Discussion Questions

This story, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a bildungsroman, or a tale about growing up physically and spiritually. What are the stages of growth the protagonist recalls? How does the setting show that the United States is changing and becoming more modern as well? Although the story barely mentions the Great War, what impact does the First World War have upon the protagonist? In the end, what has the protagonist lost? Has he gained anything in return? 

In this short story, John Campbell imagines a time-traveler from the future appearing in the 1930s to tell of his future and a far future he has visited. Describe the time-traveler's future; is it a utopia? Clearly the far future the time-traveler has visited is not a utopia, although it does have some utopian characteristics. Describe this far future. What is missing from it? What does the time-traveler do to try to remedy the situation? In the end, how does Campbell view interaction between human beings and machines?