"The Flying Machine" by Ray Bradbury
(Bombshelter exercise...Lifeboat...)
Does it matter how you accomplish a worthwhile goal?
(When) is it OK to do a bad thing to prevent or fix a worse thing? Who decides?
Quiz:
  1. True or False: The Flying One understands why the Emperor is killing him.
  2. True or False: The Emperor enjoys having the Flying One killed.
  3. The mechanical garden that the Emperor "dreamt to being" represents...  a) how the Emperor is as skillful in his own way as the flying man, b) the fragility and beauty of the Emperor's kingdom, c) how China must look from the sky, d) all of the above, e) none of the above
  4. The Emperor has the Flying One killed because... a) he thinks he will drops stones on the Great Wall,  b) he thinks that the man has an evil heart, c) he fears that someone will use the man's invention for evil, d) none of the above.
  5. There are several places where the author foreshadows that the Emperor is worried about the Flying One's feat. Quote one from page 246 or before.
  6. On page 247, when the Emperor says that it is "well for her" that the Flying One's wife is asleep, what does he mean?
  7. The Emperor is really afraid of... a) rocks being dropped on the Great Wall, b) the future, c) the Flying One, d) flying machines.
  8. Which of the following groups of words best describe the theme of the story? a) Strength, pain, joy. b) Foolishness, anger, endurance. c) Communication, friendship, honesty. d) Fear, frustration, bewilderment.
  9. "The butterfly now touches the earth. And suddenly...a clumsy worm." (p246) The Servant is using a metaphor to describe the Flying One and his apparatus. Explain his comparison.
  10. The Servant uses another metaphor on that page to describe the flight. Quote it.
  11. "...The Flying One enters, proud of his feat, proud of his equipments, which he brandishes..."  (p246) The word brandishes as it is used here, most nearly means...a) drops. b) shows off. c) tosses away. d) puts away.
  12. "The unmarked grave is dug where Time, some little while, must sleep to wake again some other year." (p251) The Emperor is speaking metaphorically, and most likely means...a) he wishes he could go back in Time and prevent the Flying One from flying. b) he is predicting that soon, man will also be traveling in Time as well as the air. c) that by killing the Flying One, the Emperor has only delayed, not stopped the development of flying. d) he believes that the Flying One will soon be going to Heaven.
  13. What does the Emperor means when he says, "Look at the birds..." in the last line of the play?
  14. Explain the meaning of the question, "Does the End Justify the Means?"