Robots Of Dawn

Isaac Asimov’s The Robots of Dawn is an enjoyable read, showing many aspects of Asimov’s style and themes. It follows the format of a standard detective novel, but with many of Asimov’s characteristic science fiction elements such as interstellar travel, flying cars, and robots. Two major elements of Asimov’s style are very noticeable in this book: simplicity and dialogue. Despite the technology introduced and the length of the story, it was never confusing, nor would a reader ever be lost. Asimov’s clear, straightforward style of writing left no room for confusion or misinterpretation. In addition, Asimov rarely uses imagery in the story. Several sentences would be devoted to a landscape, character, or object so that the reader could have
a basic understanding of each, but no more. The majority of the text is devoted to the dialogue, the second noticeable element of Asimov’s style. The Robots of Dawn relies heavily on conversations to move the story forward.
Throughout the book, it was not unusual for characters to speak for paragraphs and for exchanges to last entire pages with very little action or movement in between. However, as characteristic of Asimov’s simplistic style, the dialogue never seemed long-winded or confusing and was instead very organic and natural. In a somewhat simple and straightforward mystery story, Asimov brings up several thought-provoking themes and difficult questions which are never answered definitely. The first major theme is what the social treatment of robots should be once they become fully integrated into society. In the beginning of the novel, the main character Elijah Baley is living on Earth, a planet fearful and suspicious of intelligent robots. Throughout the introduction, he refers to his temporary robot guide as “boy,” making a distinct connection to the way African Americans were treated during and even after slavery in America. However, when he travels to the planet Aurora, where robots are accepted instead of feared, he must change his behavior significantly, transferring to a more respectful tone by the end of the book. As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, the natural question of
how robots should be treated arises. A second major theme Asimov writes of is differing opinions on romantic relationships. The planet Aurora, where the story takes place, is extremely liberal with sexual relationships, as opposed to the relatively conservative Earth, much to the shock of Baley and the reader. One of the characters, Gladia, had a romantic relationship with one of her robots, Jander, and considered him a husband in theory; another character, Vasilia, had attempted to sleep with her father. These controversial scenarios raise the question of whether a conservative or liberal viewpoint is morally correct regarding romantic relationships, as the citizens of the liberal Aurora appear to still live morally and peacefully despite practices that might shock readers. Perhaps the most important theme of The Robots of Dawn is self-reliance versus conformity, embodied by the two scientists Falstofe and Amadiro. Falstofe also disapproves of the overly sheltered and comfortable Auroran way of living, and wants Earth, the more independent group, in his opinion, to settle on other planets. Amadiro instead believes that Aurorans alone should colonize other planets to build new paradises similar if not exactly the same as Aurora to continue their comfortable style of life. The Robots of Dawn was an excellent read, showcasing many of Asimov’s characteristic style choices and raising many themes and difficult questions in a simple story.