'If I Forget Thee, O Earth . . .'

Consider the story’s depiction of the future—e.g., the image of “the great ships that were still waiting here on the silent, dusty plains […] lift[ing] once more into space, along the road that led to home” (406). What is the tone of such passages? How does this relate to the story’s themes?

Clarke warns the reader about the danger of humanity destroying itself with its own technology, but the lunar colony could not exist without technology. How does the story reconcile the tension between technology’s dangers and its promise?

The emotional core of the story involves the relationship between the boy and his father. What is Clarke suggesting about human relationships and technology’s impact upon human life?

How important is Clarke’s choice of narrator and point-of-view character? How would the story be different if the story centered Marvin’s father’s perspective?

Discuss the significance of the story’s title. Why has Clarke alluded to this particular verse from Psalm 137?

Clarke wrote many other stories, including “The Sentinel,” upon which the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was loosely based. Read that story or another of Clarke’s stories about how technology will affect humanity in the future. What themes do the stories share, and how do the stories differ?

Analyze Marvin and his father’s journey through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey. In what ways does the story’s plot resemble this archetypal narrative? In what ways does it deviate from it?

How would you characterize the story’s tone? What elements of the story’s plot or style create that effect, and how does it relate to the story’s themes?