The Flying Machine timeless time from enemy hordes and preserved peace for

By Ray Bradbury years without number. He saw the town, nestled to itself by
In the year A.D. 400, the Emperor Yuan held his a river and a road and a hill, beginning to waken.
throne by the Great Wall of China, and the land was green "Tell me," he said to his servant, "has anyone else
with rain, readying itself toward the harvest, at peace, the seen this flying man?"
people in his dominion neither too happy nor too sad. "I am the only one, Excellency," said the servant,
Early on the morning of the first day of the first smiling at the sky, waving.
week of the second month of the new year, the Emperor The Emperor watched the heavens another minute
Yuan was sipping tea and fanning himself against a warm and then said, "Call him down to me."
breeze when a servant ran across the scarlet and blue "Ho, come down, come down! The Emperor
garden tiles, calling, "Oh, Emperor, Emperor, a miracle!" wishes to see you!" called the servant, hands cupped to his
"Yes," said the Emperor, "the air is sweet this shouting mouth.
morning." The Emperor glanced in all directions while the
"No, no, a miracle!" said the servant, bowing flying man soared down the morning wind. He saw a
quickly. farmer, early in his fields, watching the sky, and he noted
"And this tea is good in my mouth, surely that is a where the farmer stood.
miracle." The flying man alit with a rustle of paper and a
"No, no, Your Excellency." creak of bamboo reeds. He came proudly to the Emperor,
"Let me guess then - the sun has risen and a new clumsy in his rig, at last bowing before the old man.
day is upon us. Or the sea is blue. That now is the finest of "What have you done?" demanded the Emperor.
all miracles." "I have flown in the sky, Your Excellency," replied
"Excellency, a man is flying!" the man.
"What?" The Emperor stopped his fan. "What have you done?" said the Emperor again.
"I saw him in the air, a man flying with wings. I "I have just told you!" cried the flier.
heard a Voice call out of the sky, and when I looked up, "You have told me nothing at all." The Emperor
there he was, a dragon in the heavens with a man in its reached out a thin hand to touch the pretty paper and the
mouth, a dragon of paper and bamboo, colored like the sun birdlike keel of the apparatus. It smelled cool, of the wind.
and the grass." "Is it not beautiful, Excellency?"
"It is early," said the Emperor, "and you have just "Yes, too beautiful."
wakened from a dream." "It is the only one in the world!" smiled the man.
"It is early, but I have seen what I have seen! "And I am the inventor."
Come, and you will see it too." "The only one in the world?" "I swear it!"
"Sit down with me here," said the Emperor. "Drink "Who else knows of this?"
some tea. It must be a strange thing, if it is true, to see a "No one. Not even my wife, who would think me
man fly. You must have time to think of it, even as I must mad with the son. She thought I was making a kite. I rose in
have time to prepare myself for the sight." They drank tea. the night and walked to the cliffs far away. And when the
"Please," said the servant at last, "or he will be morning breezes blew and the sun rose, I gathered my
gone." The Emperor rose thoughtfully. "Now you may show courage, Excellency, and leaped from the cliff. I flew! But
me what you have seen." my wife does not know of it."
They walked into a garden, across a meadow of "Well for her, then," said the Emperor. "Come
grass, over a small bridge, through a grove of trees, and up along."
a tiny hill. They walked back to the great house. The sun was
"There!" said the servant. full in the sky now, and the smell of the grass was
The Emperor looked into the sky. refreshing.
And in the sky, laughing so high that you could The Emperor, the servant, and the flier paused
hardly hear him laugh, was a man; and the man was within the huge garden.
clothed in bright papers and reeds to make wings and a The Emperor clapped his hands. "Ho, guards!" The
beautiful yellow tail, and he was soaring all about like the guards came running. "Hold this man." The
largest bird in a universe of birds, like a new dragon in a guards seized the flier. "Call the executioner," said
land of ancient dragons. the Emperor. "What's this!" cried the flier,
The man called down to them from high in the bewildered. "What have I done?" He began to
cool winds of morning. "I fly, I fly!" weep, so that the beautiful paper apparatus rustled.
The servant waved to him. "Yes, yes!" "Here is the man who has made a certain
The Emperor Yuan did not move. Instead he machine," said the Emperor, "and yet asks us what he has
looked at the Great Wall of China now taking shape out of created. He does not know himself. It is only necessary that
the farthest mist in the green hills, that splendid snake of he create, without knowing why he has done so, or what
stones which writhed with majesty across the entire land. this thing will do."
That wonderful wall which had protected them for a
 The executioner came running with a sharp silver The Emperor turned to his hand-servant, who had
ax. He stood with his naked, large-muscled arms ready, his seen the man flying. "Hold your tongue. It was all a dream,
face covered with a serene white mask. a most sorrowful and beautiful dream. And that farmer in
"One moment," said the Emperor. He turned to a the distant field who also saw, tell him it would pay him to
nearby table upon which sat a machine that he himself had consider it only a vision. If ever the word passes around,
created. The Emperor took a tiny golden key from his own you and the farmer die within the hour."
neck. He fitted his key to the tiny, delicate machine and "You are merciful, Emperor."
wound it up. Then he set the machine going. The machine "No, not merciful," said the old man. Beyond the
was a garden of metal and jewels. Set in motion, the birds garden wall he saw the guards burning the beautiful
sing in tiny metal trees, wolves walked through miniature machine of paper and reeds that smelled of the morning
forests, and tiny people ran in and out of sun and shadow, wind. He saw the dark smoke climb into the sky. "No, only
fanning themselves with miniature fans, listening to tiny very much bewildered and afraid." He saw the guards
emerald birds, and standing by impossibly small but tinkling digging a tiny pit wherein to bury the ashes. "What is the
fountains. life of one man against those of a million others? I must
"Is It not beautiful?" said the Emperor. "If you take solace from that thought."
asked me what I have done here, I could answer you well. I He took the key from its chain about his neck and
have made birds sing, I have made forests murmur, I have once more wound up the beautiful miniature garden. He
set people to walking in this woodland, enjoying the leaves stood looking out across the land at the Great Wall, the
and shadows and songs. That is what I have done." peaceful town, the green fields, the rivers, and streams. He
"But, oh, Emperor!" pleaded the flier, on his knees, sighed. The tiny garden whirred its hidden and delicate
the tears pouring down his face. "I have done a similar machinery and set itself in motion; tiny people walked in
thing! I have found beauty. I have flown on the morning forests, tiny faces loped through sun-speckled glades in
wind. I have looked down on all the sleeping houses and beautiful shining pelts, and among the tiny trees flew little
gardens. I have smelled the sea and even seen it, beyond bits of high song and bright blue and yellow color, flying,
the hills, from my high place. And I have soared like a bird; flying, flying in that small sky.
oh, I cannot say how beautiful it is up there, in the sky, with "Oh," said the Emperor, closing his eyes, "look at
the wind about me, the wind blowing me here like a the birds, look at the birds!"
feather, there like a fan, the way the sky smells in the
morning! And how free one feels! That is beautiful,
Emperor, that is beautiful too!" Characters:
"Yes," said the Emperor sadly, "I know it must be Plot:
true. For I felt my heart move with you in the air and I Theme:
wondered: What is it like? How does it feel? How do the Symbol:
distant pools look from so high? And how my houses and
servants? Like ants? And how the distant towns not yet Setting:
awake?" The time period for this story is 400 A.D. Because the Julian
"Then spare me!" calendar is being referred to here, one could conclude that
"But there are times," said the Emperor, more it is February 1st. However, it is also possible that while the
sadly still, "when one must lose a little beauty if one is to narrator placed the 400 A.D. into the story for the
keep what little beauty one already has. I do not fear you, audience’s reference, the time could also be based on the
yourself, but I fear another man." Chinese Lunar calendar, making it later than February 1st.
"What man?" The land is readying itself towards the harvest, but because
"Some other man who, seeing you, will build a we don’t know what crop is being referred to, it could be
thing of bright papers and bamboo like this. But the other spring or summer; this is significant because it suggests
man will have an evil face and an evil heart, and the beauty rebirth and new beginnings. The place is the emperor’s
will be gone. It is this man I fear." palace in the countryside with the Great Wall of China
"Why? Why?" nearby. The atmosphere of the story is peaceful, serene
"Who is to say that someday just such a man, in and tranquil. It juxtaposes the natural world of the setting
just such an apparatus of paper and reed, might not fly in to the mechanical world of the inventor. The mood
the sky and drop huge stones upon the Great Wall of becomes tense at times as people are executed.
China?" said the Emperor.
No one moved or said a word. Major Characters:
"Off with his head," said the Emperor. [Link] Emperor of China (Yuan) in 400 A.D. He is an old man
The executioner whirled his silver ax. who likes to drink tea and has a fan. There is no other
"Burn the kite and the inventor's body and bury physical description in this story of him; probably so as to
their ashes together," said the Emperor. keep focus on the setting and the dialogue between
The servants retreated to obey. characters. He respects and enjoys the simple things in life.
He is thoughtful and does not react to a situation before
careful reflection. He is also fair when he spares the lives of to ensure that the threat of the flying machine is erased
the servants. The Emperor embodies the ethical dilemmas from his land.
that a society must face when it questions whether
technology should be introduced or enhanced. The [Link] denouement is the emperor returning to the music
Emperor sees the advantages and drawbacks of the box. It is probable that the emperor closes his eyes and
machine but makes the decision to destroy it because of its imagines himself flying in the very machine he had
potential threat to take lives. This attitude can be destroyed. It is a powerful ending as it closes with the
compared to contemporary scientists who often create reader understanding that this emperor had much control
things without ethics (for example, stem cell research, to avoid possessing the flying machine himself.
nuclear technology and cloning). Undoubtedly, the emperor would have appreciated its
value and the beauty around him; however, the threat was
2. The Inventor The inventor is a man with much talent, but too great. Other world leaders might determine that they
he only chooses to see how his invention will help him to had enough control to possess the machine and use it for
enjoy life better than the potential for danger that his their amusement and to destroy others, but this leader is
creation could trigger. He respects the emperor. He knows able to practice enough restraint to protect his world and
enough to ask for mercy from the emperor, but he fails to to use his imagination to explore the heavens.
see the harm his invention could cause. Therefore, he is
narrow-minded and looks at his creation with tunnel-vision. Style:
There are no physical details of the inventor provided in the Bradbury crafts this story using many literary devices.
story because this puts more emphasis on the invention There are three that stand out as being exemplary. To
itself and not the character. He is also not described begin, he uses
because then the reader can identify more with the
character since they can see themselves as that character. Imagery: so that the five senses are activated to bring the
reader into this serene and perfect world he has created.
3. The Servant The servant is a loyal person to the throne. By referring to the taste of the tea, the air on one’s face,
He is quick to report his findings to the emperor and he is the sounds of the birds, the scenery and the smell of the
patient and respectful towards the emperor’s hesitation warm air, the audience is right there experiencing the story
and reflection regarding the machine. The servant is also and thus understands the mood as calm.
smart enough to consider his self-preservation by promising
never to speak of this creation again. M Similarly, there is Similes: Bradbury also employs a number of similes to make
no physical description of him because he is a secondary comparisons. Bradbury writes, “a dragon of paper and
character. Juxtaposition is created between the servant bamboo coloured like the sun and the grass” () The flying
and the emperor highlighting how cruel the emperor is. machine is described in a positive and beautiful way that
encourages the reader to think that it is, in fact, not a
Plot: harmful machine. Except that dragons are depicted as
[Link] incident that gets the plot rolling is the servant dangerous beasts that could cause damage to people and
informing the emperor of his discovered miracle. The their society, therefore; a juxtaposition is created within
reader wonders what miracle could have occurred and the simile that highlights the beauty and danger of the
continues to read on. machine.
[Link] interesting development is that the emperor reacts
with horror instead of wonder when he sees the “miracle” Metaphor: he utilizes is the comparison of the flying
for himself. It is unexpected that a person would have machine to a dragon in a land of ancient dragons to bring
enough foresight to see the evils of such a wondrous an impression of culture and uniqueness to the invention.
creation. Another interesting development is the Which lends to a specific voice in the author’s writing by
juxtaposition between the emperor’s music box and the creating a scene that is stereotypical of Ancient China.
flying machine. The emperor demonstrates that one should Finally, he is a master of sound effects. The phrase
be cautious of an invention that creates such joy as the “splendid snake of stones” to describe the Great Wall
flying machine. It is also interesting that the Emperor is one represents both alliteration and consonance. The audience
of the leaders who fostered the development of the Great can easily hear the hissing of the snake that represents the
Wall. It must have been a decision made after countless huge wall sprawling across the land. This literary device is
threats and events involving death and destruction. It is used to emphasize the importance of the wall to the
easy to see, then, how the emperor is so sceptical when it Emperor and its significance to the protection of his
comes to this flying machine. kingdom. Describing the wall as a snake suggests that it is
[Link] climax of the story is the execution of the inventor. dangerous and not to be messed with.
At this point, the major problem/conflict is resolved. A
second climax could be when the life of the servant is By using all these devices so effectively, Bradbury
spared because one wonders how far the emperor will go demonstrates a distinguished and unique voice that sets
him apart from other authors. Often, his style is more
figurative than literal, so that the audience must pay careful
attention and reflect on his ideas. The diction is fairly
straight-forward so that the audience can understand the
ideas and concepts being presented. He uses simple
language in his dialogue and injects respect into the words
of the servant and inventor as well as an air of confidence
and detachment in the words of the emperorwhich
highlights their character traits and heightens the tone of
the story so that you feel as though you are reading a fable
or morality-based tale (like a fortune
cookie).CONNECTIONSText to Self:I faced a dilemma
recently when I made the decisionto upgrade my phone.
There was nothing wrong with my phone but it wasn’t the
shiny new phone that other people had with the touch
screen and the fancy connections to the internet.I tried to
justify getting this new phone over keeping the old one. I
didn’t want to be lured in by the new technology and status
that this phone would offer me. At the same time, I didn’t
want to pass up a great deal and opportunity to explore this
new level of technology. In the end, I traded up with some
regret. There isa huge learning curve with owning this new
phone, and I know that I have not used it to its full
potential. I feel a lot like the emperor who is more amused
by a machine than one who is more impressed with its
possibilities. I also recognize that there are some “evils”
attached to this phone which will change me as a person as
I become better at textingand less available to be face-to-
face with a person. This new phone makes it impossible for
me to be out-of-touch and I hope it’s something that I
don’tregret down the [Link]-to-text:Science fiction
movies including The Terminator series remind us about
our delicate relationship with machines. Since the
industrial revolution, we have used machines to make work
easier and to make life more convenient. However, we still
need to question how far we should be going with
machines. Even something as innocent-sounding as a
“flying machine”can have evil consequences, and the
Terminatorreminds us that machines could one day turn on
and enslave mankind.

Text to world:The story of the Flying Machine relates to

many events that have happened in the [Link] instance,
the creation of the life support machine is a remarkable
device that has saved thousands of people over the years,
however, the question of whether we should keep people
alive because we can or should we allow people to die
when they can no longer sustain themselves is thrown into
question. There have been many issues in the news where
families have chosen to keep a family member alive when
there is no possibility of their survival without the
machine’s aid. Some family members argue that it is better
to let the family member die than to keep them alive for
the good of their family relationships. This connects very
well with the story since the impact of technology is
questioned by the reader when the emperor kills the flyer.