Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World: Conclusion

So ten weeks ago I took an online certification course on Coursera on Fantasy and Science Fiction, linked here. It has been an instructional ten weeks, and finally I have completed it successfully. Read below for more details.

Cory Doctorow: Final Thesis

So this was the last book I needed to read and prepare for my coursera course. If I pass, I will let you know. But for the time being, let us just enjoy the fact that it is DONE! Ha! I did it! *tap dances*

Ahem. Anyway. Back to Doctorow's Little Brother. Basically it follows on Orwell's 1984 Big Brother, and asks who will put Big Brother in check? In today's world, who fights against the Police State? Whoever this person is, or this outfit, one can assume it has to be a darn hard job to get even with the Big Man with all the power. And yet who but a teenager could have the reckless bravado required? And thus we reach the novel, which you can find on the author's website. Or, you could just read on this post, which summarizes, analyses and (hypo)thesizes this novel. Onwards!

Cory Doctorow: Introduction

To know more about this segment, read on.

Ursula K LeGuin: Final Thesis

So this book was a treat to read. There is no free online copy that I can recommend (legally, that is), and so I will simply tell you a story, the story of Gethen and how it came to become a part of Ekumen, a sort of United Nations on a planetary scale in the Hainish universe. And then I will study one aspect that this tale that stood out to me. Capisce?

Ursula K LeGuin: Introduction

To learn more about this section, read on.

Ray Bradbury: Final Thesis

Obviously, if you have read my last post, you know that a legal free copy of this book is not available online. I mean just look at it. It's hard enough to find a pic of this book. Anyhow, it is a hard read, and as it sometimes happens, I was late in reading it, and could not submit the final thesis for this book. But worry not my friends, I always have my views for you right here, beyond that 'Read more' link down there. Shall we?

Ray Bradbury: Introduction

To understand what this section is all about, read on.

Burroughs and Gilman: Final Thesis

For my final thesis, for once, I only wrote about the rejection of tradition and the embracing of rationalism in Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. You can read the story here, and my analysis of the story here. You can also find the analysis of A princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs here. For my final thesis, read on.

Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars

Okay then, so turns out that Princess of Mars was written as pulp fiction in a serialised manner in a magazine back in the day, before being compiled and published as a book. Which should say enough about the sort of writing one can expect from it. However, the fact this book is the first by the dude who finally went on to give us Tarzan, you have to go see the raw base that masterpieces are worked from.

Plus point - He managed to put in some feminist narrative into what is literally a SciFi escapist fantasy.

Super plus point - He got Michael Wheelan to draw his book a cover, for the 1971 edition, seen above. My love, you see? I mean yeah, it isn't the first cover, or even in the first five chronologically, but it's Wheelan alright? And the longest lasting cover as well - three decades! That's Wheelan right there for you.

Anyhow, the link to the book is above, so read that shizz, and now, moving to the summary and analysis.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Herland

This post summarizes and analyses, hopefully in some depth, perhaps one of the earliest Feminist Utopia based stories in the science fiction genre: Herland. It has been an engrossing read, and though there is a summary below, I would still recommend that you guys do read the actual story. And on we go.

Burroughs and Gilman: Introduction

 

To know more about this section, click below.

H.G. Wells: Final Thesis

H.G. Wells is perhaps the best founding author of the Science Fiction genre, and it was a pleasure reading his works. What follows is my final thesis based on his works, the individual studies of which you can read here.

1. The Star
2. The Country of the Blind
3. The Invisible Man

So for the analysis, go forth and read.

H.G. Wells: The Star

The Star is a true Sci-Fi short story by the father of science fiction. It is an apocalyptic tale of an extra terrestrial threat to the earth. You can find the story here, and my analysis below.

H.G. Wells: Introduction

To understand this section, read on.

Hawthorne and Poe: Final Thesis

And after a long ride, I am done with the thesis for Hawthorne and Poe. This has been thus far the most challenging reading yet, filled with so much symbolism it made it hard to decide what to write about. You can read about the different stories I read and studied here, here, here and here. For the thesis, read on.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Birthmark and Dr Heidegger's Experiment

You should probably read up on the actual stories: The Birthmark and Dr Heidegger's Experiment, before reading the analysis below.

Edgar Allen Poe: The Oval Portrait

The oval portrait is about a painter who loved his wife, and loved painting over her. What happens when he decides to bring his two loves together, and paint his wife forms a telling narrative on humanity's eternal pursuit for immortality, and our focus on perfection. To read the story itself, click here. To read a brief summary and analysis of the different themes, read on.

Hawthorne and Poe: Introduction

To know more about this section, read on.

Mary Shelley: Final Thesis

To read the book, click here.

I have found a lot of interpretations for this book that say that this book is a warning against pursuing science with too much ambition, leaving behind religious morality and restriction. This theory fits in very well with the time when the book was written. But we also know that Mary Shelley was an atheist. My reading gave me a different, in fact opposite look at the book. To see why I see Frankenstein as an atheist reading - one that separates morality from religion, read below.

Mary Shelley: The Modern Prometheus

To understand the reference to fire, light, and Prometheus, these links can be useful reading. To read Frankenstein, you can get the book on-line here. To understand why the book's subtitle is so significant to the reading of the tale, read on.