FLYING MACHINE ANALYSIS
GDHS
ANALYZING SHORT STORIES
As a Senior high school student, your role has
changed – you are now ready to begin TELLING
us what you see rather than being TOLD what to
see via questions and answers.
Obviously, it will take some practice to reach the
depth and detail required of a ENG 3U1 student,
so we will start right away.
MAJOR THEMES AND IDEAS:
1. Fantastic Machines
A man creates a flying apparatus of reeds and paper.
With it, he is able to fly in the sky. The inventor only
sees the “good” in the machine. The emperor has a
machine of his own: one of a mechanical scene to
create happiness for its viewer. This scenario parallels the ethics that
are sometimes ignored when technology is developed. In today’s
society, the “should we” questions are ignored in favour of the
excitement of creating something which could be used for good or evil.
MAJOR THEMES AND IDEAS
2. Doomsday Scenario
The emperor worries that the flying machine will
fall into evil hands and be used to destroy his
people.
MAJOR THEMES AND IDEAS
3. Sacrifice
The inventor’s life is sacrificed to save the lives of
millions who could be killed by the flying machine. The
servant, farmer and emperor must sacrifice reality (what
they know is true and possible) in order to prevent evil.
MAJOR THEMES AND IDEAS
4. Minds Unlimited
The emperor is troubled by the “what if ” factor
involved with the machine. He is afraid of the unknown
and he will take great measures to ensure that no evil
comes of the machine.
SETTING
The time period for this story is 400 A.D. (April 17).
The place is the emperor’s palace in the countryside
with the Great Wall of China nearby. The mood of the
story is peaceful, serene and tranquil and it juxtaposes
the natural world of the setting to the mechanical world
of the inventor.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
1. The Emperor of China (Yuan) in 400 A.D.
He respects and enjoys the simple things in life. He is thoughtful and does
not react to a situation before careful reflection. He is also fair when he
spares the lives of the servants. The Emperor embodies the ethical dilemmas
that a society must face when it questions whether technology should be
introduced or enhanced. The Emperor sees the advantages and drawbacks of
the machine but makes the decision to destroy it because of its potential
threat to take lives. This attitude can be compared to contemporary scientists
who often create things without ethics (for example, stem cell research,
nuclear technology and cloning).
MAJOR CHARACTERS
2. The Servant
The servant is a loyal person to the throne. He is quick to report his findings
to the emperor and he is patient and respectful towards the emperor’s
hesitation and reflection regarding the machine. The servant is also smart
enough to consider his self-preservation by promising never to speak of this
creation again.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
3. The Inventor
The inventor is a man with much talent, but he only chooses to see how his
invention will help him to enjoy life better than the potential for danger that
his creation could trigger. He knows enough to ask for mercy from the
emperor but he fails to see the harm his invention could cause. Therefore, he
is narrow-minded and looks at his creation with tunnel-vision.
PLOT
1. The incident that gets the plot rolling is the servant
informing the emperor of his discovered miracle. The
reader wonders what miracle could have occurred and
continues to read on.
2. An interesting development is that the emperor reacts
with horror instead of wonder when he sees the “miracle”
for himself. It is unexpected that a person would have
enough foresight to see the evils of such a wondrous
creation.
PLOT
Another interesting development is the juxtaposition between the
emperor’s music box and the flying machine. The emperor
demonstrates that one should be cautious of an invention that
creates such joy as the flying machine.
3. The climax of the story is the execution of the inventor. At
this point, the major problem/conflict is resolved. A second
climax could be when the life of the servant is spared.
OPINION
Answers will vary.