The Machine Stops

Running head: THE MACHINE STOPS
The Machine Stops
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

THE MACHINE STOPS1
The Machine Stops is a short sci -fi story written by E. M. Forster. The story tell s the
readers about a world where the entire humanity lives underground and depends on a giant
robot to fulfil their daily needs and desires. The story was published in The Science Fiction
Hall of Fame Volume Two. It is considered to be one of the best stories to be published by
the author among all his other short stories.
The purpose of this essay is to determine whether Kuno supports or rejects the
theory that there is no hero in the story “The Machine Stops”.
To discuss this essay, it is first necessary to understand what the term “hero” means.
The term “Hero” refers to a character who plays the main role in a book or a movie. The hero
is said to be positive in nature, who is a symbol of the goodness of the humans. Heroes in
books or movies undertake difficult tasks to solve problems and end the problem. Sometimes,
the heroes has to take difficult journeys across the oceans to find some lost treasure. The hero
is a type of character who is said to do things for glory and honour. The hero upholds all the
good qualities of mankind in himself as his evidenced by his actions.
With the passage of times, the characterisations of heroes have also underwent a
radical change from the heroes of the past. While the classical heroes were portrayed to be all
good guys and girls and were fully positive in nature, the contemporary heroes have
undergone major change from those times. In the modern times, heroes do not necessarily
have to be fully positive in nature, in fact, modern heroes have shades to their characters
which sometimes classifies them as anti-heroes. Sometimes, these heroes can also undergo a
change of character and become the villain for some reason, only to become a hero again by
the end of the books or the movie. Therefore, when one compares modern heroes with
classical heroes, it is seen that modern heroes can be heroic but not necessarily fully positive
in their character.