“The Star” by Arthur C. Clarke

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Instances of Religious Redemption
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The star was written by Arthur C. Clarke as a science fiction story in the 50s. It was published in the science fiction magazine, Infinity science fiction and also grabbed the Hugo awards in the mid 1950s (Mega Essays LLC 3). The star is reflective of the human nature because it exposes the very basic elements that make us all human. Core on this study will be the vulnerability associated with our human nature and how we perceive and react to specific threats in our environments.

To recap what the star is about, the story talks about a group of space explorers who come to a specific star system after a mission in space which saw the destruction of civilization by a star. A Jesuit priest accompanies them back but is in a deep crisis of faith from an unknown factor which happened during their mission in space. As the story unfolds, it becomes vivid to the readers that the destroyed structure depicted in the film closely resembled earth. From the discovery of the impending danger of the destruction of earth through a Supernova, the group of scientists decides to build a vault resembling Pluto which would protect them from the Supernova.

Faced with the eminent possibility of destruction, the group decide to stock the vault with evidence of their existence; including their history, achievements, culture and philosophy; hoping that they would be remembered, incase they perished (Mega Essays LLC 6). As the story unfolds, the priest who is part of the team becomes deeply touched by these artifacts and they begin to all identify more with the fate of the dead.

As the book comes to a close, the source of the priest’s pain is shown. From scientific calculations, it is established that the star that destroyed earth was the same one that heralded the birth of Jesus Christ. This shakes the scientists’ belief in science (Mega Essays LLC). From this story, we can deduce the fact that human beings when faced with life threatening situations or situations where there is lurking danger often seek religious redemption.

Instances of Religious Redemption

The star was majorly written with many religious and spiritual overtones which reflected a basic component of humanity which is spirituality. Throughout the story, the plot revolves around the experience which happened to humanity during the period of the great flood (Mega Essays LLC 20). As the story unfolds, the author tries to advance the fact that we should be gracious as humans for being able to survive what could possibly have marked the end of our existence. Specific semblance should be made to the period preceding the great flood.

The star was written in the 70s when reference was made to the Mark XI computer but religion does not fail to surface as a determinant of human vulnerability; especially from the setting of the Vatican and the Crucifix which are majorly shown in symbols (Mega Essays LLC 42). These symbols are however used to denote time difference the explorers had to take before the Catholics reached the greatest holy place.

The reaction to impeding danger in humanity is exhibited when the group of scientists and the priest who accompanied them looked up to a common savior, Jesus Christ. The group of scientists is essentially very worried when they discover the videos of another group of explorers who conceded to their forthcoming demise because they were faced with an almost similar situation. This group of scientists lived on earth under the same environment as they did but unlike them, they had already envisaged the impeding destruction of earth and had to run away from it.

Considering the political, social and economic changes that were already on earth, religion was characterized by deceit because followers were only told what they wanted to hear and not the truth (Mega Essays LLC 35). The three thousand years time difference is not only shown as the time difference they were with their spiritual selves but also showed the distance they had with God.

Thus, when they were faced with the possibility of dying they felt the need to bridge this gap and come close to God because they had no other way of surviving the eminent destruction. This analysis is a clear manifestation of the human nature especially when faced with situation of vulnerability. The star draws contrast to science which is another element that most humans always rush to when faced with difficult situations. Considering the failure by the scientists to help themselves, the only other remedy still existent was in religion. This is a direct characteristic of the human attribute that despite being over reliant on science, we always subscribe to a supreme being which in this case was Jesus Christ.

However, the star also exposes an interesting nature of most human beings, especially when analyzed in the context of a life-threatening situation. Human beings are often comfortable with their lives and over reliant on science until grim situations set upon them. It is therefore not strange that after the scientists undertook what they assumed to be the most scientifically possible way of redeeming themselves (which in this case was the building of the vault) they turned to religion.

Even at the end of the story, the honesty of the scientists with reference to the belief in religion is still in question because they are surprised at the realization that the star which crashed earth was the same star of Bethlehem. In other words, there seemed to be a difference between religion and science here because it was like a new realization they never thought of.

As readers read on, a sense of injustice is felt after learning of what happened to the people back in earth (which is a twist of irony). Reference is made to the first flood which explains the purpose why the earth was destroyed. This purpose was to rid the earth of sinful people (Mega Essays LLC 13). The Star therefore makes us question the role of religion and more specifically God, in the creation of the universe. These sentiments were also expressed by some of the crewmembers who had different opinions of God’s involvement in the universe. They therefore present the dilemma that is still existent on earth today because most people are still unclear over the role religion has to play on earth. Specifically, the story exposes the divisive nature of humans with regard to religion.

More so, the story exposes the ridicule humans attribute to the impression that they will be all considered in the second coming of Christ. For example, there is a very limited number of people who want to believe that there will be a specific number of people who will be redeemed in Christ’s second coming. In this respect, reference is made to the crewmembers who become very afraid after they realize that death is upon them. Their fear reflects on the fright many humans often feel when they are faced with a potentially deadly situation. Heightened fears are especially attributed to the fact that many people are pessimistic of the fact that they would be considered in God’s Kingdom. This is the reason why the group of scientists gets very afraid and partially looks up to God for divine help.

As the story further unfolds, the scientists hold a very cynic view of the world and almost hold a view of pure pessimist which could potentially be dangerous because of its ability to make its victims commit suicide or engage in acts of violence. It is also sad due to the fact that back on earth, many people lost loved ones; which is contrary to the biblical belief that many people were to be saved; even those perceived to be bad (Mega Essays LLC 16).

Efforts by the priest to make the other crew members see how the earth was created is an attempt to prevent them from committing suicide. This also exposes another human element manifested through vulnerability because even despite the little hope the scientists had on religion and the pessimism they held regarding it, suicide provided a means to an end for them. This is also in close resemblance to human reactions of suicide observed today due to hopelessness. This mindset was shared by the group of scientists after noting that everything was about to come to an end. Suicide therefore seemed a viable option of accepting fate.

Conclusion

The Star exposes the soft human underbelly of spirituality especially when things go wrong. The story has an unfamiliar semblance of religious elements that directly expose how the scientists, after trying all scientific ways to redeem themselves, resort to religion. The timing of this action exposes the attitude most humans have today, especially with regard to religion and science. Humans often turn to religion when science fails and the fear associated with judgment draws a lot of fear among most people as was witnessed with the scientists. However, all these factors show that humans always resort to divine intervention when faced with extreme situations that cannot be remedied.

Works Cited

Mega Essays LLC. Analysis: The Star. 2001. Web.

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“The Star” by Arthur C. Clarke

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