Science fiction is a genre about extrapolating contemporary knowledge of the society we live in, in order to build imaginary, future societies in order to understand the consequences and evolution of our knowledge. In this work, I explore the predictive aspects of science fiction by making a comparative analysis between Frank Herbert's Dune and Isaac Asimov's Foundation. The questions I have chosen to explore are: How are the novels are influenced by the life experiences of the authors?How does the novels reflect the time period in which they were written?How does prediction function as a plot device in the novels?As a theoretical basis for my work I have used the academic journal Science Fiction Studies, as well as individual articles, academic books and author biographies that touch upon the subject.My approach has been to apply a traditional literary critique to the authors and the novels in order to understand the relationship between the authors and their novels.Asimov, a professor in chemistry, reflects in his fictional writing a deep faith in the sciences and their ability to navigate problematic futures with pinpoint accuracy, whereas Herbert makes known his distaste for authority figures. Asimov's predictive psychohistory leads the novel's psychohistorians to a better, more utopian society, whereas the prescience of Paul Atreides leads mankind to violence and ruin. Herbert's writing functions almost like a polemic against Asimov's idea that scientists would function as flawless leaders in society, and that prediction of the future would lead inevitably to a more prosperous society. From my analysis I have concluded that both the authors and the time period in which they wrote their respective novels played a significant role in shaping the futures depicted in each novel. Far from being novel predictions of potential futures, the future societies of Herbert and Asimov's novels reflect their own ideology and the time periods in which the novels were written.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-187474 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Olsson, Jesper |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för kultur- och medievetenskaper |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.2276 seconds