The Cold Equations By Tom Godwin Analysis

Tom Godwin's short story “ The Cold Equations “ demonstrates temptation vs reality, when the reality of something is not what is wanted but the outcome cannot be changed through temptation. A 17-year-old girl, Marilyn, had made a mistake by sneaking on to and EMS cruiser because she wanted to see her brother, that she hadn't seen in years, who was working at the destination of the cruiser. When she got found by the pilot he had thought that the stowaway was like any other man and protocol was said that whomever is not an EMS ,that is on the cruiser, must be evacuated or jettisoned, but when he had found this girl he was dumbfounded on if he should still follow protocol because killing her would not be alright with him. After communicating with stardust about if there was anything else to do, he had to do the job and was very hesitant about making her be ejected from the cruiser into
In the middle of the story the author explains “He turned to the board and turned the switch that would signal the Stardust. The call would be futile but he could not, until he had exhausted that one vain hope, seize her and thrust her into the air lock as he would an animal—or a man (4).” Proving that he knew what was going to happen eventually, but hoping for a different outcome when he called the stardust saying that the call was going to be “futile” showing that he was still tempted to change the reality, also the author used personification by saying that there was a vein of hope for Marilyn to have a different outcome than being jettisoned from the cruiser, giving human features to the feeling of hope. Temptation vs Reality is demonstrated in Tom Godwin’s short story “The Cold Equations” when the reality of something is not what is wanted but the outcome cannot be changed through