'The Machine has been most merciful.'
'I prefer the mercy of God.'
-"The Machine Stops," E.M Forester, page 69
Besides being well-written and impactful dialogue, these two sentences reveal a lot about Vashti, Kuno, and Forester's "The Machine Stops" as a whole. This exchange between Vashti and Kuno happens after Kuno tells his mother about him going outside, and essentially summarizes the different viewpoints of those characters. It also highlights how much the Machine has warped society as we know it into a mindless herd that essentially worships the Machine, rather than God or some other higher power, and that relies entirely on the Machine, not being able to take care of themselves or others.
Vashti's statement of "the Machine has been most merciful" shows how much Vashti reveres the Machine and how the Machine has messed with familial relations (Forester 69). Her gut reaction to learning that her own son has discovered something world-shattering that could get/have gotten him killed, is to scold him and defend what he's going against, rather than trying to protect him and/or fully understand his point of view. She doesn't bother with thinking anything ill of the Machine, because the Machine would never do anything "bad" without reason. She doesn't seem to care that the Machine almost may have killed/will kill her son because Kuno broke the rules, and for that, any punishment that the Machine deems just should be enacted on Kuno. Her line is basically a "how dare you question the thing that has been taking care of us" to Kuno. Moreover, with her line of dialogue, there seems to be a general lack of empathy for her own son from Vashti, which, in a way, makes her a "machine" herself.
Her statement also reveals how much the Machine has affected society. The quote exemplifies how Vashti embodies what the Machine wants from the rest of mankind: a devoted follower who doesn't think about others or for themselves, because after all, the Machine takes care of them. The Machine does everything right. The Machine knows best. And the most unnerving part of "The Machine Stops" is that the Machine gets what it wants. Mankind has developed into a cult of sorts - a group of devotees that never question the Machine and who depend solely on the Machine, turning the Machine into mankind's god.
Vashti's statement of "the Machine has been most merciful" shows how much Vashti reveres the Machine and how the Machine has messed with familial relations (Forester 69). Her gut reaction to learning that her own son has discovered something world-shattering that could get/have gotten him killed, is to scold him and defend what he's going against, rather than trying to protect him and/or fully understand his point of view. She doesn't bother with thinking anything ill of the Machine, because the Machine would never do anything "bad" without reason. She doesn't seem to care that the Machine almost may have killed/will kill her son because Kuno broke the rules, and for that, any punishment that the Machine deems just should be enacted on Kuno. Her line is basically a "how dare you question the thing that has been taking care of us" to Kuno. Moreover, with her line of dialogue, there seems to be a general lack of empathy for her own son from Vashti, which, in a way, makes her a "machine" herself.
Her statement also reveals how much the Machine has affected society. The quote exemplifies how Vashti embodies what the Machine wants from the rest of mankind: a devoted follower who doesn't think about others or for themselves, because after all, the Machine takes care of them. The Machine does everything right. The Machine knows best. And the most unnerving part of "The Machine Stops" is that the Machine gets what it wants. Mankind has developed into a cult of sorts - a group of devotees that never question the Machine and who depend solely on the Machine, turning the Machine into mankind's god.
Speaking of "god", Kuno stating that he "[prefers] the mercy of God" highlights the contrast of his belief system and worldview to his mother (Forester 69). He breaks away and openly rejects what the Machine (and the rest of society) has pushed onto him. He doesn't believe in the Machine anymore. With his statement, it is evident he has changed drastically from being a mindless drone to someone who thinks for himself, who realizes that the Machine has worsened humanity, in the sense that it has taken away the good parts of humanity: compassion, empathy, creativity, community, etc. Furthermore, his line of dialogue can be seen as a beacon of hope - that if Kuno can realize, then maybe, just maybe, the rest of humanity can open its eyes and see how bad the Machine is. Sadly, this is not the case, especially with Vashti - at least, not until the Machine stops and humanity really is left to the mercy of God.
This small piece of dialogue does reveal a lot about Vashti, Kuno, and the overall story of "The Machine Stops." While it is not necessarily needed in the story, the story is better because Forester decided to include it, as it helps showcase the difference between Vashti and Kuno's worldviews and emphasizes how much the Machine has changed mankind.
I think that this blog post is really accurate, and I especially liked how you described Vashti as someone who eventually became a "machine" herself - it was really interesting and thought provoking. I definitely agree with that statement - Vashti's personality throughout the story merges to conform with the rest of society, and she refuses to accept reality even though her son has. One thing that's interesting, however, is that what she does actually kind of makes sense. The story portrays Kuno as a "hero"-type figure and Vashti as a brainwashed zombie, however, why wouldn't you put faith in something that gives you security and safety? It's not super relevant to your post, but just reading what you wrote made me think of that.
ReplyDeleteHello Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteFirst I just want to say, excellent choice for your sentence analysis. I agree that these two lines are telling and very well written. (Thanks Forster!) I think you explained your points very well and in a detailed manner. When you call Vashti a "machine", that really resonated with me, because I think it exactly summarizes what the people in The Machine Stops are like.
There is, however, a somewhat blurry line when God gets brought into the equation. Obviously the people worshiping the Machine are much worse than contemporary Christians (maybe). I do think the fact that the Machine does everything for the humans makes a difference, but the attitude towards God and the Machine are honestly pretty similar. But instead of Homelessness, there's just literal death. Just a thought -- not exactly related to what you talked about in the post.
I'm glad you choose these two sentences specifically, because I feel like they could've been easily overlooked. The "I prefer the mercy of God," line has an underlying rebellious tone that clearly differentiates the perspectives of Kuno and Vashti. I like your "the Machine gets what it wants" idea because it implies that the Machine itself is the only being with an actual personality. All of the humans in "The Machine Stops" are, like you mentioned, robotic, emotionless followers of this "cult." I wonder, if the Machine hadn't failed, if the people would ever come to the same realization as Kuno, since they've never considered the idea of them blindly following the Machine.
ReplyDeleteThis was an eye-opening post. I agree with your comments on how Vashti has become like a machine herself without empathy or overall feeling for her son. I was surprised, when reading the story, how little she cared about Kuno becoming homeless or just him in general and your point on how she was exactly what the machine wanted makes a lot more sense to me now.
ReplyDeleteI really like the two sentences you chose! The comparison of Vashti to a machine was really good, and helped me see a deeper meaning behind this story. I like how you point out how the machine "gets what it wants", because it shows how much it has control over society, and how dangerous it really is. Your post was very well written too :)
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