4/22/07: A nice collection of Asimov Quotes can be found here.
Analysis of the Three Laws of Robotics
It all started a long time ago. In the 19 th century to be exact. For it was in the year 1818 that an artificial man was born in the world of literature. He was the creation of the mad scientist Frankenstein. As the story goes, the creation does not only become an artificial man, but also a monster. A monster that turns against his own creator, helping to create the impression upon society that "there are some things Man was not meant to know." This point of view would continue to exist until Asimov made his way into the spotlight.
Fast-forward 121 years later and we arrive at a play called Rossum's Universal Robots. It was a landmark in science fiction history in 1921, for the word robot had been born. However, the robot in Rossum's story was no different from the character Frankenstein. It too turned on its creator only this time it was worse. The robots turned on all of humanity, not just his creator. For the next two-decades, many science fiction writers used such a plot, solidifying the idea that robots were monsters. The recycling of this plot is what inspired Asimov to create his own robot stories. Asimov, like many science fiction readers were simply bored reading essentially the same story over and over again. >>FULL TEXT
Asimov's style: simple and clear
Asimov once said:
"I type quickly- 90 words a minute, when I am happy, care free and in a good mood. I don't believe in fancy stuff. In my writing, there is no poetry, no complexity, no literary frills. Therefore, I need only to barrel along, saying whatever comes to mind, and waving cheerfully at people who happen to pass my type writer." (Asimov
Roving Mind 337)
That's one of the great things about Asimov- he was completely open to talking about his own writing style. Several times an interviewer would ask him about his writing, and he would answer plain and straight. This desire to be straightforward and truthful is reflected in his own writing style. So how realistic was the quote he gave? Dead on. Because the way in which Asimov sought to convey his ideas did not require any such literary frills. In fact, to him they were unnecessary to achieving his ultimate goal: clarity. For through this clarity was Asimov able to convey and contribute remarkable ideas to the world of science fiction. He achieves this clarity by paying special attention to diction, organization and detail. There appears to be no substantial evidence of intentional usage of shifts in points of view and irony because they are either not necessary or reduce the clarity of his writing. But before we can look at how he writes, we must first briefly examine who Isaac Asimov was and what he wrote about. >>FULL TEXT
A brief look at the components of Asimov's style
Organization & Structure: Of the books surveyed, the majority followed Asimovs short, simple and clear style- they flowed logically, feeding the reader plot sequences bit by bit. However, the exception was found in the Foundation Series where each of the books are divided into various section which are then further divided into smaller chapters indicated by numbers. In Foundation , the sections are representative of different groups of people such "The Psychohistorians" and "The Merchant Princes". Prelude to Foundation seems to be the exception since its sections consist of both people and objects (Note: Prelude to Foundation was written 37 years after Foundation made its debut). Each section begins from an excerpt from the "Encyclopedia Galactica", a fictional text that exists within the Foundation series. The excerpt provides the reader with completely new material- there is no obvious connection between the excerpt and the previous section. The beginning of each section also introduces a new character through passages of dialogue.
Analysis: The division of the book into sections is used to isolate the various problems that afflict each group of people. If we label each problem, as an episode then the resulting fact is that the book is divided into five episodes. Because the book is divided into five episodes, the reader is forced to read all five parts in order to truly understand the plot. >>FULL TEXT
Organization & Structure: Of the books surveyed, the majority followed Asimovs short, simple and clear style- they flowed logically, feeding the reader plot sequences bit by bit. However, the exception was found in the Foundation Series where each of the books are divided into various section which are then further divided into smaller chapters indicated by numbers. In Foundation , the sections are representative of different groups of people such "The Psychohistorians" and "The Merchant Princes". Prelude to Foundation seems to be the exception since its sections consist of both people and objects (Note: Prelude to Foundation was written 37 years after Foundation made its debut). Each section begins from an excerpt from the "Encyclopedia Galactica", a fictional text that exists within the Foundation series. The excerpt provides the reader with completely new material- there is no obvious connection between the excerpt and the previous section. The beginning of each section also introduces a new character through passages of dialogue.