Problems with Control in Chaos Walking
Chaos Walking is a rich trilogy with many interesting ideas and sci-fi concepts, among them the issue of control versus freedom.
Jan 15, 2025
Angelica Walker-Werth
Angelica is a fellow at Objective Standard Institute, an assistant editor and writer for The Objective Standard, and an Ayn Rand Fellow with Foundation for Economic Education’s Hazlitt Project. Her roles at OSI include managing the internship and Active-Mind scholarship programs, course administration and development, and editing On Solid Ground. She writes nonfiction articles and speaks; you can see her work at walker-werth.com. She is a voracious reader of fiction in her spare time, and writes about the ideas in fictional works at fictionosophy.substack.com.
Introducing Fictionosophy
Thomas Walker-Werth interviews Angel about the purpose and vision of her Substack Fictionosophy and how literature and the ideas in it have affected her personally.
What The Handmaid’s Tale Teaches Us About Self-Esteem
Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale illustrates the relationship between liberty and self-esteem, which I explore in this new video.
Spiritual Values in Charles Dickens’s Holiday Stories
The warmth of Dickens's happy endings and the joy he envisions as possible to everyone make his Christmas stories a cozy pick for reading beside a crackling fire this winter.
“Emma” by Jane Austen
As Emma discovers that the way to love people is to encourage their independence, she builds a life that’s not only delightful on the surface, but deeply fulfilling.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale is a fascinating story that highlights the importance of self-esteem, individual thought, and personal choice through a stylized and engaging narrative.
“The Student Conductor” by Robert Ford
The Student Conductor is a touching, bittersweet story of a man learning how to pursue the things he loves—and what could stop him from doing so.
“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games trilogy highlights many important aspects of tyranny and rebellion, the most important of which is that pursuing your values requires freedom.
“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick
Empathy, religion, war, and social hierarchies in Dick's 1968 sci-fi classic.