2001: A Space Odyssey

by

Arthur C. Clarke

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on 2001: A Space Odyssey makes teaching easy.

Moon-Watcher Character Analysis

Moon-Watcher is a man-ape in prehistoric Africa. Starving alongside his tribe, he relies on meager scavenged berries for sustenance while facing nightly predator threats. Despite signs of dawning intelligence in Moon-Watcher, harsh conditions impede their development. Everything changes with the sudden appearance of the monolith, a mysterious black slab that begins reshaping Moon-Watcher’s mind. Made aware of his potential—to become a glossy, well-fed ape—and taught the skills to enact such change, Moon-Watcher undergoes a profound transformation, using his new knowledge to not only save his tribe from extinction, but to wage war against their rival tribe. This marks a pivotal shift in Moon-Watcher’s relationship with the world. The once meek man-ape of the past is no more: equipped with tools, Moon-Watcher becomes violent, enterprising, and resourceful, traits he passes not only to his contemporaries, but also his genetic descendants. For good or bad, humans are never the same after Moon-Watcher. In short, Moon-Watcher is the first real human.

Moon-Watcher Quotes in 2001: A Space Odyssey

The 2001: A Space Odyssey quotes below are all either spoken by Moon-Watcher or refer to Moon-Watcher . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Collaboration vs. Individualism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1  Quotes

As he looked out upon the hostile world of the Pleistocene, there was already something in his gaze beyond the capacity of any ape. In those dark, deep-set eyes was a dawning awareness—the first intimations of an intelligence that could not possibly fulfill itself for ages yet, and might soon be extinguished forever.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Moon-Watcher felt the first faint twinges of a new and potent emotion. It was a vague and diffuse sense of envy–of dissatisfaction with his life. He had no idea of its cause, still less its cure; but discontent had come into his soul, and he had taken one step toward humanity.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

For a few seconds Moon-Watcher stood uncertainly above his new victim, trying to grasp the strange and wonderful fact that the dead leopard could kill again. Now he was master of the world, and he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher , One-Ear
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 33
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

With the need for international cooperation more urgent than ever, there were still as many frontiers as in any earlier age. In a million years, the human race had lost few of its aggressive instincts; along symbolic lines visible only to politicians, the thirty-eight nuclear powers watched one another with belligerent anxiety. Among them, they possessed sufficient megatonnage to remove the entire surface crust of the planet. Although there had been—miraculously—no use of atomic weapons, this situation could hardly last forever.

Related Characters: David Bowman (The Star-Child) , Moon-Watcher , Heywood Floyd
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

He had made, utterly without incident and in little more than one day, the incredible journey of which men had dreamed for two thousand years. After a normal, routine flight, he had landed on the moon.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher , Heywood Floyd
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
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Moon-Watcher Quotes in 2001: A Space Odyssey

The 2001: A Space Odyssey quotes below are all either spoken by Moon-Watcher or refer to Moon-Watcher . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Collaboration vs. Individualism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1  Quotes

As he looked out upon the hostile world of the Pleistocene, there was already something in his gaze beyond the capacity of any ape. In those dark, deep-set eyes was a dawning awareness—the first intimations of an intelligence that could not possibly fulfill itself for ages yet, and might soon be extinguished forever.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Moon-Watcher felt the first faint twinges of a new and potent emotion. It was a vague and diffuse sense of envy–of dissatisfaction with his life. He had no idea of its cause, still less its cure; but discontent had come into his soul, and he had taken one step toward humanity.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

For a few seconds Moon-Watcher stood uncertainly above his new victim, trying to grasp the strange and wonderful fact that the dead leopard could kill again. Now he was master of the world, and he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher , One-Ear
Related Symbols: The Monolith
Page Number: 33
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

With the need for international cooperation more urgent than ever, there were still as many frontiers as in any earlier age. In a million years, the human race had lost few of its aggressive instincts; along symbolic lines visible only to politicians, the thirty-eight nuclear powers watched one another with belligerent anxiety. Among them, they possessed sufficient megatonnage to remove the entire surface crust of the planet. Although there had been—miraculously—no use of atomic weapons, this situation could hardly last forever.

Related Characters: David Bowman (The Star-Child) , Moon-Watcher , Heywood Floyd
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

He had made, utterly without incident and in little more than one day, the incredible journey of which men had dreamed for two thousand years. After a normal, routine flight, he had landed on the moon.

Related Characters: Moon-Watcher , Heywood Floyd
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis: