The Value of the "Books" (Robert M. Sonntag’s novel "Scanners")

Abstract

Robert M. Sonntag creates an anti-utopia in the novel Scanners in order to draw the attention of the modern community to the danger for human life of today’s technical proposals imposed on the individual by the state and its institutions. Institutions include hospitals, churches, schools, universities, publishers, writers, readers, businesses, and IT-companies. Writer’s message is to be very careful, you should not easily agree to everything that seems to make our lives easier. The scientific problem is to analyze the conflict between the individual and the community system of the 21st century, which leads to the destruction of morality, humanistic values, family, biological existence of person. This will help to single out the idea – the threat of technology to a person, who abandons the experience of ancestors, traditions, intellectual heritage and culture of previous generations. The highlighting of conflicts, problems and ideas contributes to a better understanding of the creative heritage of Robert M. Sonntag in particular and German literature of the early 21st century in the discourse of world literature in general.