I chose this post due to it’s discussion on how Richard feels “forced” into the new world of technology. It captures the feeling that the world is going “too fast,” which is a key point in my view of SF’s relation to changes of everyday life during the Cold War.
(Passage: pp. 73–74, from “Everyone had to become resigned to this” to “past in the parade of phantoms”)
This passage tells us that Richard is not content with the current trend of changing and evolving livelihoods. Right before this passage he laments this fact; “How can one explain this trend toward a more colorless and shallow life? Well, the work was easier, if less healthy, and it brought in more money, more leisure, and perhaps more entertainment. A day in the country is long and hard. And yet the fruits of their present life were worthless to a single coin of their former life: a rest in the evening and a rural festivity” (P. 72-3). This shows that Richard resents this change to a more sedentary and leisurely lifestyle. He appears to be a man who enjoys the toils and fruits of his labor, a man who rejoices in hardship and hard work. It seems as though he feels like hard work makes leisure time even more enjoyable. He writes that everyone else had become resigned to this new way of life. He feels as though this new way of life was forced upon him, that he had no choice in the matter. “The old way of life had disappeared. Now the slogan was: Do or die. Wittgrewe had realized this before I did. I am, therefore, far from criticizing him and the others; I myself was forced to take the same turn” (73).
The language of this passage reinforces the theme that this technological and lifestyle change was done against Richard’s will. There are many cases when Richard laments that he was “forced” or “had” to change or give up something about himself in order to adapt to these new times. These word choices reflect the thinking of a man who refuses to believe that he has any control over his current situation. Instead, he believes that the only way to survive in this new world is to allow it to control him. The mood of this passage is dim. While Richard does not necessarily seem angry with the changing of the times, he does not seem content with it either. He resigns himself to the fact that his old life is behind him. However, he does nothing to change his current place in life. He instead blames the changing times without even trying to challenge them. He seems to be a man down on his luck, a man with little to no hope left.
This passage depicts technological change in the fact that tanks replaced the cavalry and horses. Furthermore, newer models of tanks were already outcompeting the old ones and new weaponry was able to take human life at a devastating pace. Richard finds this process both upsetting and fascinating. He writes that, “When new models were displayed to the masses at the great parades in the Red Square in Moscow or elsewhere, the crowds stood in reverent silence and then broke into jubilant shouts of triumph” (74). This part of the passage reflects a society that is changing both technologically and socially to accept violence and weaponry as an everyday facet of daily life. This passage could be considered part of a work of science fiction in the fact that it depicts technological change in a society not all that dissimilar to our own.
The only reference I had to look up in order to understand is Richard’s reference to Tubalcain, the man the Bible attributes to being the first blacksmith (74). It is interesting that Richard references both Cain and Tubalcain in this passage. I believe that both these Biblical figures can serve as a metaphor for the human desire to go to war against other humans. Technology, especially in Richard’s timeline, is invented by one group of humans purely to make war against other humans. Overall, I see connections between this passage and other sections in the novel where Richard references being displaced by tanks and being shot at at long range. Both these instances highlight the fact that his way of life, battling on open fields in a ‘noble’ fashion, are outdated and in the past.