Short Fiction · Theme
Violence and Murder
How Short Fiction develops Violence and Murder.
Violence is depicted as both a lost art and a destructive force; in the future, murder is so forgotten that Lantry can exploit society's naivety, while in the short-lived world, war and killing are driven by the desperate desire to extend life.
Where it surfaces
- Don't Get Technatal
Stern's nostalgia for gangland massacres and his final act of reaching for an atomic gun highlight the theme of violence as a source of narrative and meaning.
- The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa
The chaotic party violence and the deadly battle on Venus highlight the theme of violence.
- The Piper
The Piper's music incites a violent revolution, with savage Martians overrunning Earth cities, killing, and destroying. The old man is swept away in the attack.
- Lazarus Come Forth
Brandon kills Logan in a violent struggle to protect the Scientist.
- The Monster Maker
The battle involves shooting and death, and Gunther's base is built on causing accidental deaths.
- Morgue Ship
The war's violence is omnipresent, and the chapter culminates in Burnett's violent self-sacrifice to stop the spies.
- Defense Mech
The Martian obstacle course is a deadly gauntlet; Halloway's actions, though perceived as playful, involve killing and maiming alien creatures.
- IV
Sim witnesses a war party and learns that enemies are made quickly; Chion threatens to kill Sim, and Dark explains the superstition that murder grants extra days.
- VII
The battle is brutal, with rocks hurled, men killed, and Sim wounded by Chion.
- The Test of the Sun
The contest involves deliberate stone-throwing intended to injure or kill, highlighting the brutal violence of the struggle.
- Rocket Summer
The threat of violence from the mob and the potential for war are central to Stanley's fears.
- Asleep in Armageddon
The internal war between Iorr and Tylle manifests as self-inflicted gunshot and eventual death.
- I
Lantry kills a passerby to steal his clothes, demonstrating his willingness to use violence to survive and wage war.
- II
Lantry commits the first murder in three hundred years, shocking the attendant with the illogical act.
- III
Lantry's deliberate sabotage and murder of the Control Man, and his plan to reintroduce murder into a society that has eliminated it, central to the chapter.
- IV
Lantry's plan to kill thousands and destroy Incinerators drives the chapter, culminating in the explosion that kills hundreds and his subsequent visit to the morgue.
- V
Lantry's internal plans for destruction and the final act of cremation highlight themes of violence and murder.
