Discussion Of The Flying Machine By Ray Bradbury

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In “The Flying Machine” by Ray Bradbury, Emperor Yuan was wrong to kill the flying man; by doing so, he ignored individual liberty for possibly the greater good. Before the flier’s execution, the Emperor and the flying man argued their beliefs by explaining why he should not and should be executed. For instance, the Emperor insisted that “...one must lose a little beauty if one is to keep what little beauty one already has” (Bradbury lines 135-136). The Emperor believed that killing one would save many. However, it is uncertain that the flying machine would have been used for evil. There were several different ways he could have handled the situation–such as destroying the ‘weapon’. Instead, he took away the flying man’s right to live. Meanwhile,