Skip navigation

Tag Archives: science fiction

These are in effect, artificial or mechanical men, individuals without souls, without anything that, in a traditional understanding can be seen as distinctly human.

- Krishan Kumar1

Michel Huoellebecq’s The Possibility of an Island (which will be referred to as Possibility) touches on many ideas relating to the reproduction of the human self and its repercussions for mankind. With advances in technology this is something which is increasingly ever more in the public mind. It is impossible to say whether this modern day dystopia is predicting events which will be commonplace in the future, but there is scientific research speculating the potential problems. An important question in this chapter is how these technologies effect human identity, and essentially what element of human identity is the essence humanity.

Read More »

The novels The Handmaid’s Tale and The Children of Men (which will be referred to as Handmaid’s and Children, respectively) deal with a different aspect of dystopia than the other novels focussed on in this dissertation. The focus here is on the social implications and natural changes within reproduction. Perhaps the most prominent and common theme between the two is the reduction in fertility and possible reactions to it. Both texts link quite strongly to the desperation for motherhood but in very different ways.

Atwood’s 1985 political satire replicates the threats of AIDS and right wing politics present in America during the eighties. Alternatively PD James mirrors what could be called a liberal façade in an early nineties Britain with an undercurrent of violence which can be seen as reflective of the problems in Northern Ireland. By exploring these texts and all the surrounding research this chapter aims to find a common ground which will correlate the previous research on reproductive technologies and how it will realistically affect population and society.

Read More »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 30 other followers