Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration vs. Individualism
Tools and Human Evolution
Space Travel
The Perils of Knowledge
Summary
Analysis
Bowman busies himself with putting the ship back into working order, slowly settling into a new, if albeit more hands-on, routine. During his free time, he learns more about TMA-1, captivated by its unusually perfect geometric proportions. He also processes Mission Control’s various apologies and explanations for the mission’s extreme secrecy, some of which he now finds trivial and political given the larger mystery at hand. Ultimately, however, he is more interested in understanding Hal’s behavior. According to Dr. Simonson, Hal’s psychosis was a product of his “unconscious guilt” resulting from program conflicts. Remembering moments when he too lost control of his logical faculties, Bowman’s resentment fades: “if it could happen to a man, it could happen to Hal.”
Learning the reasons behind Hal’s actions, Bowman comes to forgive Hal, sympathizing with his plight. This speaks to Bowman’s open-mindedness: despite Hal’s murder of Poole and attempted murder of him, he does not harbor any resentment. More broadly, Bowman’s forgiveness also registers as an acknowledgement of Hal’s humanity. Where before Bowman largely treated Hal as a hyper-intelligent computer, he now sees him as a fully conscious being like himself, capable of a wide range of emotions, albeit flawed.
Themes
