51 pages • 1 hour read
E. M. ForsterA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the story.
Pre-Reading Warm-Up
What is the purpose of studying history? What about the arts and humanities? How do these subjects differ from topics such as science and engineering? How might history, arts, and the humanities be practical areas of study? How might they not?
Teaching Suggestion: This question connects to the theme of The Study of History and can help students understand how all of these subjects can be practical, but they can also be used to traverse into esoteric territory, creating the academic busy work that occupies Vashti in “The Machine Stops.” After they’ve read the story, students can connect their initial responses to the use of lecture and academia in “The Machine” and consider how this might be a critique of the way academia functioned in Forster’s society.
By E. M. Forster