The Star

For Week 9 I read The Star by Arthur C. Clarke. This story combined religious references and beliefs with science and astronomy. It was very interesting to read because at first, I wasn't sure about who the main character was exactly. I think I assumed the main character was human traveling through space at first especially because in the beginning he says, "It is three thousand light-years to the Vatican. Once I believed that space could have no power over faith. Just as I believed that the heavens declared the glory of God's handiwork. Now I have seen that handiwork, and my faith is sorely troubled." I guess I assumed that aliens would have no knowledge of religion or Christian principles. I really like how the writer makes you slowly realize as you read that the main character must be an alien as he mentions the destruction of the human race and Earth. I really wasn't sure if the main character was Human or not until he says, "Even if they had not been so disturbingly human as their sculpture shows, we could not have helped admiring them and grieving for their fate." Here he speaks of humans as if he is not one of them so this reassured me that the main character is most likely some sort of Alien. As I got deeper into the story I then also realized that "The Star" mentioned in the title is actually the sun! I really enjoyed how the author slowly reveals key information. The way the story wraps up really gives way for the religious undertones of the story. He begins to speak of whether or not life has purpose and whether there is a God or not since people die and worlds are destroyed for no rhyme or reason. "...at this very moment some race is dying in the depths of space. Whether that race has done good or evil during its lifetime will make no difference in the end: there is no divine justice, for there is no God." However, in the end the author seems to refute this theory and still believes in the existence of God. He admits to his faith wavering but he does believe in God and just wishes to know why things happened the way they did which is something that I think most readers can definitely relate to...

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