2001: A Space Odyssey Study Guide

Arthur C. Clarke, born December 16, 1917, in Somerset, England, was a British science fiction writer, science writer, space exploration advocate, and futurist. He is best known for contributions to science fiction and is considered one of the so-called Big Three science writers alongside Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. Growing up reading science fiction magazines, Clarke developed an early taste for the genre, writing his first pieces for Urania, the journal of the Junior Astronomical Association. After the Second World War, in which he served as a radar specialist in the Royal Air Force, Clarke received a degree in math and physics from King’s College London. In addition to working as an assistant editor at Physics Abstracts, Clarke also served several terms as the president of the British Interplanetary Society. During this time, he published several notable books and essays on space flight, as well as many of his most notable short stories and novels, including “The Sentinel” and Childhood’s End. In 1956 Clarke moved to Sri Lanka, where he spent the remainder of his life writing and scuba diving. It is there that he wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey, a novel and screenplay released alongside Stanley Kubrick’s movie by the same name. Writing up until his death, Clarke published upwards of 50 novels and over 100 short stories, winning numerous Hugo and Nebula awards over his lifetime.  In 1986 he was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, and in 1989, a year after being diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2005 he awarded the Sri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor. He lived until the age of 90. He died in 2005 and was buried alongside his lifelong friend, Leslie Ekanayake.

2001: A Space Odyssey emerged at the height of the Space Race between the United States and U.S.S.R. This is reflected in the novel’s anxieties about nuclear war, as well as its enthusiasm about space-age technology; at the time of the novel’s writing, the United States had still not landed on the moon. As such, space travel was not only a source of great excitement, but also rampant speculation; humanity seemed perched on the brink of a new era, and no one knew what might come next. More broadly, the novel also reflects the social upheavals of the 1960s, from the popularization of mind-altering drugs like marijuana and LSD to the social impact of emerging technologies. It is impossible to imagine David Bowman’s transcendent, almost psychedelic experience as removed from these cultural touchpoints; quite literally, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a story about going on a “trip.” As such, the novel perfectly embodies its cultural moment, capturing its utopic visions and hopes for the future as well as its anxieties. 

2001: A Space Odyssey comprises pieces and ideas taken from Clark’s earlier works. The opening section of the novel, for instance, where humanity’s ancestors are altered under alien influence, draws many parallels to Clarke’s 1951 short story, “Encounter in the Dawn.” Similarly, “The Sentinel,” written in 1948, shares key plot features with 2001: A Space Odyssey: an ancient sentinel is discovered on the moon, designed to alert its creators to its discovery. Considered by many to be his best, the 1953 novel Childhood’s End also bears likeness to 2001: A Space Odyssey, being based around the idea of transcendent evolution. Outside of Clarke’s own canon, the works of Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein—the other two of the so-called “Big Three” science fiction writers—share many common themes and tropes. Writing roughly contemporaneously, the writers were known for their attention to scientific realism and speculative visions of humanity’s future. Asimov is best known for his Foundation and Robot series, and Heinlein is best known for Starship Troopers and Strangers in a Strange Land. Other related science fiction works include Dune by Frank Herbert, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and Neuromancer by William Gibson.