The World Set Free by H. G. Wells - Annotated Bibliography Example

The World Set Free by H. G. Wells Any time the word utopia is mentioned, people’s minds reflect on an ideal society that has a perfect social, political and legal system. Initially, this word was used in reference to a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. In the contemporary society, the word has been coined to refer to realistic communities that try to make an ideal society through their scientific innovations. This paper is set to carry out an analysis of Wells’ novel, The World Set Free, in which case utopian idealism forms the central theme. It will therefore be imperative to explore some of the characteristics of the utopian movement which could have triggered the author to write the novel. An annotated bibliography will typically focus on some of the sources intended to aid in the analysi of the novel. However, an overview of what the book is all about is of paramount significance. A review of this novel indicates that The World Set Free is all about a forecast into the future nuclear weapons. Based on this fact, the author attempts to unveil the impacts of energy and technological improvement in the progress of human beings. At the beginning of the book, the author notes that “The history of mankind is the history of the attainment of external power. Man is the tool-using, fire-making animal.” This implies that in as much as man can achieve in making powerful tools for his own benefit, vast are the effects both on him and the environment around him. Wells majors on the functionality of the atomic bomb. He notes that there is no big difference between the force released by the atomic bomb and an ordinary high explosive. However, the atomic bomb may explode for a longer period than the ordinary explosive. Historically therefore, man has achieved in changing tools around him so that he can acquire dominance over other creatures in the ecosystem. For this reason, man could not imagine on the aftereffects of the nuclear bomb as long as his goals of power were attained. From the author’s personal perspective, The World Set Free was written under the immediate influence of the Great War. As the author wrote this novel, he foresaw the airplanes used for wars in the contemporary society as being the most effective tools. The analysis of this novel therefore will take on a wide range of research. Much focus will be based on both primary and secondary sources. The paper shall explore what other writers have researched in the idea of utopian society. Because of the themes explored in the novel, it will be vital for the political transformation of the utopian society to be looked at. As such, research shall be done into books dealing with changes within the political cycle of Utopia. On the other hand, it should be understood that social forces led to the movement from one machinery to another so that one empire becomes domineering over the other. This implies that courses for research have to consider social-cultural influences of utopia to the contemporary society. To a larger extent, secondary sources concerning reviews and analyses of the novel The World Set Free will be important to this critical analysis. Ultimately, the research will deal with ecological effects caused by utopian idealism to the extent of literature turning its focus on utopia. Annotated Bibliography Wells, H.G. The World Set Free. New York: Book Tree, 2007 The thrilling, futuristic novel forecasts years of warfare even prior to the beginning of research into the kind of weaponry to be employed in the coming wars. The book therefore gives a description of a chain reaction realized during the manufacture of such weapons as well as the resulting radiation. The author of this novel reveals to the reader that the war will involve a weapon of huge caustic power. This weapon will be used in the air and its effect will be felt when all things are wiped out from miles away. The ultimate revelation comes out clearly when he refers to the atomic bomb as that weapon anticipated for war. A critical look at this novel shows that at least there is that link between the book and the initial inspiration for the manufacture of atomic weapons. In addition, the book presents a wide range of ideas that have to be accomplished with time. Wells, H.G. & Icon Group International, Inc. Staff. The World Set Free (Websters Korean Thesaurus Edition). New York: Icon Group International, Incorporated, 2008. This edition was crafted for the purpose of three groups of readers. The groups include: Korean-Speaking students enrolled for the ELP, English speaking students taking bilingual education program and finally those students taking English for the purpose of improving their vocabulary especially Koreans. It is therefore implied that the edition is from Wells’ original work but made simpler for learners who developed interest in studying the book. Apart from the book grounding into the utopian weaponry discovery journey, it is also arranged to expose the reader to a variety of challenging and potentially confusing English words. The book is well suited in the analysi of the original work of Wells since it has been simplified and notes given based on some specific themes. Vogt, H. Between Utopia and disillusionment: a narrative of the political transformation in Eastern Europe: Volume 1 of Studies in contemporary European history. California: Berghahn Books, 2005. The book advances into the scholarly analyses of the disintegration of socialism and changes thereafter which have formed the primary concern with peoples desires to free themselves from the socialist structure, of their past. According to this book, prospects, ideas, and desires that common Eastern Europeans had in 1989, which they have continually upheld, have apparently been assumed. This has made the revelation into transformations of the post-socialist regime to remain incomplete. The book therefore looks at five main areas: the legacy of 1989 upheavals, ambivalence, disappointment, independence, and cooperate characters. This book considers the prospects and objectives that common Eastern Europeans held in the 1989 rebellions and the following years as well as conflicts and discontents encountered in during transformation. The book therefore is imperative in the critical analysis of The World Set Free based on the struggle that Eastern European populace underwent. Socialism is one area that could have resulted into the fights that sought for more sophisticated weaponry. Hassler, D. & Wilcox, C. Political science fiction. Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1997. Essentially, when studies are made in Political Science Fiction, focus is put on the link between politics and literature. This indicates how much politics is grounded into literature. In this collection, there is a combination of forces from sixteen science fiction authors as well as critics for the purpose of providing a collection that looks at an assortment of revolutionary literature, from the works of H. G. Wells to Star Trek. The book also explores The Next Generation and a wide range of issues from the libertarianism to feminism. Authors of this book indicate that science fiction is either absolutely or overtly biased by its actual nature. The collection reveals the inclination of creative writing authors in focusing their literature on specific legislative bodies. The book has a number of essays that show the manner in which science fiction relates to the study of global affairs, like the assertion of pragmatist philosophy grounded in the colossal field of interspecies war books as well as tales. This work is important to the analysis of The world Set Free since politics is the center of all conflicts that eventually result into warfare. Burns, T. Political Theory, Science Fiction, and Utopian Literature: Ursula K. Le Guin and the Dispossessed. Lexington: Lexington Books, 2010. Ursula K. Le Guins The Dispossessed is not only of interest to political theorists because of its association with anarchism but it is also thought to represent a turning point in the history of utopian/dystopian political thought, literature, and science fiction. Having been published in 1974, the book marks a revival of utopianism after decades of dystopian writings. The widely accepted view is that the book represents a new kind of literary utopia, called a critical utopia by Tom Moylan. The book challenges the reading of The Dispossessed and its place in the histories of utopian/dystopian literature and science fiction. It also explores the differences between traditional utopian novels and suggests that The Dispossessed is not a utopian novel but a novel about utopianism and politics. Le Guins concerns relate more to nineteenth-century European Realists than with science fiction of utopian literature. It also claims that, her theory of the novel has an affinity with ancient Greek tragedy which implies that there is conservatism in Le Guins work as a creative writer, which fits uneasily with her personal dedication to anarchism book jacket. Hudson, W. The reform of utopia: Law, ethics and governance. Ashgate: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003 According to this book, a restructuring of utopia that contradicts neo-liberalism without trying to revitalize the despotism of the Old Left leads to present-day community development. There is a rejection of any amalgamated account of utopia as well as breaking the precision and futurism of contemporary utopian idealism. It results into a de-centered utopianism, which lacks any specific combined and totalizing moral perception. According to the book, it is not suggested that utopianism is a remedy to current environmental conflicts. As opposed to contemporary European utopianism, a decentralized utopianism tries to reveal that utopian views and activities can add to societal, cultural and opinionated change without putting emphasis on collective views. In the event of criticism, it is not reasonable to have collective opinions but stress on democratic involvement of people. Sargisson, L. Contemporary feminist utopianism: Women and politics. New York: Routledge, 1996. This book focuses on the current feminist Utopianism which is a motivating, unique and reachable study of a number of the more intricate fields of modern ideologies. Looking at the contemporary discussions in the utopian studies, feminist principle and poststructuralist change, the author argues in support utopianism as a means out of the impasse of current feminism and a way of understanding its current state. The writer discards advances to utopianism which stresses on utopia as the best design for futurism. On the contrary, she establishes a novel transgressive utopianism that eliminates old convictions in support of an upsetting idea of a prospective feminism. Furthermore, it emphasizes procedure over result and is supported by modern poststructuralist principles of language. In this case, it opposes finality, antithetic and obliterating the dualistic organization of idea she asserts underpinning the western convention. Davis, J.C. Utopia and the Ideal Society: A Study of English Utopian Writing 1516-1700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. The book reveals that the great interest has been in the nature of the utopian thought besides its significance in much of the discussion being marked by imprecision and generality. The book attempts to define utopian clearly, precisely and with substance. This is done by isolating its characteristics in absolute contrast with those of other forms of ideal society. The value of these differences is shown in a comprehensive reassessment of the sixteenth-century European writers who developed the re-emergent form of utopia. The detailed discussion of the utopian thought, as a whole, has been brought closer to the mainstream concerns of the history of political ideas, and provides a careful study of all those working in the fields of sixteenth-and-seventeenth-century political and social thought. Work Cited: Davis, J.C. Utopia and the Ideal Society: A Study of English Utopian Writing 1516-1700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Wells, H.G. & Icon Group International, Inc. Staff. The World Set Free (Websters Korean Thesaurus Edition). New York: Icon Group International, Incorporated, 2008. Vogt, H. Between Utopia and disillusionment: a narrative of the political transformation in Eastern Europe: Volume 1 of Studies in contemporary European history. California: Berghahn Books, 2005. Hassler, D. & Wilcox, C. Political science fiction. Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1997. Burns, T. Political Theory, Science Fiction, and Utopian Literature: Ursula K. Le Guin and the Dispossessed. Lexington: Lexington Books, 2010. Hudson, W. The reform of utopia: Law, ethics and governance. Ashgate: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003 Sargisson, L. Contemporary feminist utopianism: Women and politics. New York: Routledge, 1996. Wells, H.G. The World Set Free. New York: Book Tree, 2007 Read More