The essay I choose is The Future Is Now is written by Katherine Anne Porter (pg 193-198). I choose this essay because I have people telling me that phrase “The future is now” over and over again. Annoyed by that phrase, oddly I found an essay with the same title as the annoying phrase. So, since it is said to me repeatedly, hey why not read about it.
Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) , who was a prize winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. With the many famous works like the Ship of Fools being the best selling novel in 1962. She wrote short stories and short novels ; each novel or short story written either relates to her life, dark themes such as betrayal, death and the origin of human evil and other situations or events that happens.
It start out with that scene where the actions and situations before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945) and before World War II ended, but as the essay goes on, it gives meaningful moments and questions to why are we here and do you know what you are doing here. The essay then goes on to the part of how the main character is looking at the people around her, wondering today they are just walking all happy on the street, going here and there, why isn’t any body preparing themselves for the worst case scenarios that can happen at any moment.
Towards the ending of this essay, the atom bomb is once mentioned again. This time when it was mentioned, it was pointed out that ” This world has always been a desperately dangerous place to live for the greater part of the earth’s inhabitants; it was, however reluctantly, endured as the natal state of affairs. Yet he invention of every weapon of war has always been greeted with horror and righteous indignation, especially by those who failed to invent it, or who were threatened with it first (it goes on listing the weapons)…,and on and on to the grand climax-if it should prove to be-of the experiment on Hiroshima. (197). From this you can tell that the author is frustrated with the world and the people that created the weapons that are used in wars and the cause of it is destroying land that once was beautiful. Porter ends this essay with the statement ” And yet it my be that what we have is a world not on the verge of flying apart, but a uncreated one- still shapeless fragments waiting to be put together”(198). I think what is said here is like no one really knows when the world will be back to the way it was. People will always try to add something to make their mark on Earth, but with so much “markings”, when do we really stop and just leave the world that we are in as it is.
What do you guys think of the following quotes?:
- “give your self time… the future will take care of itself.”(195) What do you think she meant by that?
- “Mankind has always built a little more than he has hither to been able or willing to destroy; got more children than he has been able to kill; invented more laws and customs than he had any intention of observing; founded more religions than he was able to practice or even to believe in; made, in general, many more promises than he could keep; and he has been known more than once to commit suicide through mere fear of death.” p. 196. [ Who or what do you think Porter is referring to? Everyone that is on this Earth? ]
- Towards the end, there are questions asking “What would you have advised instead? That the human race should have gone on sitting in caves gnawing raw meat and beating each other over the head with the bones? (198).” Do you think she is talking about where the people of the Earth still needs time and room to grow? OR by asking these questions it is suppose to where some one dies in order for another person to live?
I think this essay shows we as human beings are in the history of our existence in the world, with the atomic bomb(mentioned here and there) the symbol of humanity’s willful desire for self-destruction. The exigence of this essay? I think it is finding a way of looking for an existence. The audience? …You..everyone. What do you think the exigence, constraints and the audience is?
I think the first quote means to keep moving on with life. Do not let any obstacle stop you from achieving the future. It takes time to learn about yourself and what you really want to do with your future, so let that go with the flow.
I think the second quote is talking about how everyone has prepared themselves to cause even more suffering to the world than how it usually has been throughout time and history. Violence somehow ends up being a part of the world’s nature to continue on killing each other over problems, racism, and so on.
The last quote is that I would advise that people are people. There is no way everyone can be at peace. Violence is the way for everyone to resolve their problems when it is a huge issue between different continents.
The future is the present. Do you think Porter wanted peace? Why or why not?
I think Porter is saying, life will go on, whether we kill each other or have world peace. I don’t think she is necessarily expecting world peace.
“I fail entirely to see why it is more criminal to kill a few thousand persons in one instant than it is to kill the same number slowly over a given stretch of time” (198).
I do not agree, nor do I full understand where the author is getting this idea from. Today, we view it in the complete opposite (at least I do). We would be more intuitive to a serial killer on the loose than a rogue jet dropping bombs. Perhaps, it is because the chance of getting stabbed on the street is higher than being attacked by a jet? If we were to base this statement with some current-historical facts when this was was written (1950), she is basically saying, United States is evil for dropping the atomic bomb while Hitler is cool because his Holocaust was slow, but deadly process? Could someone explain this situation to me?
*I just realize, I am confusing myself even further with this post.
“I’d as lief be killed by an atom bomb as by a hand grenade or a flame thrower” (198). From this sentence, which came after the quote, I concluded she meant “slowly over a given stretch of time” as in war as fought with guns, grenades, flame throwers, etc. Wars take years to fight, but a nuclear bomb like the one in Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed in “one instant” and completely end the war while the individual battles did not have the same impact.
I, too, have heard the phrase: the future is now, more often then not. Growing up I was always taught that the future is never a set thing; a lot can happen (changes) in the present that affects the future. So when I hear that phrase, I think about how the present influences the direction of the future. Maybe Porter wants us, the readers or anyone, to create and focus on a better “present day” in order to create a much better future?
I also agree with Leo about “going with the flow of life”. You can plan your future but the chances of it being prefect are slim. The way we perceive things can differ from what they actually are; trying to control something that’s uncertain, like the future, can lead to disappointment. Its better to just focus your attention and energy on the present because it’s one of the things we have control over. Maybe Porter is suggesting that since we have control over the present when, we can control the violence that looms over us now?
The story is not about World War II; it’s about the Cold War (1946-1991). Americans were told to hide under desks to protect themselves from a nuclear attack. The story was written by an American and published in 1950, so she would be more worried about another country bombing her than her own country, since Americans were the only ones with atom bombs during WWII. Though the Soviets started their atomic program during WWII, they tested their first bomb in 1949. The references to soldiers might be the Korean War (1950-1953), but not sure about that. Since she is a journalist and politically active, I think her exigence might be against war, since she is against weapons and death. Or at least that is what I got from the story.
Her statement about the world being “shapeless fragments waiting to be put together properly” made me think she still had hope that fighting would eventually be over and the world would be able to work together. Asking if humans should stay in a cave because fire is the ancestor of weapons sounds like she accepts what has happened as a form of growing, even if she doesn’t like it; everything was necessary. That war and fighting is natural for humans, because they will still “beat each other over the head with the bones.” Since we have already done our worse, future consequences for bettering ourselves will seen insignificant in comparison.
ohh I always thought it was during wwII because of the whole idea of the atom bomb and how she mentioned Hiroshima and Nagasaki being bomb as well….oh now I understand this essay more..Thank you for pointing that out.
I think Porter may be trying to convey that we are too ahead of ourselves. We (humans) always believe that we have the answers to everything. That if we implement this law, believe in this ideology, or invent money that it can correct or fix a “flaw,” but all of the things we impose on Earth is actually detrimental to nature, and may have positive effects in the beginning but will be disastrous in the future. Earth was natural, pure, and divine. Now….
Its funny how technology can work for us and against us. This essay makes me think of James Bond saving the world from and evil mad man trying to destroy the earth. In the end of the you wonder whether or not the good in people will prevail. Our existence is actually very fragile and takes only one mad man to press a button and destroy mankind.
I find it interesting that you were so annoyed of the phrase “The Future is Now” that you decided to read about it – I mean if I saw it I’d keep moving on to another essay with a title that would spark up my interest. I think deep down you were really interested what they have to say about the phrase, maybe because there’s something inside of you that’s so unknown that you crave to find out why people are obsessed with the phrase. Anyways, I believe Porter was trying to say with the first quote that you should live life to the fullest extent. Why should we live a life to prepare ourselves for the worst situations possible? We will then live in only in fear constraining our full potential of experiencing what makes us happy. If our mentality is constantly battling, letting our guards up – I see that as a sad person, living a wrongful life. (I feel it’s worse than actually risking getting in trouble, at least I can look back and smile about it). Let fate happen, have the mentality of not expecting anything. The best possible situations that happen to you are when you least expect it! Feel me?
If we get so caught up with what we know, be aware of our surroundings at all times, I don’t think any of us would be able to build such a great bond with another. Since we know that everyone is capable of hurting, killing everyone, we’d be so paranoid of one another. We’d always be armed, doing shit that’ll only help benefit ourselves instead of helping others. Yes, there’s always a 50/50 chance helping someone, they may hurt you but we know the risks and consequences but we still take them because we just do.
We’re always at war with ourselves.
I hope that makes sense, it does in my head.
I was surprised too on the topic of this article and on the author’s realistic ideas and concerns.
In our modern interpretation of the “future” we tend to think on accomplishing things with the least amount of human effort with an aim to enjoy longer life span. “Future” brings to mind teleportation, colonizing of other planets and the expansion of the human race throughout the galaxies and not specifically the destruction of our next door neighbor. We think this way because that is our current understanding or imagination so far. As I keep reading the essay, the authors started to make comparison of situation that had cause great pain, despairs, destruction and shame and made me feel like she was sounding a bit fatalistic. But on her defense I think she is doing a great job with the then current knowledge of science in making her current and future readers aware of broader consequences of our actions. I don’t think, people had a complete understanding of the destruction that the atomic bomb could do, but it is unthinkable and purely diabolic to use it again, now that we know the horrific destruction it causes.
The author mentions how the government and groups with more power and knowledge lie to the general population. We are still seeing it when our government and political leaders keep the population in fear in order to get away with crimes, wars and unnecessary destruction of human lives.
I am a little puzzled with the “carpenter” character paying more attention to the look and smoothness of his table, while all these commotions and fears are happening around him. Is the author advising us to continue our life as usual because things will eventually take care of themselves or is she complaining about lack of responsibility and action?
Creativity and imagination is what got us out of the caves and made us switch from bone weapons to more sophisticated tools, but as Nikko mention we are still capable of hurting each other. We cannot consider technological advancement as evil or wrong because we don’t have a full understanding of it yet, as long as we are not purposely hurting ourselves or the world.
Pretty interesting read. I found the essay kind of weird at first, but later on it sort of made more sense.
“give your self time… the future will take care of itself.”(195) I think what she meant by this question is that eventually everything around the world will become universal. There is always that statement that says the world is always changing, and I think that this quote is represents that eventually the world will stop changing and everything will be united. Another interpretation of this quote I think could be that the person should not worry about the future, but accept everything that is happening; it reminds of the teachings of Buddhism.
“Mankind has always built a little more than he has hither to been able or willing to destroy; got more children than he has been able to kill; invented more laws and customs than he had any intention of observing; founded more religions than he was able to practice or even to believe in; made, in general, many more promises than he could keep; and he has been known more than once to commit suicide through mere fear of death.” p. 196. I think it kind of explains that we do things for a specific reason, but we end up overdoing it. Porter sort of explains it as, that people that do things for a good reason usually ends up, not according to plan.
“What would you have advised instead? That the human race should have gone on sitting in caves gnawing raw meat and beating each other over the head with the bones? (198).” I think this quote was used as a imagery/symbolism that if we do not move in the future, we will end up in this sort of position.
So from what I understand from this essay, the author sort of argues between the present and the future.Would staying in the present be bad ? and Always looking toward the future good?
Maybe in some ways human will eventually destroy itself, at the rate we are are going. Also our natural instance can be a dying cause for the stuff we create. We may be smarter then most creatures on earth, but it comes with a price? We can literally decide how we want the world, and choose to do whatever we want with it. In such a way, we are the future, because we can destroy and create life changing the course of natural selection.
“give your self time… the future will take care of itself.”(195) I think that she meant for people to just relax because life is not something to be rushed. For example, it’s harder to get a well paying job nowadays without going to college. So people tend to rush and finish school faster to start working, but some people don’t exceed by doing this. This is the example I can give, however life and school changes in time. Do you think the future will take care of itself? Sometimes you can’t just wait for things to happen.
• “give your self time… the future will take care of itself.”(195) What do you think she meant by that?
This quote to me means that prepare now, for the future is inevitably coming. So don’t worry about the future let time take its course and prepare for what is going on now. what I am trying to say is try not to think about the future. But worry about what you are doing in the moment. That’s what I think the quote is saying.
WHat I get from the story in a few words is that as a species humans are greatly outliving their resources and have come about to destroying themselves. I could be wrong about this but that’s what I understood. I get this from the section in which she compares humans to the gods who were ultimately destroyed by their own creations. I think that she is explaining the reason why she believes this in a simple manner and with examples, such as the atom bomb so that we can all understand.
I’m glad you chose this essay, it was easy to read. I also find the imagery vivid and captivating. I like that you incorporated quotes from the passage that you didn’t understand. When I got to these I took more time reading them to try and understand them. to answer your question about the last quote, I think she is just using this to get the reader to think about the great journey that humanity has undertaken. Through our evolution and gaining of new wisdom, we have as a species been able to come out of the caves and create civilizations. With this came warfare and all the evil and bad things that she describes along with all the wonderful things that we have today. If we had never left the caves and were still there today we would not be able to experience any of it, the good or the bad. She just wants the reader to realize this and ask themselves, “what path would you have rather we had taken?” In other words, do you like where we are now or do you wish we were still living in caves? What would be your answer to this question?
When I saw this title “the Future is Now”, it immediately remind me of what my mom used to tell me. While I was growing up, my mom always told me not to wait until last minutes to get things done, get it done as it was due in that moment, becasue she said we can’t predict what would happen in next minutes.
““give your self time… the future will take care of itself.”(195) What do you think she meant by that?” I think she is trying to remind us (readers) to slow down with ours life and try to enjoy the moment that we have now since no one call tell what is going to happen in futer?
I think the second quote is saying thathumans in general are greedy. No matter how much they have, they always want more. We always have more things that we can handle. They get consumed by greed because we feel what we have is not enough.
I like the first quote, “give your self time… the future will take care of itself” and I agree with what leo said about it, that life does go on despite the mistakes that you make. However, I also saw this quote in a different prespective where if you have goals in your life and plan ahead, then the future will be in your hands; you will have no worries as “the futue will take care of itself”.
When the author talks about the bombs and all the weapons in the world, it not only seems like the author is againist all the violence our world is composed of, but it also seems as if the author thinks our world would be much better without it. The author seems to think that all the violence is disrupting our world; however, we do have the power to change that and make the future better; the future is in our hands.
In the second quote regarding mankind, I think that it’s relating to everyone; if mankind had the knowledge and power to invent such violent weapons, then mankind also has the power to stop the violence.
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