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A review by vigneswara_prabhu
The Bicentennial Man by Isaac Asimov
5.0
Ray Bradbury wrote, in his book 451 Fahrenheit "Great Writers Touch life often.....". I believe Great Writers make you question the nature of you life and existence, and self.
What does to mean to be Human; Asimov asks us to consider an innate thought. A fact that we often take as part of our identity. To be Human, and to choose is truly a Miracle to those who are denied the opportunity.
Through the near Constant Spectator that is Andrew Martin, Asimov sets up an intriguing and thought provoking duality; exploring the reality of what it means to be human. Andrew, whom by some Ghost in the Shell, was constructed with a mind that can, for lack of better words yearn. For more. and to be Human. In a world that largely denies it, and secretly envies what he possesses. whether it be his enhanced intellect, or his being immune to the frailty that is to be Human.
For Andrew, that is the culmination of the emptiness he had grown to feel. As the world of humanity around him changes, yearning for longevity and becomes more and more like a machine, Andrew wishes to be more like humans.
Towards the end of his 'Life' he decisions he comes to make defies logic. and are a culmination of a life time that served to make him all the more 'human' in more ways than one. They are flawed, Irrational. But Human. In the end Andrew's desire is fulfilled only when he embraces his humanity as a whole. with all its gifts and weaknesses. including its eternal one, death.
Here was a man who was willing to give his all, his very self to know to be what is human. to be known and desire as human.
And by being the silent partners in Andrew's journey we are forced to take a step back and evaluate our own self, and things that we have taken as granted. things that took Andrew his entirely long lifetime to acquire. and through it cherish what we have.
What does to mean to be Human; Asimov asks us to consider an innate thought. A fact that we often take as part of our identity. To be Human, and to choose is truly a Miracle to those who are denied the opportunity.
Through the near Constant Spectator that is Andrew Martin, Asimov sets up an intriguing and thought provoking duality; exploring the reality of what it means to be human. Andrew, whom by some Ghost in the Shell, was constructed with a mind that can, for lack of better words yearn. For more. and to be Human. In a world that largely denies it, and secretly envies what he possesses. whether it be his enhanced intellect, or his being immune to the frailty that is to be Human.
For Andrew, that is the culmination of the emptiness he had grown to feel. As the world of humanity around him changes, yearning for longevity and becomes more and more like a machine, Andrew wishes to be more like humans.
Towards the end of his 'Life' he decisions he comes to make defies logic. and are a culmination of a life time that served to make him all the more 'human' in more ways than one. They are flawed, Irrational. But Human. In the end Andrew's desire is fulfilled only when he embraces his humanity as a whole. with all its gifts and weaknesses. including its eternal one, death.
Here was a man who was willing to give his all, his very self to know to be what is human. to be known and desire as human.
And by being the silent partners in Andrew's journey we are forced to take a step back and evaluate our own self, and things that we have taken as granted. things that took Andrew his entirely long lifetime to acquire. and through it cherish what we have.