34 pages • 1 hour read
Karel ČapekR.U.R.
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1920A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How are social classes and power relations organized by labor in R.U.R.? How does social class in the play echo social class and power in real life?
Compare and contrast the different characters’ theories about the nature of humanity. Who do you believe Čapek sides with, and why?
What is the role of love (and beauty) in the text? How do love and beauty act as gateways for other human emotions, like empathy?
How do different characters use biblical motifs in the play? What is Čapek trying to say about humanity using these motifs?
How do mirrors function as symbols? Consider mirror props, mirroring discussed in dialogue, and/or characters who mirror one another.
What do flowers symbolize in the play? How do they function in the dialogue and as props?
Compare and contrast the characters of Helena and Robot Helena. How is Robot Helena more or less human than her counterpart?
What is the relationship between labor in the workplace and labor in childbearing? How does procreation, or the lack of procreation, influence the characters’ actions and ideas?
How do boats and the isolation of the factory function in the play?
What elements of R.U.R. appear in other works of science fiction? How has Čapek’s work influenced science fiction about robots and AI?
