Tom Godwin's Cold Equations

“The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events: a marriage, or a last-minute rescue from death; but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.” – Fay Weldon

Minutes before her last breaths Gerry, her brother, signals them in the Stardust; so the two share their last few words before they lose signal. Now she must come to her fate, she is heaved into space, and she turns into an ugly shapeless figure. And Pilot Barton can only feel helpless, because there is nothing he can do for this 18-year-old-girl that just wanted to see her brother, and her words will run through his head haunting him for the rest of his life. One point the author makes that proves reality is ultimately favored is that the pilot has a very hard time killing a teenage girl because if it would have been a man he would have no problem but he has to kill the girl no matter the circumstances. The author says in the story "I 'm sorry." He spoke slowly to her, gently. "I should have told you before—I should have, but I had to do what I could first; I had to call the Stardust. You heard what the commander

In a fictional work titled Aye, and Gomorrah, Samuel Delany gives a first person account of the experiences that Spacers undergo. In it, Spacers are depicted as androgynous individuals who underwent the process of neutering during the onset of their adolescent period in a way that they can operate in space without experiencing the adverse impacts of the strong radiation (Delany 215). As a result of being neutered, they cannot have the capacity to engage in any act of sexual intercourse. Consequently, Spacers are selected from a set of children whose sexual reactions are hopelessly retarded during puberty, a time when most children are at

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

Risks are a possibility of loss or injury; all humans at least once in their lifetime have to do something risky. If life has no risks, you’re not really living it, since we humans do not grow as a species (or society) if there is no challenge in life. People in this world must have challenge and struggle to overcome an obstacle in their life to discover the real world. This way a person will grow physically and most importantly, mentally, to never do something adventurous or take the easy way out is on them. Krakauer, Emerson and Thoreau all have their own ideas on risk, but they all have in common is that risk can change a person for the good or bad.

The story Cold Equations by Tom Godwin, and the poem Traveling Through the Dark by William Stafford, both use two components of moral reasoning; moral judgment, and moral motivation. Cold Equations takes place in outer space where a slight increase in mass not included in the original calculations could get someone killed. Traveling Through the Dark takes place in 1962 on a road probably countryside. An example of moral reasoning is moral judgement, or the ability to correctly reason in regards of certain circumstances. In The Cold Equations Barton the Pilot of the EDS ship finds a stowaway who boarded the ship illegally and says “These ships are given barely enough fuel to reach their destination, and if you stay aboard, your added weight will cause it to use up all its fuel before it reaches the ground. It will crash then, and you and I will die and so will six men waiting for the fever

One of the largest debates known to modern man is that between creationists and evolutionists. Is human existence evidence of a divine power? Did humankind reach its current state on the reliance of genetic mistakes? Is it of any concern to know one way or another? In his insightful essay, “Do we care what’s true? Does it matter?,” Carl Sagan beautifully and respectfully asserts the importance of favoring science over pseudoscience, and makes clear his argument as to why not the other way around. Sagan believes in the rhetorical connection between author and audience, which is why he maintains understanding throughout the essay. Sagan’s compassionate tone informs his polite authority, which in turn

“The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich and “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin both have the common theme of death; however, in “The Red Convertible”, the death of Henry ends the very close relationship that he has with his brother Lyman while in “Story of an Hour”, the death of Mr. Mallard marks an opportunity of independence and freedom for Mrs. Mallard which shows that the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Mallard was unsatisfactory.

In the short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver, a group of friends are sitting around discussing their thoughts on what they think love is. Overall what the reader can see is that none of them can exactly define it because love is always changing. One day a person might be madly in love and the next day the feeling could be gone.

In conclusion, in Ray Bradbury’s 1950 dystopian novel, The Rocket, there are two main themes. imagination, and belief in yourself. The Rocket, is of a father who wants to bring his family to space but everyone thinks that it is an impossible task to accomplish. This novel communicates on how those two themes are important for the story. This essay explained these quotes through quotes and explanations of them. And you can clearly see the placement of the themes throughout the

The short story, “The Knowners,” is a fictional tale of an alternate reality where mankind has invented a technology which can divine the exact day, upon which a person will die. The story focuses on the impact upon one woman’s life from knowing her own ‘expiration date.’ The story was written by Helen C. Phillips.

My question: Think about the ending of the story. Describe it. How did it reflect on the rest of the novel? Was it satisfying?

While Mrs. Mallard is just starting a new life, so to say, for herself, her life she has known comes to an end. She is just able to become “free, free, free!” (57) when she loses her life. Kate Chopin uses contrast with the news Richard’s gave, the way Mrs. Mallard felt in the room and the doctor’s news to show how women perceived marriage in the 19th century in her story The Story of an Hour.

Discoveries being far reaching and transformative for the individual is demonstrated in ‘Facing the Demons’ when a female friend of the late Michael Marslew is asked by the presiding officer, Senior Sergeant Terry O'Connell of the NSW Police Service, how she manages to cope with the death of her friend. Sarah responses with, ‘Barley.’ This response is accordingly appropriate when she later goes on to describe the changes that had taken place in her life. Sarah continues to say that since the death of Marslew, she has stopped being around her group of school friends, because she believes it is ‘too painful, too difficult.’ She has also stopped visiting Jane Marslew as frequently as she used to because, “Every time I went there I couldn’t function

“Cassie’s story is not only mine and Brad’s. It is yours, and what you do with it will now give it meaning” (Bernall 101). “Cassie’s story” is of a teenage girl who lost her life in a school shooting, along with many others. However, Cassie’s death was especially prominent as she stood up for her beliefs as a Christian when they were challenged just before being shot. Author Misty Bernall, mother of Cassie, shares the story of her daughter’s life and death throughout the memoir. The personal experiences of Cassie’s family and friends throughout the book reveal the effects this shooting had on not only the town, but worldwide. Bernall expresses the use of fear tactics, testimonials, and a depressing tone throughout the memoir in order to persuade