E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops

Here are the study notes for "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster:

Setting

• The story takes place in a future where humans live underground and rely on a vast, complex machine for all their needs.
• The machine provides everything, including food, music, and communication, and humans have become completely dependent on it.

Characters

• Vashti: The main character, a woman who lives in a small, hexagonal room underground. She is isolated from the outside world and communicates with others through a machine.
• Kuno: Vashti's son, who lives on the other side of the earth and communicates with Vashti through the machine.

Plot

• The story begins with Vashti receiving a message from Kuno, asking her to visit him.
• Vashti is initially hesitant, but eventually decides to take the air-ship to visit Kuno.
• She is afraid of the journey and the unknown, but feels a sense of duty to her son.
• As she travels, she reflects on her past and her relationships with her children.

Themes

• The story explores the themes of isolation, technology, and humanity's relationship with nature.
• The machine has created a sense of disconnection and isolation among humans, who no longer need to interact with each other or the natural world.
• The novel highlights the consequences of relying too heavily on technology and losing touch with our humanity.

Symbolism

• The machine represents the dangers of unchecked technological progress and humanity's over-reliance on technology.
• The air-ship journey represents Vashti's journey towards self-discovery and her desire to reconnect with her son and the natural world.
• The stars and the sky represent the infinite possibilities and wonders of the natural world, which are being lost in the underground, machine-driven society.### The World of the Machine
• The world is ruled by the Machine, which has conquered the sun and has made the heavenly bodies irrelevant to human life.
• The Machine has made science focus on solving problems within the ground, and people have lost touch with the natural world.

Vashti's Journey

• Vashti, a passenger, travels on an air-ship, annoyed by the sunlight that enters her cabin.
• She is horrified by the roughness of the attendant who tries to steady her when she swerves away from the sunbeams.
• Vashti looks at the earth from the air-ship, seeing the Himalayas and the Caucasus, but decides they give her no ideas.

Meeting with Kuno

• Vashti visits her son Kuno, who has been threatened with Homelessness (death by exposure to the air).
• Kuno has been outside, having discovered a way to exit the underground city without an Egression-permit.
• Vashti is shocked and disapproves of Kuno's actions, which she considers irreligious and against the Machine.

Kuno's Story

• Kuno recounts how he began to walk on the platform of the railway outside his room to recapture the meaning of "Near" and "Far".
• He developed his sense of space and muscles, and eventually found a ventilation shaft that led to the outer air.
• Kuno climbed the shaft, despite the risks and his fear of the Machine's disapproval.
• He reached the outer air, where he experienced a sense of freedom and humanity, and realized that the Machine was not the most important thing.

Moral and Social Implications

• The society is highly mechanized, with people living in underground cities and relying on the Machine for all their needs.
• Humans are adapted to the Machine's surroundings, and those who are too strong or athletic are considered a demerit.
• The Machine has destroyed the sense of space and the sense of humanity, and those who question it are considered abnormal.
• The story raises questions about the value of individual freedom and the importance of human connection with the natural world.### The Machine and Humanity
• The story takes place in a future where humanity lives underground, entirely dependent on the Machine for survival.
• People live in isolation, communicating only through a kind of instant messaging system, and are ignorant of the outside world.

Kuno's Story

• Kuno, a rebellious individual, tries to escape the underground world and explore the surface.
• He uses a respirator to breathe in the outer air and climbs out of the underground tunnel.
• He sees the hills of Wessex, which are described as "living" and "muscular."
• Kuno realizes that the Machine is in control and has robbed humans of their sense of space and touch.

The Consequences of Kuno's Actions

• Kuno is punished for his actions, and his mother, Vashti, is summoned to hear his story.
• Vashti is only interested in hearing about the Machine and not about the surface world.

The Abolition of Respirators

• Respirators are abolished, and people are discouraged from visiting the surface of the earth.
• Air-ships are still used, but only for necessary purposes.
• The abolition of respirators is seen as a positive development, as it reduces the need for human exploration and observation.

The Re-establishment of Religion

• A new form of religion emerges, centered around the Machine.
• People worship the Machine, and a ritual develops around it.
• The Machine is seen as omnipotent, eternal, and divine.

The Downfall of Humanity

• Humanity becomes increasingly dependent on the Machine and loses its ability to think and act independently.
• The Machine begins to malfunction, and people are no longer able to adapt to the changes.
• The music, which is an important part of human life, becomes defective, and people are unable to complain effectively.

The Failure of the Sleeping Apparatus

• The sleeping apparatus, which is essential for human survival, fails to function.
• This failure leads to widespread discontent and marks the beginning of the collapse of humanity.

The Role of the Central Committee

• The Central Committee is responsible for the Machine and its functions.
• The Committee is unresponsive to human complaints and refers them to other committees.
• The Committee is seen as unaccountable and detached from human needs.

The Pursuit of Speed and Civilization

• The goal of the preceding civilization was to keep pace with the sun or outstrip it, which led to the construction of racing aeroplanes capable of enormous speed, steered by the greatest intellects of the epoch.
• The pursuit was deemed illegal, unmechanical, and punishable by Homelessness by the Committee of the Machine, which was rising into prominence at the time.

The Disconnection from the Sun and Nature

• The attempt to "defeat the sun" was the last common interest that humanity experienced about the heavenly bodies or anything else.
• The sun had conquered, marking the end of its spiritual dominion over humanity.
• Dawn, midday, twilight, and the zodiacal path no longer touched people's lives or hearts, and science retreated into the ground to focus on problems that were certain of solving.

Vashti's Experience with the Sun

• Vashti's cabin was invaded by a rosy finger of light, which annoyed her, and she tried to adjust the blind to no avail.
• The sunlight entered her cabin, brimming down the wall like a golden sea, advancing steadily like a tide.
• Vashti was horrified and rang for the attendant, who was also horrified but unable to mend the blind.

The Importance of the Respirator

• The narrator had a pool of air that they could dip into when the outer keenness became intolerable, which would remain for days if no wind sprang up to disperse it.
• The stoppage of the escape implied the gap in the tunnel had been mended, and the Mending Apparatus was after the narrator.
• The narrator took alarm, determined to put on their respirator and walk out of the dell, but it had fallen, and they knew exactly where it had fallen.

The Worship of the Machine

• The Machine was considered omnipotent, eternal, and blessed, with worship being diverted to different aspects of it, such as the blue optic plates, the Mending Apparatus, or the Book.
• Those who did not accept the minimum known as "undenominational Mechanism" lived in danger of Homelessness, which meant death.
• The Central Committee announced developments, but they were not the cause of them, and instead yielded to an invincible pressure from an unknown source.

The Stopping of the Machine

• The phrase "the Machine stops" conveyed nothing to Vashti's friend, and they suggested talking about music instead.
• Vashti was worried about the defect in the music, which irritated her, and the Committee of the Mending Apparatus replied that it would be remedied shortly.
• Vashti complained to the Committee, which replied that her complaint would be forwarded in its turn, but refused to answer her question about others complaining.

The Escape and the End of Humanity

• Vashti's prison door was opened, and she escaped in the spirit, though it was unclear if she escaped in the body.
• She faced the tunnel again, where she had seen men fighting, and the whispers and little whimpering groans told her that people were dying by the hundreds in the dark.
• Vashti and her friend wept for humanity, realizing that the end of humanity was near, and that beautiful, naked man was dying, strangled in the garments that he had woven.