This article explores the machine metaphor as a central conceptual and aesthetic device in the literature of the techno-modern era. The machine is examined not merely as a thematic presence or symbolic motif, but as an operative metaphor that structures narrative form, cognitive engagement and ideological positioning within literary texts. The relevance of this research lies in the accelerating development of digital technologies and their pervasive influence on how stories are told and perceived. An interdisciplinary methodology is employed, grounded in the philosophy of technology (particularly the works of Ernst Kapp and Gilbert Simondon), media theory and literary analysis informed by close reading and narratology. This multilayered design enables a comprehensive account of how machine metaphorics operates across levels of the literary text. The findings indicate that machine metaphorics is woven into the compositional fabric of works, manifesting in narrative architecture; in character development (notably figures of artificial intelligence and mechanized humans); in stylistic procedures that foreground precision and iterability; and in an ideology of technological rationalism. These metaphors shape the reading experience, fostering algorithmic modes of interpretation, a deterministic construal of the world, and aesthetic expectations oriented toward functionality. Ultimately, the study argues that the machine metaphor in the literature of techno-modernity functions as a powerful cognitive instrument: it not only reflects dominant techno-cultural paradigms but also actively intervenes in how readers construe identity, subjectivity, and meaning. By staging the dramatic convergence of human and machine logics, such literature invites critical reflection on the nature of consciousness and the shifting boundaries of the human in an era increasingly mediated by technology.
Konul Habibova (Wed,) studied this question.