiat