To answer questions about
Klara and the Sun,
please sign up.
Summer (speaking_bookish)
I read an article about different elements in this book and the Cootings machine was one of them. Apparently it is simply a piece of construction equipment of which the actual purpose is of no importance. No different than one you might pass while driving. You know it’s equipment but not what it does. The important thing here is that Klara views the machine as a possible enemy of the sun - which she looks upon as another person would a God- since it causes pollution when being used.
Obviously if you’ve read the book you already know all this. I, too, thought there was some significance in the purpose of the machine and was so curious about what it actually was but once I realized it was simply like any other machine and held no actual importance I was appeased.
The story needed something that caused pollution for Klara to focus on and this is what the author chose. It’s that simple. Kind of disappointing as I was hoping for some revelation of sorts, haha.
Obviously if you’ve read the book you already know all this. I, too, thought there was some significance in the purpose of the machine and was so curious about what it actually was but once I realized it was simply like any other machine and held no actual importance I was appeased.
The story needed something that caused pollution for Klara to focus on and this is what the author chose. It’s that simple. Kind of disappointing as I was hoping for some revelation of sorts, haha.
John
Is it measuring C00 (C02), i.e., carbon dioxide?
Iain Wright
I see the Cooting's machine as an allegory for 'the devil' in keeping with the theme of Klara's worship of the sun. It may be less important that it's probably just road resurfacing equipment. In such a dystopia where we have the power to tinker with the building blocks of our humanity with little regard to any adverse outcome, we will probably still attribute the crimes of humanity to our deities as we do now instead of realizing we are the problem. Klara mimics human frailty in this regard as she is programmed by it and she too attributes these problems to deities rather than humanity. To her, the machine is the opposing deity like 'the devil'. In her case, she has an excuse to be misguided; she has been programmed to protect and serve, not judge. (woe betide us when AI does have this ability). Throughout human history we have attributed good and bad to our deities in multiple forms across our cultures while almost ignoring the most obvious, most powerful yet fragile existential force ; mother nature - and its most likely threat - us. In an age of science, this becomes a decoy, a distraction from our responsibility as the architects of our own environmental and genetic destruction. Think of this next time you hear someone thanking their deity for sparing them from 'an act of god' such as a hurricane or blaming a little red man for our evils while attributing much less regard to 'mother nature' which will indeed be our final arbiter.
Allan Kelman
I also assumed it to be some kind of street repairing machine such as an asphalt layer, with the dust being from ripping up the old road.
Buck
I guessed that Cootings is the name of the company that owns the machine, apparently some sort of construction equipment.
Rosemarie Arbur
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Infinity's Bookshelf
I figured it was some sort of asphalt layer or mixer for fixing the street.
Tom
I didn’t think the purpose of the Cootings Machine matters in the least. What matters is that it’s yet another machine in a long line that man has made that pollutes the earth.
Iain
I wonder if the author constructed the name from an anagram of known air pollutants - "Cooting's machine" can equal "Nicotine" + "Smog" + "HCA" (where HCA is hydrocarbon aerosols). No doubt there could be a number of other possibilities, but the purpose of the machine, at least from Klara's view point, seems to be one of air polluting.
Frida
I discussed this with my Mom and she thinks the cootings machine is yet another construction machine. It has no real importance or significance, but Josie’s Dad, Mr. Paul lets Klara think it has. She believes in him and he “helps” her destroy it by using the material that’s inside of Klara. He wants to kill her because he’s not fond of the idea that Klara should continue living Josie’s life when she dies.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more