Science fiction has been defined many different ways over the years, though no clear definition has come out on top. There are many different aspects to science fiction and what it consists of. The most popular and recognizable characteristics are science, technology, time travel, scientific method, different worlds, and catastrophe. By including these it helps the reader identify the story as a work of science fiction. Because science fiction’s primary focus is science, it comes naturally that it becomes the main focus of the story. The way an author decides to depict the use of science varies greatly from story to story. Some may choose to use science in a good way, while others may show the negative impacts science could have. In “Nine Lives” by Ursula Le Guin and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne each author shows how characters can be connected or driven apart by science.
“Nine Lives” is a story that takes place on the planet Libra, where two men, Pugh and Martin, go to work. There they are joined by a Tenclone, a group of ten clones sent to help them with their mission. They are created from the cells of one man and are able to do tasks much more quickly and efficiently than humans. In the end, nine of the ten clones die, leaving Kaph the only clone left. Le Guin leads the reader to believe that the clones could have feelings, and ultimately she shows the connection between the three main characters.
In “Nine Lives”, the reader knows that the clones are not real, but a product of science. This leads the reader to question whether or not this product of science is capable of feelings. Darko Suvin says that Le Guin’s writing “lies in the quest for and sketching of a new, collectivist system of no longer alienat...
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...awthorne, the important aspect of his story is for readers to understand that science, if used improperly, can destroy relationships.
Works Cited
Huntington, John. “Public and Private Imperatives in Le Guin's Novels.” Science Fiction Studies 2.3 (1975): 237-243. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
Rosenberry, Edward H. “Hawthorne’s Allegory of Science: ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter.’” American Literature 32.1 (1960): 39-46. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
Suvin, Darko. “Parables of De-Alienation: Le Guin's Widdershins Dance.” Science Fiction Studies 2.3 (1975): 265-274. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
Uroff, M.D. “The Doctors in ‘Rappaccini’s Daughter.’” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 27.1 (1972): 61-70. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.
Le Guin, Ursula. “Nine Lives.” 2011. PDF file.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
There are stunning parallels between Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" and the film The Truman Show in terms of character, action, and structure.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
Stallman, Laura. Survey of Criticism of 'Rappaccini's Daughter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne {with class response and discussion}. 29 Many 2000 <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng372/rappcrit.htm>.
Deadly and helpful, science is a dual-edged sword. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the first to emphasize this through his literary works. “Rappaccini's Daughter” and “The Birthmark” are two of his works where he teaches this lesson through the trials of his characters. Focusing on the motif of the “mad scientist”, Hawthorne brings to light the points that people struggle with humanity, learning to love themselves and others, and that science can be more harmful then helpful.
In the Nathaniel Hawthorne tale, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” we see and feel the solitude/isolation of the scientific-minded surgeon, Dr. Rappaccini, likewise that of his daughter, Beatrice, and finally that of the main character, Giovanni. Is this solitude not a reflection of the very life of the author?
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Birthmark." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 277-288.
In "Rappaccini’s Daughter", Rappaccini is the scientist and father of Beatrice. He is devoted to his scientific studies and to his daughter’s well-being. Rappaccini is the creator of plants with poisonous extracts thus only Beatrice can attend to. Her father had altered her touch and made it deadly to protect her from the evils in the world. She is forced by her father to live in his world without any human contact, instead she can only embrace her "sister" plant in Rappaccini’s garden. Beatrice’s sister plant is the only one that she can handle and embrace without it dying in her hands. As Hawthorne shows her closeness to her pl...
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Scarlet Letter”. American Literature: Volume One. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 809-813. Print
“Hawthorne shows in the tale that the inner world of human experience is a complex and ambiguous mixture of good and evil (Stallman 2).” Hawthorne portrays that the existence of good and evil is part of life and that a person can make a decision which way to go. From the story, Hawthorne presents to the reader the character of Doctor Rappaccini, a scientist who experiments with poisonous plants and later on injects poison into his daughter Beatrice that to transform her into achieving superhuman qualities. The transformation of Beatrice as well as her lover, Giovanni into a poisonous being raises the question whether they are good or evil. In the novel “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporates figurative language, descriptive details, and allusions to portray the dual aspects of good and evil in each character to convey to the audience that humans embody both goodness and evil.
...horne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" and Bernard Malamud's "The Lady of the Lake.".Studies In Short Fiction, 37(1), 27-42.
Jokinen, Anniina. "Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 1996. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.luminarium.org/
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter is perhaps the most complex and difficult of all Hawthornes short stories, but also the greatest. Nathaniel Hawthorne as a poet, has been characterized as a man of low emotional pressure who adopted throughout his entire life the role of an observer. He was always able to record what he felt with remarkable words but he lacked force and energy. Hawthorne's personal problem was his sense of isolation. He thought of isolation as the root of all evil. Therefore, he made evil the theme of many of his stories. Hawthorne's sense of the true human included intellectual freedom, passion and tenderness (Kaul 26).
“…Hawthorne’s attitude is so removed and imperturbable that nothing in the story can be taken simply; in “The Birthmark” he reaches his furthest rage of disengagement” (Fogle 118). It is through the intellectual and moral development of Georgiana, not the scientists own actions or words, that the reader comes to understand that although twisted in his methods, Aylmer does possess a kind of “noble” love.
Science fiction never ceases to amaze me as I take great enjoyment in exploring these creative universes. I have always had a great interest in military science fiction for its take on technological innovation and critical analysis. Military science fiction in general is very speculative about future of technology and warfare. The military science fiction genre also serves as a critique of contemporary politics as it deals with many of the same issues that go on today. This has made military science fiction one if the most well respected genres of science fiction for it ability to indirectly criticize modern society. My Integrated Project explores the relationship between how technology that has arisen from war has been some of the most innovative and why war has become an unshakeable aspect of human existence.
Sci-Fi novels have been around for almost a century. Sci-Fi has the most potential of any genre to capture and explore the imagination of the world we know , or don’t know. Like any other genre Sci-Fi has tried to teach us lessons , or warn us of our arrogant choices as a whole civilization. But like all things, it changes with time. Sci-Fi writers adjust their styles accordingly based on current economic, political, or environmental problems around the world. The language in the writings change as well in an ongoing effort to keep up with the trends of popular culture.