Student Question
How does the narrator of "The Star" manage his conflict?
Quick answer:
In the short story "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke, the narrator, a Jesuit priest, does not manage to resolve the conflict that he finds himself in. The fact that the supernova his expedition is studying has both destroyed an intelligent civilization and announced the birth of Jesus on Earth has caused him to doubt his belief in God. However, Clarke ends the story with a question that leaves the issue unresolved. Readers must draw their own conclusions.
In the classic science fiction short story "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke, the narrator is a Jesuit priest who is also an astrophysicist. He has taken part in an interstellar expedition to a star that has become a supernova. This involves the star creating a tremendous explosion and obliterating the solar system around it. However, the farthest planet in the solar system has survived and contains a vault with the relics of an intelligent civilization that was wiped out by the exploding star. The narrator has measured the time it would have taken for the light of the explosion to reach Earth, and he laments that the same star that he and the rest of the crew are studying is the star that announced the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
As the story opens, the narrator explains that the rest of the crew made fun of...
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him on the trip out because of his background. They cannot reconcile his interest in science with his Catholic faith. This is not the main conflict of the story, though. The narrator relates that throughout history, many Jesuits have been renowned scientists. This causes "amusement among the crew" but little else.
The main conflict in the story is regarding the narrator's faith. He is questioning the existence of God. He invokes the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, for answers but can come to no conclusion. He writes that he can accept that throughout the universe races of intelligent beings are periodically destroyed. What causes him to question his faith is the fact that God would use the same supernova to destroy an entire intelligent, creative civilization and to announce the coming of Jesus upon Earth.
The story ends with a profound question. This indicates that the narrator's conflict remains unresolved. He is unsuccessful in managing it. At the end of the story, he is still in the midst of his spiritual dilemma. Whether he manages to resolve it later is a question left up to the reader.