Dec 20, 2009

Childhood's End | Characters

Clarke is not especially interested in creating characters of great complexity. The Reinhold and Conrad of the "Prologue" suggest Wernher von Braun and Stormgren Trygve Lie. Jean and George are purposefully made conventional young adults; her paranormal ability is due to her children, not herself. Even Jan, the most self-willed character, is outstanding only because of his youth. In their various normalities these characters illustrate the theme of isolation. What is remarkable is Clarke's division of them into two groups, the questers and the midwives. Stormgren relies upon the blind...