Biography of the Author:
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, which was at that time a part of the Soviet Union, in 1919. Although he was born in the Soviet empire, he never learned Russian and instead spoke English and Yiddish. His parents moved to the United States when he was only three years old, and he was educated in the American school system.
Asimov attended Columbia University for the second half of his Biology master's degree. He then worked various jobs, some being associated with the Second World War.
In 1958 he accepted a posting to Boston university, and there he started writing. He quit this job quickly as his writing income already far exceeded his Professor's salary. He then went on to write over 300 books of various genres, although his most successful work was in Science Fiction writing.
Response:
1. Why do you think the author wrote the text?
A: I believe the author wrote the text to show how important computers, especially governmental supercomputers, are to modern society.
2: What does the author want you to think?
A: The author wants the reader to realize how central a role these government databanks play into our lives. Although this situation is much more evident in the USA, the point can still be made and seen.
3: Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?
A: There are not really any distinct groups in the story to compare to.
4: Does the story remind you of a real-life event?
A: No, it does not.
5: Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?
A: It reminds me of Dan Brown's book "Digital Fortress," which deals with a similarly all-knowing government supercomputer.
6: How does the story help you think of social issues and social justice?
A: The story brings to mind the situation with government intelligence south of the border, where there is a massive and continuous legal war between the government agencies who need people's information to do their work and the average citizen who wants to keep this private.
7: What action might you take from what you have learned?
A: I would not take action from this story as the exact situation is not comparable.
8: What big question has this question left you with?
A: This isn't really from the story, but if the US government knows so much about their citizens how much does Canada's know about theirs? How much privacy do we really have in comparison to the average US citizen?
Response 2:
1: Why do Ali Othman and Rafe Leemy wait before they tell Bernard Gulliman the whole truth? Are their actions believable considering the seriousness of the crime? Explain.
A: Yes, as they would know that Gulliman, who is an elected official, would do whatever was necessary to keep his position and therefore would not act with direct responsibility towards Multivac.
2: What evidence from the story tells you that Ben and the other characters see Mulitvac as a kind of god? What effect does their view have on the story's ending?
A: The reverence the characters hold for Multivac assures both its protection and destruction, as those determined to protect it must protect it from itself as its godlike status allows it to commandeer people to engineer its own destruction.
3: What does the ending suggest about the ability of technology to bring around a perfect world? Do you agree? Explain your answer.
A: The ending of the story suggests that a world ruled by technology is often unforgiving and does not account for true human emotions, thus resulting in a world where expression is not valued.
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, which was at that time a part of the Soviet Union, in 1919. Although he was born in the Soviet empire, he never learned Russian and instead spoke English and Yiddish. His parents moved to the United States when he was only three years old, and he was educated in the American school system.
Asimov attended Columbia University for the second half of his Biology master's degree. He then worked various jobs, some being associated with the Second World War.
In 1958 he accepted a posting to Boston university, and there he started writing. He quit this job quickly as his writing income already far exceeded his Professor's salary. He then went on to write over 300 books of various genres, although his most successful work was in Science Fiction writing.
Response:
1. Why do you think the author wrote the text?
A: I believe the author wrote the text to show how important computers, especially governmental supercomputers, are to modern society.
2: What does the author want you to think?
A: The author wants the reader to realize how central a role these government databanks play into our lives. Although this situation is much more evident in the USA, the point can still be made and seen.
3: Do you belong to any of the groups in the text?
A: There are not really any distinct groups in the story to compare to.
4: Does the story remind you of a real-life event?
A: No, it does not.
5: Does the story remind you of another book or movie on a similar topic?
A: It reminds me of Dan Brown's book "Digital Fortress," which deals with a similarly all-knowing government supercomputer.
6: How does the story help you think of social issues and social justice?
A: The story brings to mind the situation with government intelligence south of the border, where there is a massive and continuous legal war between the government agencies who need people's information to do their work and the average citizen who wants to keep this private.
7: What action might you take from what you have learned?
A: I would not take action from this story as the exact situation is not comparable.
8: What big question has this question left you with?
A: This isn't really from the story, but if the US government knows so much about their citizens how much does Canada's know about theirs? How much privacy do we really have in comparison to the average US citizen?
Response 2:
1: Why do Ali Othman and Rafe Leemy wait before they tell Bernard Gulliman the whole truth? Are their actions believable considering the seriousness of the crime? Explain.
A: Yes, as they would know that Gulliman, who is an elected official, would do whatever was necessary to keep his position and therefore would not act with direct responsibility towards Multivac.
2: What evidence from the story tells you that Ben and the other characters see Mulitvac as a kind of god? What effect does their view have on the story's ending?
A: The reverence the characters hold for Multivac assures both its protection and destruction, as those determined to protect it must protect it from itself as its godlike status allows it to commandeer people to engineer its own destruction.
3: What does the ending suggest about the ability of technology to bring around a perfect world? Do you agree? Explain your answer.
A: The ending of the story suggests that a world ruled by technology is often unforgiving and does not account for true human emotions, thus resulting in a world where expression is not valued.
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