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Dystopian Vs Today

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Dystopian Vs Today
Comparing Societies
Have you ever thought about today’s society becoming a dystopian society? “The Machine Stops” is a story written by E.M. Forester in 1909. For Forester’s story to be 106 years old the book is incredible accurate of today’s society. However, “The Machine Stops” dystopian society differs from today’s society in the way they live, the way they travel, and the way society interacts. One difference in the dystopian society described in “The Machine Stops” and today’s society is the way people live. For example, in “The Machine Stops” people live in “a small room, hexagonal in shape, like the cell of a bee.” The room described by Forster is completely opposite of what one would see in today’s society. Today, people live in all different kinds of living
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In today’s society face to face interaction is an everyday occurrence. Kids go to school and see other kids every day. Adults go to work and work with their co-workers every day. Social interaction is a key part of today’s society. On the contrary, in “The Machine Stops,” social interaction happens only a few times in a person life time. For example, when Vashti leaves her pod she “pressed an unfamiliar button.” This shows that she hardly ever leaves her pod. Why would she need to leave her pod, she has everything she could ever need at the touch of a button. Also, in Forester’s society people never interact, never touch, and never socialize. In contrast, today’s society is full of interaction, touching, and people socializing. Touching for example happens every day in today’s society. In “The Machine Stops” touching is considered barbaric, animal like even. For example, when Vashti was on the airship a woman yelled at the flight attendant for grabbing her and not letting her fall. Forester says “When Vashti served away from the sunbeams with a cry, she behaved barbarically - she put out her hand to steady

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