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Chapter 2
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
Forgetting about the previous night’s events, the ape-men return to their normal routine. However, the next night, the crystal slab continues its experiments, this time focusing on Moon-Watcher and other high potential ape-men. Shown mental images of a well-fed man-ape family, Moon-Watcher beings to feel envy and discontent about his own life, his first “step toward humanity.” This process continues for several weeks, with the monolith gradually reshaping Moon-Watcher’s mind, teaching him new instincts necessary for survival. One day, watching a warthog, Moon-Watcher is overtaken by a strange urge. Picking up a rock, he clubs the unsuspecting animal to death. He does not realize it yet, but he will never be hungry ever again.
Continuing to experiment upon the man-apes, the monolith discovers a more productive means of influencing their actions. Where its crude, earlier methods failed—rewarding or punishing the apes for following or failing to follow instructions—the monolith’s new psychological approach finds success. Inducing feelings of dissatisfaction in the man-apes, the monolith pushes them to improve their experience, resulting in Moon-Watcher’s successful murder of the warthog. This is a disturbing commentary on the motivations for human initiative, suggesting that greed and “discontent” are its driving forces.
Themes
