The Bird and the Machine Exam
The Bird and the Machine Exam
1. In The Bird and the Machine, Loren Eiseley reads an article one morning and is confronted by a new world: one which is inherent of technological advancement. In fact, he reads that this new world is machine dominant, and that machines are to surpass human intelligence and potential in the world. This new world also fuses a new scope on life that, for example, the human mind is just a mechanical system like a computer and nothing to get superstitious about. In finish, this world is more mechanized and is based on man-made creations rather than dwelling and thriving in nature’s beauty.
2. Eiseley uses a “juxtaposition” to compare a bird to a machine. This juxtaposition (a comparison which vividly distinguishes the differences between the two subjects) clearly shows that Eiseley believes in “life and not machines”. He makes a poetic finish in the end of the story which states something along the lines of: “On the other hand, a machine does not ache, bleed, or dance in the sky for hours in hopes of freedom, nor does it feel emotionally attached, care, nor cry out for love”. He clearly shows that he favours nature’s creation rather than a mechanized machine because of its ability to connect with other souls, and therefore is conscious that it is its own entity. Whereas a machine is designed by a human to do a particular task, and therefore in no way is capable of what a living entity can do in life. He also states somewhere in the middle of the story that “I prefer to see a mouse harvest on an autumn thistle than seeing an electronic mouse whiz through a maze”. Again, he clearly states that he much rather sees a natural being doing whatever needs to be done in order to survive, than an electronic object doing what it was programmed to do. And thus, through these statements he has made, I believe he believes in nature’s creations rather than machines. This is mainly because machines are in fact created by humans, and so the question
1. In The Bird and the Machine, Loren Eiseley reads an article one morning and is confronted by a new world: one which is inherent of technological advancement. In fact, he reads that this new world is machine dominant, and that machines are to surpass human intelligence and potential in the world. This new world also fuses a new scope on life that, for example, the human mind is just a mechanical system like a computer and nothing to get superstitious about. In finish, this world is more mechanized and is based on man-made creations rather than dwelling and thriving in nature’s beauty.
2. Eiseley uses a “juxtaposition” to compare a bird to a machine. This juxtaposition (a comparison which vividly distinguishes the differences between the two subjects) clearly shows that Eiseley believes in “life and not machines”. He makes a poetic finish in the end of the story which states something along the lines of: “On the other hand, a machine does not ache, bleed, or dance in the sky for hours in hopes of freedom, nor does it feel emotionally attached, care, nor cry out for love”. He clearly shows that he favours nature’s creation rather than a mechanized machine because of its ability to connect with other souls, and therefore is conscious that it is its own entity. Whereas a machine is designed by a human to do a particular task, and therefore in no way is capable of what a living entity can do in life. He also states somewhere in the middle of the story that “I prefer to see a mouse harvest on an autumn thistle than seeing an electronic mouse whiz through a maze”. Again, he clearly states that he much rather sees a natural being doing whatever needs to be done in order to survive, than an electronic object doing what it was programmed to do. And thus, through these statements he has made, I believe he believes in nature’s creations rather than machines. This is mainly because machines are in fact created by humans, and so the question