Henry David Thoreau, one of the leading philosophers of the 19th century, stated that "men have become the tools of their tools". Machine Man, written by Max Barry, is faithful to this quote. In this fictional novel, the scientist Charles Neumann surrounds his entire life based on mechanical parts with which he replaces his biological parts. Until almost the end of the novel, Charles can be called a cyborg, meaning that he relies on these mechanical parts to extend his physical abilities. He increasingly loses his morality to biology, as he allows mechanical parts to take control of his entire body. While technology continues to advance and become more ingenious, it can have harmful effects. In the case of Charles Neumann, the use of technology is harmful to his overall health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, the use of technology has a negative impact on Charles' mental health. Machine Man immediately begins with Charles criticizing robots as a child. For example, he states “Instead of doing one thing well, they [the robots] did everything wrong” (Barry 3). From the first page, readers realize that Charles has a feeling of improving machinery. Later in his adult life, Charles becomes a scientist and works for an engineering company called Better Future. Ironically, Charles loses his leg in an unfortunate workplace accident because he worries about finding his phone. Dissatisfied with the choice between several unwanted prosthetic legs, Charles creates his own artificial leg, but finds that having one biological leg and one mechanical leg prevents him from reaching his full walking potential. Without delay, Charles begins to build a second leg and, without remorse, removes the last biological leg from his body. Throughout the plot, Charles constantly creates new parts for his body. In a logical sense, it is not normal to remove one's body parts when they are functional. Not to mention the fact that he puts this type of work before everything else, without dedicating time to socializing. Isolation and the constant need for control are symptoms of an obsessive compulsive personality disorder, the ones Charles talks about. According to the New Harvard Guide to Women's Health, "Typically, people with this disorder are unjustifiably stingy with time and money, and are often workaholics, valuing productivity or possessions above other people" (Carlson, "Women's Health Disorders" personality"). This description is true for Charles, as he is always focused on his strange work, many times forgetting to eat or sleep. Furthermore, Charles believes that the mechanical parts of his body will draw attention to him. Lola Shanks, Charles' prosthetist and love interest, contributes to his desire for more mechanical body parts. For example, he compliments her work, saying "Oh, Charlie. It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful" (Barry, 56). Lola makes Charlie feel like he matters, and it's a feeling he's never had, as he claims his love life has been non-existent for quite some time (Barry 9). Perhaps his insecurity is assuaged by Lola's compliments to the point that he believes, ironically, that people will appreciate him as a person if he becomes more of a machine. Of course, in the natural world, a real machine-man might be amazed; however, Charles is only fooling himself by thinking that going through the extremes of changing his body to the point where he has no body will earn him a love worth having. Insecurity means "lack of self-confidence", and that's exactly how it is 2017.