Literary Analysis of The Last Question by Issac Asimov Essay Sample

📌Category: Literature
📌Words: 448
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 14 June 2022

The story “The Last Question” by Issac Asimov, is a compilation of smaller stories exploring the concept of momentous technological advancements, the exploration of interstellar travel, and entropy. Some people who have only read this story on the surface would say that it was an ordinary science fiction story. However, it is much more than just that, if you read between the lines, you might be able to discover that this story has a deeper existential meaning.

It may take reading the story a few times to truly understand what’s going on, but when you do understand, you might be perplexed by your questions. This story explores the idea that the only way entropy can be reversed, which was the question that was asked throughout the whole story, is to recommence the creation of the universe. Hence, when you read the end of the book you might have the realization that the story is walking us through the process of the big crunch in a narrative way. The big crunch is something that some scientists theorize will happen at the end of time and the universe will recollapse and start again with another Big Bang. Every technological advancement in the story led us one step closer to the big crunch. This suggests that we are our destroyers because, with each new technological advancement we created, the story showed us that we are getting closer to the big crunch.

In each substory, mankind evolves along with technology, and with each new technological advancement, humans further evolve into one being that essentially is a higher power. To even achieve becoming this higher power known as AC, everything had to be left behind, including life. At that point in the story, when the higher power was formed, the humans had destroyed the universe beyond repair, and there was nothing left of life; even the stars and galaxies had fallen to their deaths. At the end of this book, it is just AC in the remnants of the universe, and it finally has the answer to the agonizing question “can entropy be reversed?” Then AC exclaimed “Let there be light!” and that was the end of the story and simultaneously the answer to the question. Just that sentence alone should provoke thoughts that leave lingering questions in your head about existentialism. With that being said, to reach the point where we know how to reverse entropy we have to destroy ourselves and leave behind the past.

When concluding the analysis of this story it is more about where the universe is going and the end of time rather than an ordinary science fiction story. This story should leave you with lingering questions about existentialism and it's your job to try and find the answer or simply just accept things for the way they are and continue with life. In conclusion, the story analysis suggests we are our destroyers mentally and physically.

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