Childhood’s End

by

Arthur C. Clarke

Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” Character Analysis

The Inspector is an Overlord who travels to New Athens under the pretense of inspecting the colony, but is actually there to observe Jeffrey and Jennifer and gather any data he can, since they are the first children to exhibit symptoms of the Overmind’s coming. The Inspector is very polite, sitting through days’ worth of theater shows, school tours, and musical performances. He always responds appropriately to the setting at hand, laughing at the right parts of the theater, for example, and paying warm compliments to the composers of the musical pieces. Even though his appreciation of the arts seems genuine, the artists of New Athens can’t help but wonder if the Inspector is putting on an act.

Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” Quotes in Childhood’s End

The Childhood’s End quotes below are all either spoken by Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” or refer to Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” . 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:
Science and Mysticism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

“Everybody on the island has one ambition, which may be summed up very simply. It is to do something, however small it may be, better than anyone else. Of course, it’s an ideal we don’t all achieve. But in this modern world, the great thing is to have an ideal. Achieving it is considerably less important.”

Related Characters: Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector”
Related Symbols: The Overlords, New Athens
Page Number: 155
Explanation and Analysis:
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Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” Quotes in Childhood’s End

The Childhood’s End quotes below are all either spoken by Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” or refer to Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector” . 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:
Science and Mysticism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

“Everybody on the island has one ambition, which may be summed up very simply. It is to do something, however small it may be, better than anyone else. Of course, it’s an ideal we don’t all achieve. But in this modern world, the great thing is to have an ideal. Achieving it is considerably less important.”

Related Characters: Thanthalteresco / “The Inspector”
Related Symbols: The Overlords, New Athens
Page Number: 155
Explanation and Analysis: