Sense Of Wonder In Science Fiction

The term ‘sense of wonder’ can be identified as a reaction, albeit physical or emotional, created within and by the reader/viewer, to the works of science fiction. A sense of wonder is specifically associated with the works of science fiction, as opposed to any other modes of work. A sense of wonder is an important element in the works of science fiction as it allows the works of science fiction to grow as a genre and expand in what it encompasses as a category. The feeling of wonder that is created within the reader/viewer allows the reader to have some form of control/power over the writers of science fiction themselves. Science fiction is built on the feeling of wonder – wonder drives and generates science fiction as a genre and so science fiction requires a sense of wonder to work and move forward as a genre. In order to understand the importance of ‘a sense of wonder’ in the works of science fiction, it is key to highlight the definition attached to ‘wonder’ and the ‘sense of wonder’. Jeff Prucher specifically defines a ‘sense of wonder’ as: A feeling of awakening or awe triggered by an expansion of one’s awareness of what is possible or by confrontation with the vastness of space and time, as brought on by reading science fiction.
Prucher explicitly attaches a sense of wonder to be a feeling ‘brought on by reading science fiction’, as opposed to a feeling prompted by any other forms of work. This feeling of awe emphasises science fiction as a mode of work which