The Flying Machine - Ray Bradbury

The Flying Machine - Ray Bradbury

Biography

Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American mainstream, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury is widely considered one of the greatest and most popular American writers of speculative fiction of the twentieth century. Ray Bradbury's popularity has been increased by more than 20 television shows and films using his writings This story is set in China many centuries ago, where a servant to the emperor notices a man that has created a contraption for flying. The emperor is not at all happy when he asks the inventor his purpose in creating such a device and is told that the inventor's motivation was merely the desire for innovation. Thus the emperor orders that the inventor shall be executed because, while his flying machine may be a beautiful creation, the emperor sees the devastating potential for those who "have evil in their eyes" and will seek to use it for purposes other than the enjoyment of flight, namely flying over the Great Wall of China. For this reason, the inventor is executed, the flying machine burned, and all who saw it are silenced. But in the last line the Emperor suddenly sees the futility of his actions, when he realises birds were the spark of the innovation and will be again.

Some questions

1. Why did the emperor call for his guards to execute the flier?

2. Do you agree with the emperor's concerns? Why or why not?

3. What would you have done if you had been the emperor?

4. What do you think was Ray Bradbury's purpose in writing "The Flying Machine"?

5. What comment is he making on human nature?

6. Why do you think Bradbury set the story in China AD 400?

THE FLYING MACHINE - More Questions

1- Where and when is this story set?
This story takes place in china, in the year 400 AD. In those times in Europe the church was against any form of knowledge which could have been against its thought.
The new invention could destroy the status quo. The great wall was a barrier that protected them (the Chinese) from any invasion - or invention. The flying machine was a threat against the empire

2- What does the flying machine represent?
Maybe the division/connection between the two worlds. It also represents a limit from development, revolution, evolution, freedom.

3- Who are the main characters of the story?
The emperor, the scientist or inventor, and the servant.

4- What kind of man is the emperor?
The emperor is a man who does not want progress. He is a despot and murderer.
He thinks any progress can threaten his land (his domain), so he will prevent any attempt.
He wants to be the best “inventor”, and perhaps, the emperor has / suffers from the
inventor‘s envy because, the flyer’s invention is much more important/creative than his.

The servant is a poor man, submissive. He ignores many things; he believes and trusts in his emperor. He thanks the emperor for letting him be alive/sparing his life. He accepts the invention. (I do not think that he thinks that the flying machine was dangerous)
The inventor is a revolutionary man, intelligent and adventurous. In those times it was dangerous to do something different and daring, however, he created the flying machine.

The inventor is brave with the emperor, because he wants to fight when the emperor orders to kill him. But he was submissive too, because on bended knee, he asks forgiveness.

5.Differences and similarities between the emperor’s invention and the flyer’s invention:
Both inventions mean beauty.

The emperor’s invention represents the empire’s ideals. He has an ideal empire. And the wall represents a prison.
Instead, the flyer´s invention represents freedom. It was a real invention.
The emperor’s invention was closed by a key. His empire was closed within the Wall. On the other hand, the flyer’s invention was an instrument that allows men to fly, and leads to freedom

6-A metaphor compares two unlike things, without the use of a comparison word, such as like or as. What metaphor does Bradbury use to describe the Great Wall? What function does the wall serve?
Splendid snake of stones. The Great Wall serves to protect the Chinese from the enemies

7- What do you think the conflict, or struggle, in the story will be?
The conflict will be perhaps, for the status quo. The emperor wants to keep his powers.

8- On what grounds does the flying man ask for mercy?
The flyer asks for mercy because he was an inventor too. He thinks the emperor has to consider what he has created because his own invention – the flying machine - was similar to the one the emperor has invented. They are both creators .

9- How does the emperor justify his treatment of the flying man?
The emperor says that sometimes you have to sacrifice some things, to prevent others from happening.

10- Why do you think the narrator ends the story with the emperor watching the birds in his mechanical garden?
The emperor says that only the birds can fly. Everything remains the same. The emperor is the one who ca make things “work”.
The writer emphasizes the fact that the emperor has taken the right decision.

4°2° - SPBR42 2009 / last class celebration

PErmiso, paso a subir algunas fotos y el video del ultimo dia de clases de 4º 2º del CLEC ! ja

Another Brick on the Wall 1979.

Unit 4 C friends to be friends

Mobile phones

Unit 3 A Mobile phones -

November 2nd 2009
Recommended article
Driven to Distraction
When Texting Kills, Britain Offers Path to Prison
Articles in this series examine the dangers of drivers using cellphones and other electronic devices, and efforts to deal with the problem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02texting.html?hp

Houses you'll never forget

Casa Azul (The Blue House)

Our dream house could have an area that could be different rooms at the same time, the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, everything in only one place. It would be a house with a very tall roof and a big window with balcony overlooking the river or a residential area with a lot of trees all around there.

Carolina y Laura.

Roald Dahl

Short Stories

"The Way Up to Heaven"

ROALD DAHL - Biography


Roald Dahl (English pronunciation: /ˈroʊ.ɑːl ˈdɑːl/[2], Norwegian: [ˈɾuːɑl dɑl]; 13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.

Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.

Some of his more well-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG.

"The Way Up to Heaven"

Plot/Description

Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of being late. Whenever she is in danger of missing a train or plane or an engagement, a tiny muscle near her eye begins to twitch. The worst part is that her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, seems to torment her by making sure that they always leave the house one or two minutes past the point of safety. On this particular occasion Mrs. Foster is leaving to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris for the first time ever, and she's frantic to think that she'll miss her flight. By the time her husband finally joins her at the car, she's too far behind schedule. Luckily the flight is postponed til the next day, and Mr. Foster persuades her to come home for the night. When she's ready to leave the next day, though, her husband suggests that they drop him off at his club on the way. Knowing this will make her late, she protests in vain. Just before the car leaves, he runs back in the house on the pretense of picking up a gift he forgot for his daughter. While he's gone Mrs. Foster discovers the gift box shoved down between the seat cushions. She runs up to the house to tell him that she has the gift... and suddenly she pauses. She listens. She stays frozen for 10 seconds, straining to hear something. Then she turns and runs to the car, telling the driver that they're too late and her husband will have to find another ride. She makes her flight and has a wonderful visit with her grandchildren. She writes her husband every week and sends him a telegram before she flies home six weeks later. He's not at the airport to meet her though, and when she enters the house (after taking a taxi home) she notices a curious odor in the air. Satisfied, she enters her husband's study and calls the elevator repairman. It had jammed and she left him to die there!

Classroom Activities
Vocabulary Work
1. List 10 words from the story which describe Mrs Foster as being either nervous or afraid.

2. Find one word in the story which means the same as:

a. unhappy, disappointed
b. very tired
c. find out about something
d. an odd habit or tendency
e. for a short time

Comprehension

1. Why is Mrs Foster upset with her husband at the beginning of the story?

2. How did her husband make her anxious the following morning?

3. What crucial decision did she finally make?

4. What were Mrs Foster's feelings at the end of the story?

Discussion Points
1. Was Mrs Foster right to want to live in Paris? Should husbands and wives always go away together?

2. Do you sympathise or not with Mrs Foster? Do you think she should go to prison? Do you understand why she let her husband die?

Writing

1. Write a short letter (100 words) from Mrs Foster to her daughter in Paris. Describe what happened when she returned home and describe her plans for the future.

Review
1. Is the ending to the story predictable or unpredictable? Give reasons.

The Way Up to Heaven

STUDENTS' VIEW
Description of characters

Mr. Foster
He is an old man, nearly seventy years old.
He tries to control his wife all the time. He is mean, because he usually makes things to provoke her phobias.
He is a selfish man, he is only interested in himself.
He seems to enjoy her wife’s phobias.
He seems to enjoy when his wife suffers from her phobias.
He does not love his daughter much. He does not to see her. He is a typical man of the nineteen fiftieths.

Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of missing a train, a plane, a boat… although she is not a particularly nervous woman. That fear makes her twitch the corner of her left eye, for an hour, even the plane has been safely caught.
She has been married for over 30 years and even she has been a good and loving wife (she has served her husband loyally and well), her husband controls her - although she has refused to let her believe that Mr. Foster would ever consciously torment her.
With this trip to Paris, one part of her realizes that her husband manipulates her, and it makes her move on in the way that she continues with something that she really wants (to know her grandchildren) even her husband doesn’t like it. So, in one way she makes herself free.
On the other hand, we think she is used to that kind of life, and maybe she needs that her husband treats her in that way. And that’s why she still remembers her husband and writes to him.
The death of her husband is a relief to her, because that liberates her from the manipulation of Mr. Foster. However, we also have a few questions: If she hasn’t gone in the car, maybe Mr. Foster would be alive by now? In that case, she is his murderess? Has she killed him consciously? In her desire to be free, does she sees an opportunity that she might not have anymore?


They are an old couple.
Mrs. Foster is a poor woman who's been taken to extremes by her mean husband.
Mr. Foster is authoritative with her. The woman, probably, had been educated like that.
He seems to enjoy watching his wife suffer, especially in the later years of their married life.
For over thirty years, she has served him loyally and well.
They are tired of each other. He is irritated by her foolishness. She is tired by his authoritative manners and the life she's had with her husband.