Apocalypse (Blog Post 4)

The story "The Star" by H.G. Wells and "Speech Sounds" by Octavia Butler contrasted to so much despite they were both end- of- the- world, mankind-in-chaos apocalyptic stories. "The Star" by Wells is about a huge celestial body that had disrupted the orbit of planet Neptune was headed towards the Sun and the Earth stood in its path. This body not only disrupted the orbit of Neptune, but disrupted the nature of man, The calamities  caused by this "star" not only caused the  death of millions and destroyed many lands, but brought a sense of unification amongst the people of Earth and "the new brotherhood that grew presently among men."On the other hand, "Speech Sounds" by Mrs. Butler, the destructive element that came onto the Earth (the illness) not only left the world as we knew it, it caused a sense of disunion a amongst man. In this story, a virus broke out killing many (such as Rye's -the main character- family) and leaving most people impaired through sense of literacy and speech. However, this story really interested me. The fact that when Rye carries around a gun, and she got off the bus and she was hesitant as to what to do next because in the story traveling (especially alone) because is unnerving because she may have to "[risk] seeking shelter with locals who might rob or murder them," shows the sense of chaos in the world. However, what really interested me about this story about how this story was the part when Rye was considered murdering Obsidian because of hatred, frustration, and jealousy. Also, these feelings arose from her sense of loss and loneliness, which is prevalent in cases of murder. Anyhow, despite the difference in the outcome of unity in both of these stories, there was one thing they had in common. There was light at the end of the tunnel.

Update:

Okay so maybe there wasn't light at the end of the tunnel for the story "The Star" however; there is a sense of peace that resonates towards the ending. What really I didn't think about was how hopeless the Earth was with this apocalypse. There was no sense of fighting back because there was nothing they could do. When we discussed that in class all I could think was, "Dang, I'm depressed now." My speculations for "Speech Sounds" were predominantly correct. I also really enjoyed making the short story out of complete randomness. It was fun, funny, and very insightful.