58 pages • 1 hour read
Arthur C. ClarkeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Clarke deftly uses humor in many of his short stories. He relies on satire, irony, and wordplay to create comedic prose. “No Morning After” satirizes the human condition through the character of Bill. “Patent Pending” and “I Remember Babylon” both satirize the ease with which humans can be manipulated through sex. “Who’s There” builds suspense only to offer a funny, lighthearted plot twist at the end. “The Enchanted Orchid” and “Patent Pending” both rely on the comically outrageous subject matter of Harry Purvis. Overall, Clarke takes care to weave something funny into most of his stories, maintaining a sense of perspective and creating a persistent motif of social satire.
As a biblical symbol, the star of Bethlehem represents the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that a star appeared over the location of baby Jesus, which led the three wise men to him on Christmas Day. Scientists have posited that there may indeed have been a new, bright star in the sky caused by the explosion of a supernova on that date. Clarke’s story, “The Star of Bethlehem” imagines a scenario in which the explosion of that supernova caused the destruction of an Earthlike planet and its human civilization.
By Arthur C. Clarke