Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Childhood’s End, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Mysticism
Benevolent Dictatorship and Freedom
Utopia and Creative Apathy
Individuality, Globalization, and Progress
The Fate of Humanity
Summary
Analysis
Jan is discontented by utopia. He is the son of a professional magician and an esteemed mathematician, having spent his life moving between Scotland and Haiti where his parents’ families lived, resulting in some level of instability. At 27, he is still in the midst of his academic studies, but he breezed through bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics. Most importantly, he is heart-broken over a woman who has recently broken off their brief relationship.
Unlike George, Jan is obviously intelligent, perhaps too much so for the intellectual stagnation that has overtaken the sciences in the Overlords’ utopia. His recent heartbreak and childhood instability make him a perfect candidate for a rather bold and reckless adventure such as the one he will soon undertake.
Themes
Jan is also frustrated at the Overlords for limiting his own ambitions. Jan dreams of traveling to the stars, but the Overlords’ presence has eliminated nearly all inquiries into space travel. Though humanity had visited the moon, they had been discouraged by the superiority of the Overlords’ technology and their own inability to ever understand it, so they turned to other pursuits. “Man was, therefore, still a prisoner on his own planet.” Jan has spent most of the party standing on the roof, watching an Overlord supply ship leave Earth’s orbit and launch into unknown space.
Jan embodies the classic humanistic spirit—he is bold, daring, adventurous, and like the early cosmonauts, wants to take humanity to new heights. His withdrawal from the party is symbolic of his greater withdrawal from utopian society. Rather than muddle through the social tedium—of the party or utopian society—he would rather stand alone and dream of space travel.
Themes
When the party ends, the majority of the guests leave. Though George wants to go home, Jean insists that they stay, as she shares Rupert’s interest in the paranormal, which George resents. Rupert pulls out a large Ouija board that he has designed and invites the remaining guests to sit around it with him, including Jan. George reluctantly joins, making a snide remark about the foolishness of such an interest before realizing that Rashaverak is present for just such a purpose.
It is noteworthy that in the absence of religion, people such as Rupert and Jean still seek out some sort of spiritual experience. The Overlords’ presence on Earth may have eradicated organized religion, but humanity is still reaching for higher powers or some plane of existence beyond their own. It seems to be human nature to do so.
Themes
The guests place their hands on the board and Rupert explains that, in the past, it has delivered true answers, though he believes there must be some subconscious, scientific reasoning behind it. A woman named Ruth Schoenberger is sitting outside the circle taking notes and Rashaverak is observing.
Rupert’s belief that there is some quasi-scientific explanation to truly paranormal phenomena mirrors Clarke’s own belief at the time of writing, though by the end of his life he was almost entirely a skeptic.
Themes
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Rupert begins by asking if anyone is there, referring to whatever force may control the Ouija board. When they receive a positive answer, the board spells out, “I am all.” Rupert finds this to be a “typical reply.” The guests continue asking superfluous questions and receiving vague answers for some time. George is drowsy, as are the others, but Jean seems almost afraid to quit, worrying George. He tries to guess what Jan is thinking, but he cannot. Jan has been silent during the entire experience.
“I am all” seems to be a reference to the Overmind, which is later revealed to be the source of information that Jean is channeling through her future children, though she and everyone else is unaware of this. The Overmind’s self-description of “I am all” is conspicuously similar to the Hebrew God’s self-description of “I am” in the Bible, suggesting that in the absence of God, a god-like entity may still exist.
Themes
Rupert, also falling asleep, decides there should be one last question. He decides Jan should ask it. Jan already knew what he would ask: “Which star is the Overlords’ sun?” Rashaverak leans forward to see the Ouija boards response. It spells out NGS 549672, and Jean faints.
Once again, Jan is the only person to ask the Ouija board anything of consequence, reinforcing his distinctness from the other human characters in the story. While the others engage with the Ouija board as a game and a curio, Jan is investigating, testing it, and uses it to discover information. Also, the fact that Rashaverak leans forward indicates that he was, at the very least, open to the possibility that the board may give true answers—a very odd thing for a rationalistic Overlord to be even willing to consider.
Themes
