Character Analysis of Marvin and Father: If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...

This report provides a character analysis of Arthur C. Clarke's short story, 'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...'. The analysis focuses on two main characters: Marvin, a ten-year-old boy, and his father. The report explores Marvin's character development as he experiences the post-apocalyptic Earth for the first ...Read More

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Character in “If I forget thee, oh earth…” by Arthur C. Clarke
Two main characters characterize the short story by Clarke. One of the main characters is
called Marvin. The other main character is Marvin’s father. From the story, it emerges that
Marvin was ten years old. Marvin was born and became a resident of the separated space colony,
the moon colony. To expose him to reality, Marvin’s father takes him outside the colony. At the
tender age of 10 years and for the first time in his life, Marvin witnesses the post-apocalypse
during earthrise. Marvin is curious about his surroundings. His curiosity is informed by growing
up within a lunar dome with no opportunity of going out. The story outlines how Marvin’s
understanding of life faces critical changes. this is explained through his discovery that the earth
is not the peaceful and beautiful planet he dreamt of. The story outlines various character traits
associated with Marvin including curiosity, excitement, observant and reflective (Clarke 1). In
the story, Marvin emerges as the protagonist. The reader of the story experiences the shock of the
ruined earth concurrently with Marvin since the narrator unfolds the story and reveals the details
through Marvin’s eyes as he observes them. Marvin’s excitement is revealed after learning of his
father’s intention to take him outside the colony. He becomes ecstatic when he gets in the scout
car and they start driving. Contrary to what he has seen in television sets and photographs, he
discovered that the surface of the moon was more spectacular. Marvin’s father emerges as a flat
and static character. Contrary to Marvin, he doesn’t undergo any life changes as he has
experienced the outside life. He is the one who is responsible for revealing the past stories to his

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son. He is a caring, loving and a very kind father. He portrays intelligent traits as he seems to
understand more about the past and the surrounding. He turns out to be a very reckless driver.
Thus, Marvin’s father portrays distinctive character traits including knowledgeable, recollective
and responsible (Clarke 2).
Work cited
Clarke, Arthur. If I forget thee, oh earth…. 1st edition. Future combined with science fiction
stories publishers. 1951. Print