The Machine Stops

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY: “Understanding Point of View”

The story is told from Vashti’s perspective in a limited third-person point of view. How does this affect the way readers view the machine and the society she lives in? In what ways does Vashti’s point of view manifest the way the world is described and the story is told? How might it be different if it were told from Kuno’s perspective?

Part A: Re-read the story and note significant moments where Vashti’s perspective colors the storytelling. Pay particular attention to the instances where Vashti and Kuno interact and view the same things differently. Make a chart with at least three moments or elements from the text that are viewed by both characters to compare and contrast their observations or reactions.

• Divide your paper into three columns.
• In the first two, write Vashti’s and Kuno’s differing perspectives using quotes from the text.
• In the third column, briefly explain how they are different.

Part B: Choose an instance in which Vashti’s point of view isn’t countered by Kuno’s perspective. Make a note of how the moment is described and illustrate how you think Kuno might describe or perceive it. Options for your illustration include:

• Write an extended description of the moment or element from Vashti’s perspective. Then, write a description of the moment as you imagine Kuno would describe it.
• Make a comic strip with two panels. On one side, draw Vashti’s perspective as you envisioned it while reading. On the other side, draw Kuno’s view of the moment or element as you imagine it.
• Make a website, graphic design image, or animation that represents Vashti’s perspective and then Kuno’s perspective.

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on the scope of the assignment in your class, you may decide to allow students to work in pairs in which each student works on one perspective. If they are struggling with these options, you might open up the assignment to include writing poetry, performing a skit, making a film, or creating a collage.

Paired Text Extension:

Read “The Ones Who Walk Away from the Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin (1973), another dystopian short story. Now that students have considered how perspective and point of view shape the storytelling, how does point of view come through in Le Guin’s story? How does the utopia compare to “The Machine Stops”? What does the perspective in the story reveal or hide?

• Create a chart with two columns.
• In one column, list observations about the world given through the perspective of the storytelling.
• In the second column, list your observations about what is hidden beneath the text. What is implied but not stated?

Teaching Suggestion: After students have completed this activity, you might discuss how perspective functions differently in both texts. What warnings are the two stories giving about social issues or the flaws of humanity? How are the two worlds different? It might also be useful to discuss how these stories convey messages within their own periods and how these messages may or may not be relevant today.