The Man That Was Used Up:

Poe was fascinated with the modern scientific advances and practices of his day, including those in the life sciences. He incorporated many of the scientific discoveries and questions of his day into his works of science fiction. As the world was becoming increasingly mechanized in the mid 1800s, one question that rang through the nations was where to draw the line between humanity and mechanization. Poe directly addressed this issue in his short story, "The Man That Was Used Up." In this story, a man called General Smith had been severely wounded in battle and had a large portion of his body replaced with mechanical parts. Poe had drawn "on the work of E.T.A. Hoffman" in writing a story "that centers on the mechanization of a human" (Willis 105). When the narrator is first introduced to General Smith, he thinks that he sees a man with incredible features, including his legs and voice. As the story goes on however, the narrator eventually discovers that these features are not original to him. General Smith may have what Poe described as a beautiful physique, but this beauty is only due to the mechanical pieces that hold him together. In creating the character General Smith, Poe incarnated the fears of his day that machinery would sap the humanity from mankind. Poe may be optimistic in presenting General Smith "as an example of a benevolent mechanical science", but he is also pessimistic "in wondering whether mechanical science creates automata in the place of the human" (Willis 113).

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