The Machine Stops

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut (1961)

• In this dystopian short story, the government has passed legislation to enforce true equality by forcing everyone who has notable talent or strength to wear devices called “handicaps” to bring them back to average.
• The story connects to the society in “The Machine Stops,” in which technological advances have been used to keep citizens passive and those who are extraordinary are culled at birth.
• This connects to the theme of Human Advancement in “The Machine Stops.”

“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury (1951)

• This short story, set in 2053, is about a man who goes for a walk one evening and is stopped by the police because he isn’t inside watching television like everyone else.
• Like “The Machine Stops,” this story explores the theme of Human Advancement and the way technology might keep people from experiencing their lives.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

• Brave New World is one of the most famous technological dystopian novels in literary history. It presents a world in which birth and death are controlled by scientific advancements, and much like the population in “The Machine Stops,” Themes in Brave New World overlap with themes in “The Machine Stops,” such as Human Advancement and The Study of History.

“The Ones Who Walk Away from the Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin (1973)

• This story takes place in a seemingly utopian society, but the secret behind perfection is unimaginable torment.
• Like “The Machine Stops,” Le Guin’s story approaches the issue of comfort in society at a great hidden cost or danger.

Other Student Resources

Black Mirror Season 1, Episode Two: Fifteen Million Merits (2011)

• Black Mirror, a television series created by Netflix, is set in an unspecified dystopian future in which incredible technological innovations bring out the darkness of human nature and instincts.
• In this episode, workers spend their lives in a virtually enhanced machine, where they labor to produce electricity, hoping for the chance to be funneled into easier, more glamorous lives in which they are exploited as entertainers.
• The themes of Black Mirror can give students a more modernized version of the themes in Forster’s story.

Her (2013)

• In this 2013 film, a lonely man falls in love with the voice of his AI assistant.
• Her broaches the issue of technology replacing human intimacy, which is a significant concept investigated in “The Machine Stops.”

“How to Fix Democracy”: An Interview with Margaret Atwood

• Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, who has written dystopian novels such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake, discusses the role of fiction and dystopian fiction in warning society about the potential ramifications of current issues if left unaddressed.