’s End Essay, Research Paper
One could never believe that such a piece as Arthur C. Clarke’s
“Childhood’s End,” was written nearly 50 years ago. The story itself
was far ahead of its time and will probably remain so forever. There
are some who dislike or would rather not read science-fiction because
of its highly idealistic writing and plot outlines. This novel is the
greatest I’ve read of science-fiction as of yet. Taking consideration
into the fact that I am a novice science-fiction reader, one could
dismiss my statement as being naive. However, even if I am mistaken,
Childhood’s End will remain inside my mind and heart as being the very
best at playing out what contact in our world with a sufficiently
advanced extra-terrestrial civilization and our purpose with them and
the rest of the universe would be like.
In the introduction Clarke wrote in 1989, he gives an account of a time
when he and his late friend Val Cleaver were driving to London when they
saw an awe-inspiring sight of silver barrage-balloons anchored above
London. They were protecting against, “the present peril.” I’d like to
think Mr. Clarke has not lost the appreciation for fiction and the human
instinct to imagine incredible things since that time. I’ve heard recently
that he has lost his interest in fiction and instead is concentrating on
reality. How ironic that as Mr. Clarke is ascending (or descending) into
the more realistic universe, the young 18 year-old kid is going in the
complete opposite direction. I suppose Sir Isaac Newton has something to
do with this.
I am not denouncing Mr. Clarke’s realization of the fraudulence of
humanity’s dabbling into the so-called “paranormal.” He is very much
right. But I was glad to see that even he believes that there is
something to it. “Today, I would like to change the target of that
disclaimer to cover 99 percent of the ‘paranormal’ (it can’t all be
nonsense).” One of things I had to tackle after reading Childhood’s
End was what made humanity so special as to surpass the Overlords?
Then it hit me. The one thing that made us special, the one thing
that separated us from them…our ability to comprehend what was
not logical, possible or even sensible. The Overlords, with all of
their massive intelligence, vastly advanced technology and their
ability to learn at a much faster and more efficient rate, still
didn’t attain something we did. I’m not sure if it was just one
thing as it is many parts of one thing. Imagination I suppose best
describes it. The Overlords were practical, efficient beings. One
could relate them to the Vulcan civilization. However this was not
your average star trek.
Oddly enough, Clarke to me seems to be the best at giving both sides
of the story. As one sees the story unfold in his books, they get the
feeling that they are receiving a very detailed, scientifically
accurate account of everything described. Good, but sometimes hard
to relate. He then redeems his genuine fiction writing by putting
in the creative and wondrous ideas and descriptions of what the
reader sees and the characters experience. He still remembers to make
his stories interesting, in other words.
At first glancing at the words, “The end of strife and conflict of
all kinds had also meant the virtual end of creative art. The world
was still living on the glories of a past that could never return,”
I began to think that Clarke was wrong and beginning to get a little
too idealistic. Then, I realized that just as humanity in the book is
coming out of its childhood ways, I too must realize what can or
can’t be. One must take the good with the bad. I found myself
relating to the novel on a whole new level. I had to learn to
understand why this was happening, and that ultimately, it was for
the greater good.
Clarke mastered the outline and sequences of the story so well that
virtually any reader would find themselves in the exact same
position as any person on Earth would, in the event that something
like that would happen. Almost as if the book was Karellen’s
captain’s log on his ship, dispelling everything that occurred and
leaving the most enlightening part for the end. I truly believed that
I was reading something that was beyond anything I had read before.
Surpassing even the insight the late genius Carl Sagan made into Pi
at the closing pages of “Contact.” While the descriptions of the
Overlords’ home p
imagine inside my head, I had to re-read a few of the passages Clarke
wrote. I’m sure even the character of Jan had difficulty taking
it all in.
I have, under much consideration, contemplated the production of
this story into a full-fledged motion picture event. Each page keeps the
reader addicted. I found myself reading the third chapter after ten
minutes, at first only intending to read the first couple of pages. What
an incredible movie it would indeed make! Very idealistic and daring,
but so were many blockbusters in the past…Star Wars, Close Encounters
of the Third Kind, Titanic, and the beautiful 2001: A Space Odyssey.
(This young man hopes one day to see this on the big screen.) I’m sure
Mr. Clarke is very interested in trying to make it into a movie. However,
he gives his reasons why he might not happen, “According to information
I’ve just received from the Hollywood Gulags, the current asking-price
for Childhood’s End is more than two hundred times that of the perfectly
satisfactory fee I received in 1956.” Money, of course is always the
ultimate consideration in Hollywood. What is needed are sources in
Hollywood that transcend the suits with their past creative successes.
Such people include Clarke’s friend, Steven Spielberg, and collaborator
Stanley Kubrick. Even I began to envision each of the scenes in a Kubrick
way. Once done by Robert Zemeckis with Carl Sagan’s Contact, I to hope
to see this film started before the set of Arthur Clarke. If this book
is every made into a movie, I sincerely hope the screenwriter and director
leave virtually every part intact. In the unlikely event that this essay
is ever read by the great author himself, I’d like it known by him that
his books and ideals carry on into the next millennium and that the young
man writing this essay has made it a personal goal to do his best to
show the story of Childhood’s End on the big screen. I say its time for
Clarke to be recognized once again on film.
The ending of the book, and I’m sure others would agree with me, had
the greatest effect on me. I was able to envision every minute detail
and emotion. The dreams and experiences of Jeffery, the realization of
his parents that their child is no longer human, the gathering of the
children going away. What an incredible vision I saw! It was so bold
and so real that many times I found myself perspiring all over and even
shedding a tear or two at how beautifully the story seemed to me. Jan,
reporting back to the Overlords of what he was seeing and feeling…the
mere thought of what might be going through his head was enough for me to
stop reading. Yes, I’m sure that wasn’t Clarke’s intention. I found it
too good to be true. The story continuously evolved onto a new level of
comprehension and experience. The goose-bumps on my body now began to
hurt after each page I turned. This was what science-fiction was all
about! This is why I love science-fiction! Incredible events that
captivate and entangle us unto a new level of comprehension and
understanding. Jan was the last man on Earth and it was up to him to
give his account of the end of the world. How impossibly exhilarating
that would be. Seeing your own world disappear before your eyes, and
you with it. But this isn’t a tragedy of mankind. Instead, I thought
long and hard about how this book ended. About how humanity ended. A
very noble and respectful way for mankind to end. Knowing that each
event in the past was not spent in futility. Instead as a milestone
on the ascending hill to infinity. Each step a part of the ultimate
destination that was reached. True, one could say it wasn’t us that
attained that final step, but it was. Perhaps not physically or
psychologically, but it was our voyage that made it happen. The whole
time, protected by those who see us shine and fly past them on their way
to the top. Incredible! How symbolic of any young person’s voyage into
the real world. At fist protected by their parents and mentors, they are
taught how to deal with the powerful forces that lie beyond them. They
are taught to accept the fact that old games and childish actions of
their youth must leave them. They are taught that they have a destiny,
and they would have to construct it on their own one day. Just think of
how a young man, just beginning his voyage into the real world, can see
this as being almost allegorical.
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