We read and discussed the story "The Post-Mortem People" in class on January 23 and 25. If you did not get to contribute to discussion, or if you have further thoughts about the story, please post your comments here. Remember that the discussion focused on extrapolation and the author's purpose in creating this future world.
7 comments:
The Post-Mortem People is a very strange but peculiar story that shows what the author hoped for in the future; the means of almost body stealing in a way, taking the deads body parts and selling them to the highest bidder. I kind of liked the story but we haven't finished it yet so we'll see.
When we were discussing the story, I made a connection to The Loved One, by Evelyn Waugh. This story is a satire about a mortuary. The Loved One's main satirical target is death and how it has become a business. I believe this is what the author of the Post-Mortem people is warning against. In this extrapolation, with quickly progressing technology, death and organ transplant have become a business, making those who work in it somewhat callous to the feelings of those who care.
I connected this to the movie Enemy at the Gate. I have only seen a little of the movie but in it, the russian governemtn kills anyone who is not willing to go on the front lines of war. Both Post-Mortem People and Enemy at the Gate show how little value human life has.
The idea of transplanting is in my opinion science fiction because an organ donor thinks about the future, they think things like: will I need this organ in the future? Will I be able to donate it? Do I want to be a donor? Will it work? How does it work? Will I want to be a recipient of an organ if I am in need of one? And how would it make me feel to be a donor or a recipient? And because of these things modern scientists are trying to develop science and technology to get better results of transplantations and organ donations. And through successful and unsuccessful surgeries and ideas and wonders of science fiction we want to do these things and have them be more and more successful each time.
the thing i really noticed about this story was the way in which it was written. there seemed to be a particularly serene style to it in a way that it almost sounded like it was being told by a very articulate machine. as for the story, i cannot really say that i was that interested.
the ting i noticed about some science-fiction are the ones that explain technology in more of a matter-of-fact kind of way making it more a piece of the setting than anything else.
The story is about what the author feared would happen in the future to humanity. It was interesting how he saw humanity getting steadily lazier cause all of humanity could afford to just purchase new parts whenever they stopped working properly. In a way this is true nowadays, with plastic surgery, liposuction, implants and so forth. We haven't gone to the extremes that are in the story, but we may get there in the future at this rate.
I thought it was interesting what point in the future the author decided to write this. It seemed to me like it was the climax of the story of the "snatchers" and that their downfall was just beginning. It was also interesting to me how the author portrayed this technology of transplanting to be the most major breakthrough in science and not moving sidewalks or any of the other major changes from life today.
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