Meteor

Summary of the plot + analysis of the story:

The structure of Meteor, is such that it has two separate but connected narratives.
One of the narratives shows a group of people in a domestic setting examining a strange
object, while the second narrative is a scientific journal which includes unfamiliar terms
and references.
As the story develops, the reader begins to see the connections between the two
narratives. The amazingly
advanced technology of the visitors is gradually revealed as well as their
peaceable intentions, while their perspective on the human world demonstrates not only
their puzzlement but gives indications as to their size.
The story starts off with an impactful beginning as the write creates an environment of
destruction from the very get go, giving the reader an idea of what is to follow. This is
when the Earth is shaking vehemently due to the fall of an object which is speculated to
be a a small meteor. The writer creates an intense sound effect through his careful
selection of words at this point, gripping the readers attention immediately.
The writer then goes on to showing the reactions of the humans to this rather strange
occurrence. Ironically, all the characters of the story seem to be absolutely unmoved by
this anomaly. The writer highlights their lack of interest in the happening through their
actions. For example, the writer mentions how Graham followed the others leisurely as
this incident took place, not giving it much importance. The use of the phrase small
meteor also highlights the minimal importance being given to this small thing.
The writer thus begins his critique on humans as he portrays their ignorance and oblivion
from the very get go. This aspect of the human nature is critically analyzed even further
as the story progresses.
The writer then presents to the reader an extract from Onns journal which is quite a
revealing extract. This journal entry not only highlights the predicament of the people of
Forta who are now desperate to leave their home in order to sustain themselves, it also
provides a clear insight into their intentions. The aliens at this point are portrayed as a
rather innocent entity who are to explore other avenues not for the purpose of invasion or
colonization, but merely for the purposes of survival. This is clear when their leader says
to them, Be willing to learn from others and improve it (Fortas culture) if you can and
Go forth, then. Go in wisdom, kindliness, peace and truth. The motifs of the aliens are
thus clean, however, humans were unable to recognize this as due to their ignorance, they
stuck to their pre set notions of any foreign body being a threat to their kind.
Onns journal describes the Earth as something that shines like a blue pearl and where
irrigation and water supply are not one of the main problems of life. This reflects upon
the grand, utopian hopes the aliens had while coming to Earth and also upon the ironic
aspect of these hopes. It may be said that their idea of the Earth wasnt entirely true and

they viewed the Earth as a heavenly place where there will not be any problems or
difficulties when in reality this was not the case at all especially not for them.
The writer also hints towards the support for technology and technological advancements
taking place at the time when he says a culture must grow to live.
As the humans begin examining the strange object from above, the story becomes all the
more revealing. They say, The meteor was not an impressive sight. This is ironic in
contrast with the opinions of the aliens who were in disbelief over the fact that they had
just created such a grand object. This contrast also hints towards the fact that the aliens
are likely to be very small. This becomes darkly humorous when the reader realizes how
such tiny creatures have such grand hopes and plans.
At this point, the humans are not only hardly concerned with the meteor, they also seem
to be unwelcome to it. Their hostility to any strange occurrence and to the aliens later on
as well may be said to be reflective of the people at that time. With many wars going on,
refugees had begun flowing into countries. These refugees were often unwelcome and
mistreated; just like the aliens were. The writer can thus be said to be trying to convey a
social problem through his critique of the human nature in the form of a science fiction
story.
The story then reverts back to Onns second journal entry in which the difficulties of the
tiring journey which the people of Forta had to bear with had been explained. Onn was
still very optimistic about the new, beautiful, shining planet. In this journal entry, the
aliens plans to corporate with the people of the new land shine through as they state that
their task must be to teach, to learn, to co-operate with them. This can be a direct
comparison to the humans first reactions upon seeing the aliens killing them without
even considering the option of getting to know what they are or cooperating.
Before the third extract from Onns journal is presented, the humans are shown to be
caught up in the issue of the dead cat. This dead cat can be said to be a symbol of how the
new creatures on Earth may be a threat.
The story then progresses to Onns third journal entry which is insanely different from his
first two entries. It presents a rather horrifying image of the beautiful, shining blue
planet. He says; It is a terrible place! and calls it a fantastic hell. This sudden change
in opinion is highly striking for the reader who is a little taken aback. It feels almost as
though the aliens had sense the hostility from the humans and had an idea of their fate
already.
The story further serves to criticize another aspect of humans; irrationality. Onns journal
says I observe, and then, when I have gathered enough data, I deduce. Such a statement
makes the aliens seem like rather logical, thoughtful, sensible and rational entities who
think before they do. In contrast, it criticizes human being for not possessing these
qualities and always going on to deduce things without sufficient data and application of
logic. This criticism can also be applied to the way they just assumed the aliens to be a
threat and reacted on their first instinct and killed the aliens. While sometimes such
irrationality might luckily work, this is not always the case.

The writer recognizes and appreciates the advancements taking place in the very Age of
Enlightenment again when Onn says: Perhaps the man who spoke about a geometrical
world was not so stupid as he seemed.
As the plot progresses and the aliens exist their globe, the write shows how utterly
horrified they are at where they have come. The aliens are welcome by calamity after
calamity with many of their people dying and nearly all of them being confused or
frightened due to the new situations.
The writer then talks about how the meteor had gone for testing. In this narration, at
one points he highlights the background of war in the story very slightly. When he says
that: Even the dust layer disappointed them (officials) by not being explosive, this
highlights how sensationalizing of news had become such an inherent part of this society
which was struck with war that anything less scandalous was of no good.
Towards the end of the story, when Sally says: Just think how wonderfullovely world
we might.., the writes through an echo highlights the ungratefulness of all creatures. No
one is happy with what they have. The aliens of Forta want to come to Earth and those on
Earth want to go elsewhere. In addition to this, this quotation is ironic because it is a lot
like what Onn has said in his initial journal entries when he was immensely hopeful
regarding the new land. However, it is highlighted in the story that no matter how hard
human plan and try to do something, plans do turn awry sometimes. This aspect becomes
particularly significant when the aliens with the grand plan and schemes are all merely
washed away with a single spray.
Meteor is thus a philosophical, critical analysis of the human race which is presented to
the reader much more clearly via the aliens.
The story revolves around a lack of trust among not only the humans but also the aliens.
It criticizes how the instinctive reactions of humans overcome all other senses and they
act without thinking things through completely, as is evident by the anti-climatic ending
of the story. Furthermore the insecurities and behaviors of both the humans and the
aliens have been highlighted.
The story emphasizes upon the destructive nature of mankind as Onn and his people are
killed by the humans. It also shows the similarities in the needs and desires of mankind
and other species in the story which is ironic in the sense that both Onn and the humans
want the same things even though their species are totally different. It is also ironic how
lightly a whole species is wiped out and how they had left their home in search of a
planet to help preserve their species and the planet they find themselves on is the site of
their demise.
The fact that there are two stories happening simultaneously reinforces the chaos and
confusion occurring in the beginning with the meteor landing in the backyard to Onn
realizing that they have reached a different planet and the incident with the cat. However,
as the story progresses these things are clarified and as the stories now become one there

is now a sense of stability and understanding until the story reaches its climax and its
pinnacle when the aliens are killed by insecticide.
Another significant criticism brought forward through this story is how man does not
often look into the intentions behind ones actions before taking any decision. Had the
humans done this, the aliens might not have been dead right now.