Catastrophism (Blog Prompt #9)

A very common theme throughout the genre of Steampunk is that of catastrophism. The settings within most Steampunk stories tends to be somewhat post-apocalyptic. The air is dark and gloomy and society tends to have crumbled upon itself. Man, feeling the weight of this, gives in to his base desires, furthering the process.

In The Difference Engine, Iterations 3 and 4 paint a picture of a frenzied and lost society, marred by recent events. Edward Mallory journeys through England and sees many horrible things. He sees a group of children breaking shop windows in the middle of public and stealing whatever they can. One is greatly injured, but the others leave him behind. Mallory also comes across the dead body of a sailor and is almost shot by the same man who killed the sailor. Edward, too, gives in to his base passions with Hetty. Society itself seems to be crumbling under the weight of all that has happened, and it doesn't seem to be getting much better.

Setting in The Difference Engine (Blog Prompt #8)

As with all Steampunk literature, The Difference Engine takes place in London, in its darker corners. Once again, the theme is somewhat dark and gloomy. The world as we know it is completely different from what it really was at that point in time. The United States of America was divided into five countries, Texas having its own individual nation. The Ottoman empire still existed. Many things were different. It seems to be up to the reader to decipher the reasons why these things happened. However, the alternate reality is an essential part of Steampunk. With Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine having been invented, many things changed.
The story opens up in a darker area of London … a sort of red light district. This, of course, sets up a good deal of background for Sybil Gerard, at the time a prostitute. The portrayal of her environment contributes to her burning desire to escape to Paris at Dandy Mick’s suggestion. A dark setting is, of course, a common theme in all Steampunk. However, the atmosphere tends to be almost post-apocalyptic. This is not so in the novel The Difference Engine, for one reason or another. This is odd, especially considering how The Difference Engine is considered to be the quintessential Steampunk novel. However, one may consider the current (or then-current) state of affairs in the book, taking into account the divided United States and the broken state of affairs within Sybil Gerard’s life, to be, if nothing else, bordering on post-apocalyptic.

Some Characteristics of Steampunk

Within the genre of Steampunk lies a multitudinous array of characteristics. The style of writing is very gothic. The setting is generally very dark and gloomy, almost post-apocalyptic. Stories typically take place during the Victorian era. The world has either already been met with disaster or there is an impending disaster that needs to be stopped quickly. Although the era is mid-to-late 19th century, there is a wide spectrum of highly technological devices. These devices, although very advanced (even for our time), are bound by 19th century scientific developments (e.g. The Steam Engine). One of the main characters is typically a scientist, be it the protagonist or the antagonist. The genre seems to be heavily influenced by both Mary Shelley and H.G. Wells. There is also a somewhat widespread interest in the animation of nonliving matter.
Although there are more characteristics behind this genre, I cannot think of any at the moment.

Jasper Morello (Blog Prompt #7)

Steampunk can take many forms: movie, book, or apparently music. The short film The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello falls under the category of Steampunk. Among its attributes are the futuristic forms of technology, still bound by 19th century mechanics. Alongside this is the dark, post-apocalyptic air that shrouds the environment.
Within Jasper Morello are many different forms of technology. The whole of the world is in mid-air (the reason behind this is not explained) and most travel takes place through a sort of mid-air railway. This does not include the air-ships, which are aerial vehicles fashioned after the design of old sea-ships. Jasper Morello, an air-navigator, also has a compass which resides inside of a box that, when a specific button is pressed, opens up in such a way that can be counted as somewhat fancy. However, all of these pieces of equipment hold one common factor: they all seem to be steam driven. Their design is very Da Vinci-esque, so although the devices are very futuristic, their design remains bound to nineteenth century thought.
The other blatant Steampunk characteristic within Jasper Morello is the dark, gloomy, post-apocalyptic environment that envelops the world in which the characters live. The whole of the environment is foggy and in a sort of sepia tone, and all of the characters are silhouettes. A plague is spreading rapidly across the region, and it is the job of Jasper Morello and the crew with whom he sails to find a cure. The dark, somewhat gothic undertones that lie within the story are defining traits of Steampunk.

Steampunk Stories (Blog Prompt #6)

In The God Clown Is Near, by Jay Lake, the author tells the dark tale of a man named Doctor Cosimo Ferrante. He is a flesh sculptor, or builder of people. One day, he is approached by two men, the Sueno brothers, and is instructed to build a clown. This is an ordinary request for Ferrante until the brothers detail that they want him to construct a moral clown … one with horrendous strength and mental capacity. He shudders at the prospect of doing such a thing, but when he is threatened with his life, he can do nothing but comply.
At that point, Ferrante deals with a horrible moral struggle as he constructs the monstrous creature. His friend and lover Jack guides him and advises him throughout the story. He suggests that he should continue the design, but build it with a flaw. Ferrante then takes the brain of a goat and patterns the clown’s brain after that. When the brothers Sueno arrive once more to see the completed creature, Ferrante awakens it and, in a panic, it rushes out of the room, killing one of the brothers and knocking the other unconscious. While the other brother is unconscious, Ferrante cleverly slips a bubble of carbon into his carotid artery, killing him as well. He is absolved from his horrible duty, the brothers being dead, and is able to return to his normal work in the Dark Towns.
This story takes on a similar theme to Frankenstein, but instead of desiring to build the monster, Ferrante is forced into it against his will. The theme of ambition by the creator is replaced by the theme of the ambitions of one person being forced upon another. I found this theme a particularly unique one throughout the story.