The Literary Galaxy of Star Trek: An Analysis of References and Themes in the Television Series and Films

by James F. Broderick

Overview

How is the android Data like Shakespeare's character Hamlet? Is the vengeful Khan (original series episode "Space Seed" and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) an echo of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick? The links between Star Trek and literature are vast: themes and characters that reflect those in classic literature; characters that quote literature in their dialog; and an enormous body of nonfiction books, novels, articles that have grown from the saga. Finally, like literature, Star Trek seeks to help in the human endeavor of understanding the world and its place in the universe. This book explores all of those connections. The Next Generation's Captain Picard frequently quotes Shakespeare. Captain Janeway from Voyager reenacts literature in holodeck novels. Jake Sisko, son of Deep Space Nine's Commander Benjamin Sisko, becomes an award-winning writer.

Beginning with Captain James T. Kirk's first appearance in the original series, then continuing through four subsequent series and ten movies, this book draws parallels between Star Trek stories and literary classics such as Hamlet, Paradise Lost, Ulysses, Dracula, and the New Testament, and works by the likes of Booker T. Washington, Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare. Appendices list the literary works discussed and the episodes and movies mentioned, each giving the chapters where references can be found.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786425716
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	04/18/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	239
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James F. Broderick is a professor of English at New Jersey City University in Jersey City.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

1. The Journey of the Hero     
2. The Quest for Revenge     
3. Leaving Childhood Behind     
4. The Pain of Love     
5. The Way of the West     
6. Time Traveling     
7. The Ravages of War     
8. Return to the Sea     
9. Failure to Communicate     
10. Staying Sane in an Insane World     
11. Mismatched Pairs     
12. Reinventing the Self     
13. Vampirism     
14. Underneath, We're All the Same     
15. The Wonders (and Dangers) of Technology     
16. Fantasy vs. Reality     
17. Gods, True and False     
18. The Rise of the Machine     
19. That Old Gang of Mine     
20. The Quest for Perfection     
21. Growing Old     
22. The Final Journey     
23. Seize the Day     
24. Socrates Goes to a Star Trek Convention     

Appendix 1. Literary Works (and the Chapters Where They Are Discussed)     
Appendix 2. Episodes and Films (and the Chapters Where They Are Discussed)     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index