The myth of robots: a critical analysis of Isaac Asimov's selected robot short stories using Northrop Frye's archetypal criticism

• Main Author: Camelo, Curbick W.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/1694
• Institution: De La Salle University

The objective of this study is to determine the underlying mythical patterns within the science fiction stories of Isaac Asimov. The primary texts chosen for this study are seven robot short stories taken from the collection Robot Visions. The myths that will be applied to the study are the universal stories of Greek Mythology and the Christian Biblical stories. Using Northrop Frye's essay on archetypal criticism found in his book Anatomy of Criticism : Four essays, the study has come up with the following analysis: Robbie is a comedy, its plot is basically a hero wants a heroine and overcoming parental obstacles will result in the hero's triumph. Runaround , Evidence , and Little Lost Robot are romance stories, where the hero is summoned to vanquish a monster or a villain who threatens a kingdom, wherein the hero emerges victorious. Liar and Feminine Intuition are both tragedies, as the hero has a chance at greatness but falls because of his/her flaw. Finally, Reason is in the ironic/satiric mode, as it parodies the romance adventure. This paper is accomplished in order to contribute to the greater understanding of science fiction by using familiar myths to make parallelisms to Asimov's robot stories as examples.