Technology 13 October 2017 How the 25 greatest stories ever told would be ruined by technology The Ghost of Christmas Past has absolutely no impact on Ebenezer Scrooge, because Timehop. Print HTML Sign UpGet the New Statesman's Morning Call email. Sign-up Technology makes life easier. Great stories need a conflict. These truths acknowledged everywhere, even in space, mean that most of the world’s classic stories would be ruined with the addition of an iPhone 6. Here’s how 25 of the world’s greatest tales would be destroyed by dastardly tech. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote checks Google maps and sees that the giants on the horizon are windmills. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Every day, @great_gatz creates an Instagram Story about his great, great life and religiously checks to see if Daisy has watched it. Ulysses by James Joyce Autocorrect. Harry Potter by JK Rowling Harry, Hermione, and Ron have a WhatsApp group with Professor Dumbledore, who they can immediately alert when in grave danger. Hedwig is freed from her life of slavery. Oedipus the King by Sophocles Oedipus logs into ancestry.com and doesn’t bang his mum. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Bennett sisters Google “George Wickham”. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Jane Googles “Edward Rochester” . The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien Cars. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare The Friar texts Romeo to tell him about Juliet’s plan. Two blue ticks reveal that Romeo safely got the message. Neither of them die. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing Anna Wulf opens loads of tabs. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Dorian has an ageing, grotesque selfie in his camera roll, but it doesn’t matter because he just adds the dog filter. Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne Pooh Amazon Primes over some honey and doesn’t cause aggro for any bees. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen Ariel texts Prince Eric to explain the situ with the voice-stealing-sea-witch. Then again, she could’ve also written this on paper. Maybe she’s just dumb. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Ghost of Christmas Past has absolutely no impact on Ebenezer Scrooge, because Timehop. The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop The hare gets an Uber to the finish line for £3.44. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger Holden comments “PHONY” under everyone’s profile pic and has a wank on Chatroulette. Lord of the Flies by William Golding Piggy calls his mam to pick him up. Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel’s parents make some extra cash by selling stuff on the *~BUY, SELL SWAP BAVARIA~* Facebook page. They don’t abandon their children. Charlotte's Web by EB White It’s a book about a spider that builds an intranet. Peter Pan by JM Barrie Peter plays Second Life and @s me to say #notallmen. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Charlie’s grandad LIKES AND SHARES THIS POST TO WIN A GOLDEN TICKET!! and literally nothing happens. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx Grindr. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville Moby-Dick never ate Ahab’s leg because who hangs around at sea in this day and age? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Jo backs up her book on an external hard-drive. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis Aslan is shot by a dentist and becomes a meme. › I’m the 85-year-old dragged away from a fracking protest – I want you to be angry Amelia Tait is features editor at Shortlist.com, she was previously the New Statesman's tech and digital culture writer, and tweets at @ameliargh.
