Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Humanity in Science Fiction
After this weeks readings, I began to realize most good works of science fiction carry a moral message. The two stories that stood out to me were Weep for Day and The Man. Both of these stories are very much science fiction and do not relate to our world nearly as much as stories like Little Brother and Homeland. In Weep for Day, Valyzia begins to feel compassion for the Nightmares. Seeing Shadow chained up and helpless even induced her to vomit. She is adamant about Velag not joining the military to fight the scared Nightmares and eventually devotes her life to the research of Night. She claims that if they die, it is not because Nightmares but because they have a want for knowledge. In The Man, Ziyi treats the copy of the man as a real person because it seems like a real person. The thought of him being vivisected by Sergey was too much and she shot the man to spare him the agony. Are the moral dilemmas proposed in these stories meant to make people respect nonhumans more? Did you agree with Valyzia and Ziyi or did you view the Nightmares or man as a subhuman, worthless creature? Why is it important to not be biased against other species?
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I never made a direct connection between the two stories in terms of their morals per say. I did interpret "Weep for a Day" as a lesson about respecting other cultures and questioning the nature of expansion. Specifically I associated it with the demonetization of Native Americans during the USA's expansion. I also related it to the use of propaganda in military recruitment and mobilization during war. A state must demonize its enemy to keep up the war effort.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Man" I simply interpreted the story on a personal level. Ziyi developed an attachment to The Man and began to see him as a person, healing herself long after the loss of her family on Earth.
I think "Weep for Day" uses these subhuman species "Nightmares" to sort of teach us a lesson about respecting the unknown. Our history is tainted with the mistreatment of other cultures and races just because they are different. I think this story demonstrates the violent past of American history against Native Americans and African Americans, and how they were unable to see past their fear of the unknown. I liked how Valyzia was able to see past the nightmare and have compassion for the creature and devote her life to trying to discover what else was out there, and show the world that there might be a different moral side to the nightmares.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Man" I did not really connect Ziyi to Valyzia, but after you pointed it out I can see where you are coming from. I felt that Ziyi was really just trying to compensate for what she had lost, and by developing a personal attachment to The Man she was able to fill the void in her heart.