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Chapter 39
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration vs. Individualism
Tools and Human Evolution
Space Travel
The Perils of Knowledge
Summary
Analysis
The Star Gate opens and closes, “twist[ing]” upon itself faster than time can be measured. Japetus is once again alone. Discovery sends incomprehensible and unbelievable messages back to Earth.
Assuming a more omniscient perspective, the narrator relates the monolith’s swallowing of Bowman. This detached viewpoint, removed from any individual human experience, adds a sense of gravitas to the scene, suggesting that Bowman’s entrance into the Star Gate transcends the significance normally attributed to human events.
Themes
