The Standardized Man by Stephen Bartholomew
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"The Standardized Man" by Stephen Bartholomew is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The book explores the themes of societal conformity and the implications of extreme standardization in a future world, where the individual is reduced to a mere cog in the machinery of a highly regulated economy. It delves into the tension between personal identity and societal expectations, reflecting the anxieties of modernity. The story centers around Charles,
a chemist tasked with developing an innovative all-weather suit to stabilize the economy of the textile industry, which is facing a crisis due to falling profits. As he grapples with the pressures of his job, his personal life spirals out of control following a disastrous incident involving the new fabric’s unexpected properties, which leads to chaos and confusion surrounding personal identity in a world where everyone wears name tags that define them. This culminates in a twist where Charles, in a moment of desperation, adopts another man's identity, illustrating the extremes to which people may go to navigate societal expectations and crises of self. The novella offers a cautionary tale about the perils of losing individuality in the pursuit of uniformity and economic stability. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Bartholomew, Stephen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Standardized Man |
| Series Title | Produced from IF Worlds of Science Fiction February 1958. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 71.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 32658 |
| Release Date | Jun 2, 2010 |
| Last Update | Jan 6, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 296 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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