Sci-Fi
It might surprise you to find out that authors have been exploring science fiction for at least several hundred years. Sci-Fi is not new and it is definitely not a 20th century phenomenon.
Your last reading in this unit is by a 19th century author, H. G. Wells. You may be familiar with him as he wrote War of the Worlds, a story about Martians invading the Earth. In 1938 the story was adapted for radio and broadcast across the United States, creating mass hysteria as many listeners believed that a Martian invasion was in progress.
You may wish to research H.G Wells’ story War of the Worlds and the public reaction to the October 30, 1938 broadcast.
H.G. Wells found early success with another short novel titled, The Time Machine. As you read this, please keep in mind that it was published in 1895. At the time Wells was writing The Time Machine, electric lights were a relatively new invention, automobiles were looming just over the horizon, slide rules were the tool in an upper level math course and computers had not yet been envisioned even in a science fiction novel!
H.G. Wells definitely had an imagination which stretched further than anyone at the time thought was actually possible.
Keep in mind also; you have now studied a number of themes. If you took the first semester of this course, you studied Utopia and Dystopia. After you read this selection, you may wonder why this novel was not put in that unit. The simple answer is that many literary selections will cross over and touch one, two or several different themes. The Time Machine absolutely could have been used during the Utopia and Dystopia unit.