The Genre Of Science Fiction

As I have illustrated in these examples, science fiction can be the major genre of a story or it can be merely a piece within a story. Such a debatable concept as this one can be extremely difficult to completely define. For now, we’ll have to settle for a general definition such as the one I have written above, but perhaps in the future someone will define science fiction more clearly. Of course, if we limit the term science fiction to a clear-cut definition, will science fiction have such wonderful stories as it does now or will they end up being bland, repetitive stories? I believe that science fiction will never have a single definition because that just happens to be the nature of the genre.

The connection between the writer H.G.Wells and the Science Fiction Genre was that H.G.Wells was a philosopher who predicted the future before it actually happened. He was also a pioneer. Each of the first four novels he wrote dealt with fantastic storylines involving scientific understandings, the future and machinery. Because of these novels he was considered the ... ... middle of paper ... ...s his words very carefully. When he describes the Elois and the Morlocks, he makes a contrast between them.

Anyway, they create a fictional world, where the fancy is closely intertwined with some real facts taken from the real life but they are modified to the extent that the outcomes of writers’ fancies make the society and world described unique and different from real ones. At the same time, science fiction literary works represent views and ideas of science fiction writers, who attempt to create alternatives to the real world, where impossible is possible. On the other hand, many science fiction works, like “1984” and “Animal Farm” by George Orwell or “Status Civilization” by Robert Sheckely, warn the public against the development of negative trends in the contemporary society and the prevention of potential risks and threats to the normal life of individuals in the future.

Offering an explanation for what the effects of the new discoveries, happenings or developments will have on us in the future. Another key cornerstone of the genre, as described by Adam Roberts in The History of Science Fiction (2005) , is the encounter with ‘otherness’. Roberts argues that science fiction is a symbolist genre, different from other symbolist genres due to the fact that the symbols are rooted in science and pseudoscience. The point of the symbolic mediums used is to connect the voyage of the un-encountered with our own experience of being in the real world. This is the same effect Wells is trying to elicit from his readers by adhering to his law of science fiction writing.

As long as a book addresses the nature of changes we may face, whether a threat, a trial, an ethical dilemma, or an opening of new possibilities and horizons, it may be considered worthy of the brand “science fiction.” Scientific advantage doesn't have to be a negative story about disaster, it can portray the joy of exploration or thrill of discovery. True science fiction has this new something result in consequences that require a change in modern-day thinking. If anything, science fiction is a means of getting people thinking about issues that we may face in the future. Good or bad they will change how the world works. The Time Machine H G Wells' The Time Machine fits well into Isaac Asimov's definition of science fiction.

Im gonna try awful hard.” (Keyes 11). Our perception of science fiction is very different from the true definition of science fiction. For a novel to be a science fiction novel, it... ... middle of paper ... ... to be in the future. Our perception of science fiction is dystopian and futuristic, but there is more to science fiction, than this. The definition of science fiction shows that Flowers for Algernon is science fiction due to the imagined science of the operation.

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.

What is Science Fiction? “ Science fiction at its best, creates the sort of flexible thinking that not only inspires us, but requires us to consider the many potential consequences of our actions.” ( Chris McKittrick).The quote states how science fiction affects us in our actions, if science fiction inspires you, your actions will show how much admire science fiction gives. Science Fiction is the literature of changes based on imagined future in a scientific or technological way, mostly about outer space or time travel and life on other planets. Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which the stories often tell about science and technology in the future. Science fiction provides an approach to understanding the universe.

A good example is this: "Science fiction is a label applied to a publishing category and it's application is subject to the whims of editors and publishers" (Clute and Nichols, Online 4). Even this holds some amount of truth. But, while all of these quotes are sufficient, none are satisfactory. Throughout the centuries, scholars and fans alike have attempted to accurately define science fiction, however no single definition could ever truly exist because the genre has been forced to adapt to keep pace with a swiftly evolving world. This is more of a problem than it might seem at first because without an agreed-upon definition how can one recognize when the genre of SF began?

These writers are science fiction, but since they do not always deal with the values and ideas brought forth by the "traditional" science fiction writers, the critic will pass it off as being cyberpunk. While the label cyberpunk will take these works, the label itself grows and changes with every work that is added, making cyberpunk a broader, more open category and harder to define. Cyberpunk does however hold on to its original values that include what can be considered a human factor to set itself apart from "traditional" science fiction. Works Cited Gibson, William. Neuromancer.