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
Saturn is only a day away now. Briefly passing by its various satellites, Bowman sends photographs back to Earth. He is confident that Japetus is his true objective, however: half black, as though burned, and half white, like a frozen milky lake, the moon’s distinctive geography makes it unique among its peers. Bowman has little time to study it, however, as the ship is entering its final maneuver. Using Saturn’s gravitational pull, Discovery slows itself down, becoming a satellite of the planet. From there, the ship restarts its engines, beginning a 14-day journey to Japetus. If the ship fails to enter the moon’s orbit, there will be no chance for a second try.
Bowman pulls Discovery One through its final maneuvers. As he nears Japetus, he becomes increasingly confident it is his destination, a conclusion seemingly based on a combination of instinct and observation. By his logic, it is simply too distinctive to be meaningless; something about it draws him in.
Themes
