Zoe Marin

Professor Tanya Taylor

EN 2172

Final Exam

Passage 1:
This passage comes from “A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller Jr. The novel
uses various ASF tropes with clear biblical allusions to warn society about the dangers of nuclear
war.
With growing anxieties about nuclear war following WWII, Miller presents a world in
which nuclear war has happened and resulted in billions of deaths as well as the creation of
“post-human” genetic mutants. The “Flame Deluge” is a direct allusion to the “Great Flood” of
the Book of Genesis, the first time when God decided to eradicate mankind and start over.
However, this is quite small-scale compared to the Book of Revelation which describes a violent
apocalypse that is yet to come (and therefore can still be avoided). Similarly, in “A Canticle for
Leibowitz”, although nuclear war has already happened, the entire novel focuses on avoiding
going through this catastrophe again. In this passage, Abbot Zerchi details the horrors of nuclear
war to explain why mankind is not bound to repeat the same mistakes. These horrors include
“genetic testering” resulting in the “still-born, the monstrous, the dehumanized, the blind” as
well as the almost complete eradication of mankind. Within the satirical portrayal of nuclear
disaster, it seems unlikely that nuclear war would happen again. However, the abbot’s statements
cognitively estrange the reader and force them to consider their perception of war in real life.
Within the novel, there is not a central figure who acts as a prophet. Instead, Miller
himself acts as an internal prophet by showing what will happen if humanity does not learn from
its mistakes. During WWII, society saw the horrors of atomic bombs in Hiroshima, Nagasaki,
and Pearl Harbour; now society continues to see the horrors of atomic bombs through the birth
effects resulting from the radiation. However, during the Cold War and even in the 21st century,
there is still the threat of nuclear war. Because mankind did not learn from the atomic bombs,
there is always the possibility that there will be another world war with far more catastrophic
results and possibly the eradication of mankind.
 By the end of the novel, despite the abbot’s belief that “only a race of madmen could do it
again”, WWIV is in full force and nuclear bombs ultimately eradicate all life on Earth. In the
first two parts of the novel, there is conflict between whether or not technological advancements
and historic knowledge will lead to the creation of nuclear power again. However, as the internal
prophet, Miller argues that war is mankind’s fatal flaw is that, unless it willingly learns from past
catastrophes, it is doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Therefore, through “A Canticle for
Leibowitz”, Miller creates a “modern prophecy” about how humans must avoid war (especially
nuclear war) in order to avoid the species eradication.

Passage 2:
This quote comes from the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, written by Michael Wilson and
Rod Serling and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Throughout the passage, there are various
literary devices used to create an ASF “Modern Prophecy” about the dangers of both war and
oppression.
First, there is the use of “satire” as it relates to the SF genre. Rather than taking a mimetic
approach, the film positions apes as the oppressors and humans as the oppressed to reflect
real-life events. This is seen in the first line in which Taylor finally has the power to treat Dr.
Zaius like an animal whereas throughout the film, all the apes were treating Taylor in this
manner. Although the novum (or the new information that it was humans who previously
dominated the Earth) is revealed to all the characters [sans Zaius], it is still Taylor experiencing
cognitive estrangement since the main device of SF is creating a fictional world that is an
“alternative” to the real-life “empirical” world which Taylor technically came from. Therefore,
Planet of the Apes focuses on the “internal prophet” of Taylor- internal since he does not have
the purpose/goal of giving a prophecy, but it is revealed to him anyway. The most significant
novum comes from the prophecy read by Dr. Zaius in the last section of the passage which
reflects apocalyptic literature through its use of religious language such as “God”, “devil”, and
“beast man”. Although it is unclear what religion the apes follow, the language is reminiscent of
the Judeo-Christian Bible and warns society about the evilness of humankind, similarly to the
Book of Revelation.
While there is speculation on which exact topic the film is about, the main subjects are
civil rights in the U.S., and the fear of nuclear war after WWI and WWII. Regardless, there are
various uses of ASF elements that create strong arguments for either subject. Through the use of
non-humans (in this case apes), the film presents a hierarchy based in American racial biases: as
seen by the pale, blonde orangutans (such as Zaius) being the religious/political leaders, while
the apes (such as Cornelius and Zira) are the scientists, and the gorillas are the militants. There is
also commentary on oppression if one sees the apes as those in power (white, heterosexual, cis,
etc.) and the humans as the oppressed. With such explicit differences in power, the film
prophesies the dangers of racial division and discrimination, and shows a world in which the
oppressed groups are treated like animals. In the case of the film being about war, this is seen
very clearly through Zaius’ final prophecy in which he states that humans kill “for sport, or lust
or greed” and who “will murder his brother to possess his brother's land”. With this revelation,
the film creates a “Modern Prophecy” about the dangers of war. With all the humans
de-evolutionized and subjected to abuse, Planet of the Apes prophesies how war will lead to the
demise of mankind.

Passage 3:
This quote comes from Richard Matheson’s novel, “I Am Legend”. Along with its use of
the gothic vampire myth, the novel draws on various ASF literary devices to prophesy how
oppression will lead to the demise of human relationships, and ultimately all of humanity.
The novum of “I Am Legend” is a virus that has turned humans into vampires, leaving
only the character of Robert Neville. He takes on the ASF role of the “scientist” by teaching
himself the knowledge he needs to figure out more about this virus. In this passage, his studies of
the vampires have cognitively estranged his view of human dynamics and relationships from
before the “apocalypse”. Therefore, Neville is able to expose the “fatal flaws” of oppression and
selfishness by comparing the vampire to humans in various situations which are all focused on
oppression and selfishness. The vampires, on the other hand, only seek to survive. As the
protagonist of the novel, Neville places the vampires as the villains and himself as the victim,
causing the reader to root for him. However, throughout the novel it is Neville hunting them and
using their bodies for research. In this prophetic satire, the “post-humans”, or non-feral vampires
are incredibly similar to human beings; this allows them to be used as a symbol for
underprivileged groups who are oppressed while Neville symbolizes those in power who are the
oppressors. While Neville is actively hunting the vampires, the vampires are simply trying to
survive. Through this revelation, Neville exposes the oppressive, selfish nature of human beings
and prophesies how this behavior will lead to humanity’s extinction.
This passage is essential to the novel as a whole because it is the first time Neville
recognizes that he (and thus all humans) are flawed, whereas the non-feral vampires are not.
With an understanding of apocalyptic literature, this prophesies the extinction of humans and the
evil feral vampires, and the rise of a new society of post-human, non-feral vampires. Through
Neville’s suicide, the vampires are able to create a utopian society (a direct allusion to the
biblical New Jerusalem) that is seemingly free from violence. With Neville’s death marking the
extinction of human society and the commencement of a new post-human society, Matheson
prophecies that oppression and selfishness will lead to the demise of humanity.

Passage 4:
This passage comes from H.G. Wells’ short story, “The Time Machine”. By using
various ASF literary devices, Wells prophesies how growing class divisions will lead to
mankind’s devolution, and therefore demise.
In this passage, while running away from the Morlocks, the Time Traveller finally enters
the Palace of Green Porcelain. By being the only modern-day human being to witness Earth in
the future, he is given the role of the prophet figure. While here, he is able to see the de-evolution
of mankind, and now go back in time and warn his colleagues. Within ASF, elements of
apocalyptic literature are often secularized using a scientific and/or technological lens.
Therefore, rather than receiving visions from God like in the Book of Revelation, the Time
Traveller is able to see the complete progression and ultimate devolution of mankind through the
Palace of Green Porcelain which turns out to be a museum. The growing class divisions were
connected to the technological advancements of the 19th century, so it is interesting to note how
the Time Traveller moves through the museum. While he doesn’t care about the mineralogy, he
seeks out historical galleries. When he finds animal remains, he chooses to seek out information
on how humans acquired them. When “The Time Machine” was published, the concept of Social
Darwinism (or “survival of the fittest”) had been recently introduced, and was used to justify
class divisions. Therefore, Wells uses the Time Traveller’s journey through the museum to
expose humanity’s sense of superiority in connection to capitalistic gain. Finally, by showing
how the museum was once “artificially lit” and the various big machines that were now all
“greatly corroded” and “broken down”, Wells shows how humanity failed to evolve despite its
arrogance.
Not only has mankind not evolved, its growing class divisions have led to its
de-evolution as seen through two post-human species: The Morlocks and the Eloi. The novum of
the Eloi does not initially estrange the Time Traveller until he discovers, and is able to compare
them to, the Morlocks. While the Eloi are pretty, lazy, and don’t work, the Morlocks are the exact
opposite. This comparison cognitively estranges the Time Traveller’s view of social class when
he realizes that the Eloi descended from the upper class while the Morlocks descended from the
working class. Regardless of the working class now having the power, both species are less
evolved that modern day humans and indicate that actual humans have gone extinct. Therefore,
through these ASF tropes, Wells creates a “modern prophecy” about how growing class divisions
will result in the end of mankind.

Passage 5:
This passage is from E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops”. In this quote, Kuno talks to

his mother about what he witnessed when he visited the Earth’s surface- revealing his prophecy

about the “Machine”. Through various ASF literary devices, Forster then prophesies how

dependence on technology will lead to humanity’s end.

The “novum” of this section is the revelation that, after being told that the Earth’s surface

is uninhabitable, he discovers hills with turf that were once alive. Kuno is “cognitively

estranged” because this revelation goes completely against his empirical world, thus forcing him

to look critically at it. He realizes the dangers of trusting and worshiping the Machine which has

“robbed us of the sense of space, and the sense of touch”, and that “would let us die”. Through

this revelation, Kuno becomes the “prophet” figure of this story. However, he is still only an

internal prophet since his goal is not to warn society about their wrongdoings based on a vision

of the future that was revealed to him. Instead, he seeks the truth about what is on the surface on
his own, comes to the conclusion that the Machine is going to stop, and then warns his mother

about it.

Through all these literary devices of ASF, Kuno reveals a “modern prophecy” for the

reader. Within the short story, Forster touches on topics that are already familiar to the reader’s

empirical world. Although the “Machine” does not exist in the real world, it acts as a symbol for

technology and forces the reader to consider how it has affected their relationships. Furthermore,

Kuno’s mother- Vashti, represents real-life society, allowing the reader to see the dangers of

technology through her behavior. Throughout the story, she turns to the Machine for everything,

and doesn’t see the purpose of real-life human contact when she could just talk to communicate

through the Machine. Later on in the story, even though the Machine begins to exhibit the signs

of failure that her son warned her about, she is in denial that the Machine could ever fail. Only in

the end, when the Machine finally “stops” and the Earth crashes down on the people living

underground has Vashti, and the rest of humanity, “learnt its lesson”. “The Machine Stops” uses

ASF mode once again through its revelation of the above-ground society that opposed the

“Machine”, which references the “New Jerusalem” of the Bible, or the secular “utopia” common

in ASF. Through all these uses of ASF literary devices and tropes, E.M. Forster creates a

“modern prophecy” about the dangers of dependence on technology.