Michelle MilletTDNY 401OThe Soul of a New Machine 1. Why is the book titled "Soul of a New Machine"? I think that the book is titled Soul of a New Machine because it talks about the people behind the machine. It talks about the process and the effort that goes in to making the machine. It talks about the people that the consumer doesn’t really think about. Behind every invention, there is an inventor. The inventor is not always remembered. Kidder talks about the people that develop new computers and their efforts into making them. He doesn’t just speak about the machines themselves. He takes the reader into the life of the engineer. He brings that process of building something technological to life for the reader. 2. How would you characterize Tracy Kidder's writing style? Kidder writes in a very narrative style. He writes about the story of the developments in a story form. He writes in first person and in third person. He tries to make this story one that could be read by people who are not familiar with computer jargon. My complaint of Kidder’s work would be that the average person really can’t read the story and not feel overwhelmed by the computer talk. Sometimes details are given that do not advance the story, but the reader can get caught up in what they are. It seems that the target audience for this book was people who work in the computer engineering field, not the average person who just uses computers. 3. Who is your favorite character and why? My favorite character is Tom West. I like him because he seems very contradictory. He dresses very casually, but gets excited with these brain waves that no one else can really understand. He is an engineer and an “ethical” man (when he wanted to look at the new VAX he would have told the maintenance man the truth of who is was and what he was there for), however he had no problem taking the computer apart to see how the other company developed it and tried to figure out how to make a better, cheaper model. He also seemed to know when to relax. The people talked about his barbeques and how much fun they used to have there. West was also well liked by the people that he worked with. His team was genuinely affected when West decided to leave the group.
Posted by Michelle Millet
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