Recurring themes and motifs

The fantastic voyage

In Nicholls’ Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1979, p.210), the “fantastic voyage” is described as an episodic presentation of adventures in bizarre or unknown surroundings. Although sci fi voyages are most often associated with the interplanetary melodrama of Space Operas, its scope is limitless. At the heart of the fantastic voyage are human curiosity and a thirst for knowledge – themes common to almost all sci fi. The voyage may take place in space, on Earth, the sea, or at a microcosmic level. The voyage may be a quest for an object, a place, a person, or for a greater understanding of worlds external to our own. The voyage may act as a catalyst for the characters’ own growth and accumulation of wisdom.

Totalitarianism and the loss of identity at a societal level

Sanders (1979, p.133) argues that all science fiction of the 20^th century is centrally about the disappearance of character. As a reaction to the atrocities of the World Wars and of political systems which emphasise collective goals over individual needs, the militarised, totalitarian government has been a recurring theme in sci fi since the middle of the 20^th century. Famously, George Orwell’s 1984, uses numbered, uniformed prisoners and spirit-crushing daily monotony to illustrate a homogenised society where the individual no longer exists.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts a society where acquiring knowledge is considered a form of dissent, and, as one character notes, “not everyone is born equal … but all are made equal. Each man is the image of every other.”

Man vs Other: alien encounters, monsters, androids
This is the idea of influence and infiltration from an external source (Sanders, p.142). In Robert A. Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters, a parasitic alien race assumes mind control over their victims by attaching themselves to the base of the victim’s brain. Similarly, John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos examines a race of alien children who appear to operate as one mind. Both of these notions sit uncomfortably with a society that values individualism and freedom of thought and speech. The fear of "others" extends to alien invasion and takeover, such as H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.

Isaac Asimov’s anthologies of robot stories deal with androids and machines at varying levels of sentience. The dystopian world of Phillip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is populated with robots who feel and desire, which forces the to question his/her own notions of humanity (Kyle, p.102).

Utopias, dystopias and alternate histories
Suvin, in Hardesty (1987, p.160) defines a utopian work as “an alternative location radically different in respect of socio-political conditions from the author’s historical environment … [or] an imaginary community … in which human relations are organised more perfectly than in the author’s community”. The idea of a utopian society (the word is derived from the Latin words, “eutopia”, meaning “better place”, and “outopia”, meaning “no place”) is prevalent in science fiction because of the speculative nature of the genre. Sci fi icon Hugo Gernsback believed a utopian society to be the inevitable outcome of scientific, technological, philosophical, and artistic progress in society (Nicholls, p.622).

Yet with optimistic imagining comes the pessimistic; dystopian fiction presents a world which is unpleasant or fearful. As with utopian fiction, dystopian fiction is created as a reaction to the author’s own world, and most likely, acts as a “warning” to the reader (Nicholls, p.184).
Classic examples of utopian and dystopian fiction include Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, a portrayal of a hedonistic and apathetic society; Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, in which women have lost all autonomy and have been reduced to breeding machines; Ursula K Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, which explores a government-less society; H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, in which a time traveller happens across of peaceful society of weak beings who live under the constant threat of death; and Charlotte Perkins’ Herland, in which a society of only women runs harmoniously.
Similarly, alternate worlds or alternate histories in science fiction are the author’s reaction to his/her own environment. These alternate worlds, often created by some small tweak in the past, create a new world. This device may be used to “correct” wrongdoings in the past, and possibly act as a catalyst to a dystopian world

Technology: wonder and fear

To many, the definition of sci fi is synonymous with fantastical technology, artificial intelligence, and machinery. Kyle (p.63) notes that the core of sci is speculation and investigation, and this encompasses such technological possibilities. Jules Verne, often referred to as the “grandfather” of sci fi, exemplifies this idea with his scientifically bent, and sometimes prophetic, stories (see the submarine of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or the space-bound rocket of From the Earth to the Moon). Many of these sci fi writers had backgrounds in science and technology, and so, deployed their knowledge to imagine up flying machines, time travel devices, and early visions of jukeboxes, vending machines, radios and television (interesting side-note: Hugo Gernsback coined the word “television” [Kyle, p.73]).

Of course, this idealistic approach has a counterpart: suspicion and fear of technology. Sci fi writers in the post-World War II era and up to today, tend to explore the darker side of our highly technologised society. The most common explorations are the idea that a primitive society will eventually destroy itself with technology, or machines will gain self awareness and turn against their creators (Nicholls, p.595). Two Faces of Tomorrow byJames R. Hogan documents machines gaining consciousness, whilst Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream deals with a particularly malevolent AI who imprisons a group of men.

The idea of the “singularity” has also gained attention, such as in Phillip K Dick’s Autofac, in which machines have the ability to replicate themselves, thus rendering humankind redundant.


This list by author/academic C.W. Spinks is an excellent summary of themes, motifs, and archetypes in science fiction. Spinks states it's not an exhaustive list, but it comes close.