Computers Quote by Elif Batuman
“Tolstoy didn't know about steampunk or cyborgs, but he did know about the nightmarishness of steam power, unruly machines, and the creepy half-human status of the Russian peasant classes. In 'Anna Karenina,' nineteenth-century life itself is a relentless, relentlessly modern machine, flattening those who oppose it.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1877
Industrialization is depicted as an unstoppable, dehumanizing force that crushes individuals.
In simple terms: Steam power dehumanizes people.
Key Takeaway
Beware systems that strip humanity.
Themes
industrialization
dehumanization
modernity
Mood
somber
critical
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- labor movements
- urbanization
- class struggle
- environmental policy
Key Concepts
Marxist critique
alienation
technological determinism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does technology shape identity?
- Can individuals reclaim humanity within machines?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook agency and resistance within oppressive systems.
![“In high school I read [Lev] Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" and loved it. Then I read [Friedrich] Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of Morals" and that hit me hard. I don't know where I got it. My parents warned me not to mention either of those books when I went for my college interviews so I wouldn't seem…” quote by Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d5f/stephen-greenblatt-10786_anna_in-high-school-i-read-lev-tolstoy-s-anna_2323091.jpg)
