Character Clues

Character Analysis

Direct Characterization

Direct characterization happens all the time in Childhood's End. The narrator looks the reader square in the eyes (metaphorically, of course) and tells you what these people are like. Some examples are:

• "Jeff was a perfectly ordinary boy" (17.66);
• "[Jan] felt very much alone, which was the way he wanted to be. He also felt highly frustrated—and that was something he had no desire to be at all" (7.122);
• "[Rupert] was open-minded, but not credulous" (8.35);
• and "Professor Sullivan was a brave and intelligent man" (12.3).

If nothing else, it takes some of the guesswork out of the reading. Which is great, because there's plenty to mull over in this book.

Action

Actions speak louder than words—unless you're reading a book, because then the actions are the words simultaneously. So, the actions speak at the same volume as words then? Whatever.

While sometimes the narrator will directly tell us what kind of character we are dealing with, other times we need to look at a character's actions to see just what they are made of. For example, as Stormgren escapes from his kidnappers, he writes Joe an IOU and stuffs it in his pocket. When Karellen asks him what he's doing, Stormgren responds:

"We Stormgrens always pay our debts. The other two cheated, but Joe played fair. At least, I never caught him cheating." (3.141)

This action tells us Stormgren is an honest, old-fashioned gentleman. Later in the story, while being interviewed by the reporter, an older Stormgren has the chance to betray the trust Karellen put in him. And does he? Nope.

The same can be said for Jan. This guy is plagued by the "ancient and never-answered question" of "Where do we go from here?" (10.12-13). To answer this question, he devises a plan to sneak aboard an Overlord ship and find the answer. His quest is not one of just contemplation, then, but one of action as well.

Type of Being

There are really only two types of beings in Childhood's End: humans and the Overlords. And if you're an Overlord then you're an Overlord. Period.

All the Overlords can basically be exchanged for one another. They look the same, act the same, and are characterized the same—that is, scientific, rational, reasoning, and humorless beings.They aren't prone to emotion, don't understand fun, and they think artists are abnormal (17.34). Basically, they are demonically shaped Vulcans.

With humans, things get a little more mixed up. Some are scientific (Stormgren), some are artistic (George), some are emotional (Jean), some are passionate (Jan), some are adventurous (Jeff), and some are total party animals (looking at you, Rupert). They're a diverse group, these humans are.

So perhaps we can best summarize it like this: Overlords are one and the same, but humans come in all people shapes and all people sizes.