ipl-logo

Changing Themes In Tom Godwin's The Cold Equations '

512 Words3 Pages

A Stowaway in the Space Tom Godwin’s The Cold Equations clearly shows how much technology can affect people’s lives, and it can even let them live outside of the planet but it also limits the range of freedom. In this short story The Cold Equations, Godwin uses Barton and Marilyn’s changing characters and the setting of the story to convey several different themes. First of all, Godwin focuses on Barton’s changing character to show the theme regarding the laws of nature. For example, the narrator says “men could learn to use them, but men could not change them” (176) which shows the irrevocableness and immutableness of the law. Since Marilyn is discovered in the ship, by the law, she must be jettisoned right away. However, Barton thinks that she can not be blamed for her ignorance of the law since “she was of Earth and had not realized that the laws of the space frontier” (167). Although Barton has a good heart and is quickly moved from jettisoning men to compassion about jettisoning a young girl. He can not do anything for her except send the last letter she wrote to her family, which reveals that the laws of nature are heartless and unchangeable no matter who you are. Through these carefully crafted linguistic description, Godwin shows the coldness and …show more content…

For instance, Marilyn keeps saying that “you’re going to make me die and I didn’t do anything to die for- I didn’t do anything” (183) through this story because personally she just wants to see her brother and there is nothing wrong with that point, but by the law and other six people’s lives includes Barton, there is no other way for her to choose. Even though Marilyn is a young girl who does not get a chance to experience and see the world, she has to go. Through Marilyn’s changing character, Godwin shows the hopelessness and difficulty that need to be confronted during a short

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of The Cold Equations By Tom Godwin

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story “ The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin the author creates the thematic opposition of doing what’s morally right versus what’s expected or guidelines that must be followed. In the end following the guidelines prevails even though it causes some pain but saves other people from having a similar fate as that of the girls. In the story there’s a man that is flying on an EDS short for Emergency Dispatch Ship and this man is flying to help group one on the planet of Woden. And in doing so he discovers that a stowaway had hidden on his EDS, but what shocks the pilot the most is that the stowaway wasn’t some petty thief or wanted fugitive but rather a teenage girl. As standard procedure for something like that happening the stowaway

    Read More

  • Cass Mastern Character Analysis

    1033 Words  | 5 Pages

    1. Cass Mastern’s story, though at first seemingly unnecessary and random, shares many elements and themes with Jack’s life. The story of Jack Burden and Cass Mastern are alike in that they involve the cycle of betrayal, guilt, and the burden of responsibility. Cass Mastern commits the ultimate betrayal- he sleeps with his best friend’s wife. Duncan Trice, who was “passionately and single-mindedly devoted to his wife”, commits suicide upon finding out of the affair with a “lead slug nearly the size of a man’s thumb in his chest” (Warren 4.237-243).

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing In Tom Godwin's The Cold Equation

    1195 Words  | 5 Pages

    For example, when he was reading a disk slowly to delay the “inevitable.” The captain trying to ease what he and the narrator obviously understand, seen through the pessimistic diction. All foreshadowing points towards her death, so why is there hope? It is through biases. With the story focusing on such tragic and hopeless word choice like on page 12, where Marilyn's brother exclaims “what have you done”, being described as “the cry of a man who calls hopeless and desperate.”

    Read More

  • Light And Dark In Erik Larson's The Devil In The White City

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    Describing, and living the emotional rollercoaster between each character as they grew in success or perished in horrible ways. This book transforms the human mind through each one of the literary challenges that Larson uses to make a deeper connection to the readers. It takes you to a new state of mind when in Holmes head, and gives you inside look of how, and what a serial killer thinks. Yet with Burnham it gives you a inside look at the growth of the city, and the bond between people. This book would not be complete without the contrasting of the light and dark, heaven and hell, and good and evil aspect

    Read More

  • What Are The Themes In The Novel 'Will' By Maria Boyd

    184 Words  | 1 Pages

    Maria Boyd’s novel “Will” clearly demonstrates and showcases multiple existing values, beliefs and ideologies. One such theme which we constantly see is that of depression. Throughout the novel, this theme is challenged and developed on. One such example Will, the protagonist, and his one sided conversations with his deceased father. This constant reminiscence of his father are only present in the latter half of the book when the theme of depression is much more prevalent.

    Read More

  • Technology In Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'

    1189 Words  | 5 Pages

    Being sucked into technology is like only seeing straight ahead, and not aware that the entire world is there. When someone is so focused in their own world it makes people become distant and not aware of other people, and being aware of people starts conversation and communication, which has been lost between nearly every citizen living in their society. Montag remembers, “One time, as a child, in a power failure, his mother had found and lit a last candle and there had been a brief hour of rediscovery, of such illumination that space lost its vast dimensions…and they, mother and son, alone, transformed, hoping that the power might not come on again too soon” (5). Technology pulls people apart, and when technology is not operational, people come together again and the feeling changes the perspective from which one views technology. The technology, in addition, is creating an “illusion bubble” which causes people to think that they are safe and content, but in reality, however, there is an atomic war happening, and technology causes people to think that their “bubble” is reality; they cannot tell what is real and what is not.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Veldt 'And Cooking Time' By Ray Bradbury

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Technology is becoming a more significant influence in today's society as each day passes. People become more reliant on technology which can end up being bad. As technology advances, people make more advancements to make everyday tasks easier for people, which can lead to everyone being dependent on technology. In the texts “The Veldt” and “Cooking Time” the two authors Ray Bradbury and Anita Roy talk about technology advancements and the society it creates. Bradbury and Roy use the conventions of science fiction to critique society on how scientific advancements can be bad.

    Read More

  • How Does Ray Bradbury Use Figurative Language In Fahrenheit 451

    1086 Words  | 5 Pages

    Some have named Ray Bradbury “the uncrowned king of the science-fiction writers” because of his imagination and beautiful way of making Fahrenheit 451 come to life. The book Fahrenheit 451 is one of the first books to deal with a future society filled with people who have lost their thirst for knowledge and for whom literature is a thing of the past. The author mainly portrays this world from the point of view of Montag, a man who has discovered the power that knowledge contains and is coming to grips with the fact that it is outlawed. However, the reader also gets to see what life is like for one of the people content in living a life lacking in independent thought and imagination through his wife, Millie.

    Read More

  • In Cold Blood Perry Smith Character Analysis

    514 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, there is no hero. The protagonist is not a hero, nor the law enforcement. Heroism becomes irrelevant when searching for justice following a tragedy such as the one seen on November 15th, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas. Complexity, next to justice, is primary to put into account during the aftershocks . Perry Smith is the protagonist in the novel, not only due to author’s bias but also due to his sheer dynamic, a man disconnected from word to action.

    Read More

  • Free Will In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

    1059 Words  | 5 Pages

    However, once the murder of the family occurs, everything changes. The author says, “Once a thing is set to happen, all you can do is hope it won’t. Or will- depending. As long as you live there’s always something waiting, and even if it’s bad, and you know it’s bad, what can you do? You can’t stop living.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Tom Godwin's Short Story 'The Cold Equations'

    506 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tom Godwin’s short story “The Cold Equations” illustrates how one should think of and become accepting of their consequences whether it's deserved or not. The story is about an Emergency Dispatch Ship, also known as an EDS, with the pilot on a mission to give a group of six men who have a fatal fever. The pilot, Barton, during his mission finds a stowaway named Marilyn found in a small closet on the ship. Marilyn was a young girl trying to go to Mimir, for she had a destination waiting and hoped to see her brother who she hasn't seen in 10 years, but little did she know that there was a previously set protocol that determines the life of a stowaway. Barton had sympathy for the girl and did his best to help her by contacting headquarters and asked if there was any way he could spare Marilyn’s life

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Technology

    958 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is important to not let it overwhelm people like it has done in the novel, Fahrenheit 451. Technology should not replace the ability to think, but rather be used as a tool to enrich people’s lives, providing opportunities to learn and communicate quickly. It should not replace real face-to-face interactions or reading books. People should set boundaries with their use of technology and be mindful of the control it can have over themselves. Breaks from technology allows individuals to explore and expand their minds.

    Read More

  • A Thing Like Me Analysis

    913 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “A Thing Like Me” by Nicholas Carr, even though it is not written, the author suggests that tools and technology are replacing human interactions and directly result in separation from the outside

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Harrison Bergeron

    1823 Words  | 8 Pages

    His work in science fiction includes technology in the human equation. The short story “Harrison Bergeron”, is about a society where everyone is equal and no one is different than another. But one character, Harrison tries

    Read More

  • The Role Of Technology In Ray Bradbury's Short Stories

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bradbury believes that technology is a benefactor when it comes to the aid of people’s lives. However, Bradbury is also wary of the unintentional hazards technological innovation may cause, and fears technology that seems to replace human responsibility. Bradbury sums up his doubts, stating that technology should never come at the expense of human life. These ideologies are displayed throughout the following short stories: “The Veldt,” “There Will Come Soft Rains,” and “A Sound of Thunder.” Each story contains the underlying theme that technology must be wielded with great care.

    Read More

More about Changing Themes In Tom Godwin's The Cold Equations '

Open Document