The Machine Stops

The Book

The Book, an elaborate user’s manual for the Machine, symbolizes the dangers of blind faith. In the dystopian society of “The Machine Stops,” people live underground because they Earth’s surface is apparently no longer…

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Respirators

Respirators—a form of protective equipment that make it possible to visit Earth’s surface—symbolize humanity’s innate desire to be close to nature. In the world of the story, the air aboveground has become toxic to human…

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