If I Forget Thee, O Earth . . . Group

Question:

jaadeen
jaadeen
Student
High School - 12th Grade

For an essay, I need to know the theme of "If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth..." by Arthur C Clarke.

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Posted by jaadeen on Wednesday October 1, 2008 at 11:11 PM and tagged with if i forget thee o earth, if i forget thee, o earth . . ., themes.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    This is probably Clarke's most famous cautionary tale, which is a story with a warning about what will happen in the future if society continues along its present course. The science fiction genre often embraces this leit motif (recurrent theme), which is indeed one of its principal characteristics.

    'Take care of the planet before it's too late' could be one theme, or perhaps 'The armaments race will ultimately lead to an atomic holocaust.'  Another could state something like this: 'Mankind will not inherit a future world better than the one he bequeaths today.'

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/if-forget/themes

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    Posted by parkerlee on Friday October 3, 2008 at 9:43 AM