"When the Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster - Review

Vashti choosing to not visit her son out of inconvenience shows she is content living in her own world.
Human interaction is not deemed as a necessity for her. Even though she communicates with her friends
and gives lectures often, it is not the same. “It only gave a general idea of people - an idea that was good
enough for all practical purposes, Vashti thought” (Forster, 3). Her acceptance of not being able to truly
engage with another human is worrisome and makes me think about how easy it is to communicate through
people on social media, and never meet them in real life. We all know social media isn’t an accurate
representation of how people actually are because we are only seeing the image of them they want to portray
to others. For many, including me, this piece of them that they are willing to share is enough for us to create
an idea of who they are.

Just like the idea God of cannot be fully explained but is widely accepted and believed in by many, so is the
Machine. Vashti is a true worshipper, and chooses to not question the way things are and leaves it to the Machine
to take care of everything. Essentially, the fate of their lives lie in the Machine’s ability to function just like people
believe God chooses who lives and dies. One concept that is never really mentioned is the idea of the afterlife.
I wonder if since society has become fully dependent on the Machine, the idea of dying doesn’t really bother them?
Vashti is literally confronted with humans at the end of the story, and responds by closing her door. This is one of the
rare times people are choosing to leave their room, and it results in complete chaos. Even though this was written in
1909, I think the author’s message was to warn us about our increasing dependence on technology, and how we will
feel completely lost without it. Which holds true in 2018!

Two questions explained after reading:

I find it interesting that everything is digital except for the book that explains the functions of the machine.
(After finishing the story I understand the book is to be compared to the Bible, and the Machine to God.)

Understanding how society is devoid of human interaction leads me to question how people are even born. After
Vashti’s ride to Kuno’s room, my question is answered when she explained that a man “had been sent to Sumatra
for the purpose of propagating the race” (Forster, 8).