What makes “The Celestial Omnibus” a Modernist short story? How might the Bloomsbury Group have contributed to E. M. Forster’s writing? How might the story have changed if it had been written during a different literary era?

Compare “The Celestial Omnibus” to another of Forster’s short stories from The Machine Stops, The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories. What shared themes emerge, if any? Does the short format make the two stories’ respective themes more effective?

Describe the titular omnibus in appearance and purpose. How does Forster use it to reinforce one of the story’s themes? Would this connection work if the omnibus were a different vehicle?