Robbie [short story]
by Isaac Asimov
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When Gloria's mother deprives her of her beloved robot playmate Robbie, Gloria is inconsolable and goes into a decline.Tags
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Read as part of the 1941 Retro-Hugo packet.
This was Asimov's very first robot story, and it's simultaneously sweet, entertaining and thought-provoking.
A little girl has been provided by her wealthy father with a newfangled robot companion, specially programmed for childcare - and the two are inseparable. However, her mother has an innate distrust of technology, and her doubts are fed by a growing prejudice against robots in society. She convinces her husband to take Robbie the robot away, and to replace him with a dog.
However, the girl is inconsolable at the loss...
Asimov makes a good (if emotional) case against the resistance to technological change here, and it's fascinating to see the emergence of themes which he further developed show more later in his career. show less
This was Asimov's very first robot story, and it's simultaneously sweet, entertaining and thought-provoking.
A little girl has been provided by her wealthy father with a newfangled robot companion, specially programmed for childcare - and the two are inseparable. However, her mother has an innate distrust of technology, and her doubts are fed by a growing prejudice against robots in society. She convinces her husband to take Robbie the robot away, and to replace him with a dog.
However, the girl is inconsolable at the loss...
Asimov makes a good (if emotional) case against the resistance to technological change here, and it's fascinating to see the emergence of themes which he further developed show more later in his career. show less
Read as part of the 1941 Retro-Hugo packet.
This was Asimov's very first robot story, and it's simultaneously sweet, entertaining and thought-provoking.
A little girl has been provided by her wealthy father with a newfangled robot companion, specially programmed for childcare - and the two are inseparable. However, her mother has an innate distrust of technology, and her doubts are fed by a growing prejudice against robots in society. She convinces her husband to take Robbie the robot away, and to replace him with a dog.
However, the girl is inconsolable at the loss...
Asimov makes a good (if emotional) case against the resistance to technological change here, and it's fascinating to see the emergence of themes which he further developed show more later in his career. show less
This was Asimov's very first robot story, and it's simultaneously sweet, entertaining and thought-provoking.
A little girl has been provided by her wealthy father with a newfangled robot companion, specially programmed for childcare - and the two are inseparable. However, her mother has an innate distrust of technology, and her doubts are fed by a growing prejudice against robots in society. She convinces her husband to take Robbie the robot away, and to replace him with a dog.
However, the girl is inconsolable at the loss...
Asimov makes a good (if emotional) case against the resistance to technological change here, and it's fascinating to see the emergence of themes which he further developed show more later in his career. show less
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2,397+ Works 293,098 Members
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Robbie [short story]
- Original title
- Strange Playfellow [short fiction]
- Original publication date
- 1940
- People/Characters
- Gloria Weston; Robbie (RB series robot); Grace Weston; George Weston; Susan Calvin; Mr. Struthers
- Important places
- U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men factory
- First words
- "Ninety-eight - ninety-nine - one-hundred."
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Gregory Powell und Michael Donovan ...
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Please do not combine with the single title book or the book containing this story. Thanks.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Kids
- DDC/MDS
- 791.435 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures
- LCC
- PZ7 .A835 .R — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
Statistics
- Members
- 32
- Popularity
- 879,631
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.13)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
