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Chapter 4
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
The monolith vanishes, and Moon-Watcher soon forgets its existence, unaware of what it did to him and his tribe. Moon-Watcher and a dozen males descend toward the river. Though they think nothing of their bone clubs or knives, the Others are filled with fearful apprehension at the newfound determination of Moon-Watcher’s tribe. Moon-Watcher brandishes the head of the leopard on a stake, paralyzing the Others. Only One-Ear, the Others’ leader, stands his ground, and Moon-Watcher smashes his head with the leopard club, killing him. Moon-Watcher realizes he is “master of the world.” He is uncertain what to do next but knows he will “think of something.”
Killing One-Ear with the leopard-headed spear, Moon-Watcher ushers in a new era for the man-apes. The tribalism that characterized the man-apes before the arrival of the monolith, when man-apes could not inflict true harm against one another, has passed. Gestures of violence have been replaced with genuine violence, a testament to the profound impact of tools on the man-apes. The stable, largely peaceful past is no more, underscoring the double-edged sword that is humanity’s relationship with technology. While it saves them from extinction, it comes at the cost of conflict and violence.
Themes
