JulieGouillon,AntonHorvath,CameronRalske,JohnRamirez

OConnor
HonorsEnglish9
25September2015

SIFTand8DOKLevels14Questions

S
ymbol
IntheshortstoryIfIForgetThee,OhEarthwrittenbyArthurC.Clarke,the
onesymbolthatwehaveidentifiedisthelightcomingfromtheEarth.InMarvinscommunity,
everypersonisarefugeefromEarthduetoArmageddon.EveryonethatsurvivedArmageddon
livesonthemoon.Oneday,MarvinsfatherbringsMarvin,forthefirsttime,outoftheir
enclosedlivingenvironment,andbringshimtoaledge,nearwheretheylive,inordertoshow
himtheEarth.MarvinnoticesthebrightlightcomingfromtheEarth.Marvintellsthereaderthat
peoplewouldnotbeabletoreinhabittheEarthformanycenturiestocomeduetotheradiation
onEarth.TheEarthslightsymbolizesthehopethatsomedaylifewouldonceagainappearon
Earth.

I
mages
IntheshortstoryIfIForgetThee,OhEarthwrittenby

ArthurC.Clarke,the
authorillustratesscenesthatareeasilypicturedinthereadersmindbecauseofrichdetailsthat
arerelatabletoeverydaylife.Oneexampleshowstheearthinawholenewperspective,Clarke
ultimatelysummarizingtheearthwiththewords,Itwouldbecenturiesyetbeforethedeadly

glowdiedfromtherocks(Clarke487).Thissentenceexpressesthevast,fatalgasthathas
encompassedanddestroyedtheearth,thesheerterrorofthedangerousmassevitabletoall
readers.Itcreatestheimageofaloomingmassofdestruction.Anotherimagethatisclearly
paintedinreadersmindsiswhenClarkesays,Funeralpyreoftheworld(Clarke489).This
embedsaviolentandscarringpictureofburningbodiespiledontooneanother,avividandclear
representationshowingClarkesperspectiveoftheearthheislookingatinthestory.

F
iguresofSpeech
IntheshortstoryIfIForgetTheeOhEarthwrittenbyArthurC.
Clarke,theauthorshowsagreatunderstandingoftheuseoffigurativelanguage.Oneexampleis
whenhesays,...mountainswhosepeaksseemedtocombthestars.(Clarke488).Heis
personifyingthemountains.Anotherexampleiswhenhesays...marchingcloud.(Clarke
489).Inthiscaseheispersonifyingtheclouds.ArthurC.Clarkeseemstobefondofusing
personification.

T
oneandtheme
IntheshortstoryIfIForgetThee,OhEarthwrittenbyArthurC.
Clarke,thetoneisusedtomaketheseriesofeventsseemspectacular.Themoodisveryupbeat
withtheexcitementMarvinhasashegoesoutontotheopenplainsofthemoon.Evidenceofthis
conclusionisshownashegazedatthemforalongtime,marvelingthatanythingcouldbeso
brightyetsotiny.

DOKQuestions
Level1
Q:TellhowMarvinrealizedthatthehumanscouldnotreturnforhundredsofyearsback
totheearth.
A:Marvinrealizedthatthehumanraceonthemoonwouldnotbeabletoreturntotheir
formerhomeforhundredsofyearsbythefatalglowofradiationhesawbeforehimafterthe
initialblindnessoflightfromtheplanetdisappeared.
Q:IdentifythecharacteristicsandappearancesofthesettingMarvinlivesin,andthen
concludewherethestoryreallytakesplaceon.
A:Clarkedescribestheskyaspitchdarkness,thestarsandmoonvisibleatthesame
time,andtheabsenceoftwinklingstars.Thesecharacteristicsimplythatwheretheylivehasno
atmosphere,andifMarvincouldseeearth,thesun,andthestarsaroundthemfromthesurface,
anobviousassumptioncanbemadethatthesettingofthestoryislocatedonthemoon.

Level2
WhatwasthecauseofEarthsinhabitability,judgingbytheconceptsgiveninthe
story.
A:EarthbecameuninhabitableduetoArmageddon.
WhatwastheeffectofEarthsinhabitabilityonMarvinscommunity?
A:Hiscommunityhadtoliveonthemoon.

Level3

Q1:Nametwopossiblewaysthatthecolonyissurvivingwithoutaccesstoawater
source.
A1:Thecolonycouldhavefoundwatersomewhereonwhatisprobablythemoon.They
alsocouldhavestockedupandsavedwatersincebeforethearmageddon
Q2:Thinkofwaysthatthecolonyissurvivingthesolarwindthatthemoonhasno
naturalprotectionto.
A2:Theonlywaythecolonycouldsurvivethesolarwindisiftheyengineered
somethingtoprotectit,unlessthecolonybuildingissolarwindproofandtheynevergoOutside.

Level4
Questionnumber1:Doyouthinkanythingwascurrentlyoccurringthatmadethe
authurwritethisstoryatthetimehedid?Ifso,whateventorsequenceofevents?
A:Yes,IthinktheColdWarmadetheauthorwritethisstoryasawarningofadistant,
dangerous,andpossiblefuturesuchawarbetweentheU.S.andtheU.S.S.Rcouldcreate.
Question2:Whatpastexperiencesmighttheauthorofhadthatwouldconvincehimofthis
terrifyingconsequence?
A2:Thewriter,ArthurC.Clarke,hadlivedthroughbothWorldWarIandWorldWarIIand
knewthepainfuloutcomeofthesebattles.