The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

How does the framing of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as a memoir shape the narrative? How does Manuel’s description of his own actions reflect the self-perception and role of revolutionary leaders in general?

Compare the setting of the Lunar Colony with perceptions and descriptions of the American West during westward expansion.

Analyze the relationship between Manuel and Mike. To what extent does Manuel project human qualities onto Mike? To what extent do you think Mike displays true human emotion? What does their dynamic suggest about human interactions with artificial intelligence in general?

How is the Lunar Revolution in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress similar to the historical first French Revolution? How is it different? What does this suggest about the portrayal of The Dynamics of Revolution in the novel?

Robert Heinlein wrote The Moon is a Harsh Mistress during the Cold War era. How does the novel reflect that time’s concerns and debates about the USSR?

Read the science fiction classic novella The Moon Colony by William Dixon Bell (1937). Compare and contrast the Lunar colony in this text with the Lunar colony on The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Research the scientific basis for the catapult system described in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. To what extent is this system based on real scientific concepts? To what extent is it fictive?

How does Mike compare to other representations of artificial intelligence in science fiction, such as HAL 9000 in Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Wintermute in Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)?