A Fall of Moondust

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A Fall of Moondust
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Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke was born on December 16, 1917 in
Minehead, Somerset, England. He was educated in
Kings College located in London, England. From
1941 to 1946, during World War II, he served in
the Royal Air Force. During this stint in the Air
Force Mr. Clarke was in charge of the first radio
talk-down equipment, now known as ground control.
On June 15, 1953 he married a woman named Marilyn
Mayfield. However, they split in December of that
year. When asked about the marriage, Mr. Clarke
said, The marriage was incompatible from the
beginning. It was sufficient proof that I wasnt
the marrying type, although I think everyone
should marry once. His first novel, Prelude to
Space, was written in three weeks. He now resides
in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the age of eighty-six.
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Interesting Facts About Arthur C. CLarke
In 1968 he and Stanley Kubrick were nominated for
an Oscar regarding their work together on the
movie 2001 A Space Odyssey. Mr. Clarke followed
the movie up with a novel based on it, with the
same name, that did phenomenally well.
He helped co-broadcast the Apollo 11, when man
first set foot on the moon, Apollo 12, and Apollo
15 missions along with anchorman Walter Cronkite.
He came up with the concept of telecommunication
through satellites all over the world. Because of
this contribution the orbit in which all
telecommunication satellites orbit, the
geostationary orbit, is known as the Clarke orbit.
In 1998 it was announced that he was to be
knighted but it was postponed because a tabloid
called The Sunday Mirror had published a lot of
serious accusations against him. However, in 2000
it was obvious that the accusations were false
and he was awarded the title of Knight Bachelor.
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Dust on the Moon


Before I get into the presentation of this book,
let me explain to you an important fact dust in
low gravity is like water. It flows like water
and it makes waves like water. Normally, on
Earth, dust would float around for days or even
weeks before it settled after being disturbed.
However, on the Moon, there is no wind to carry
the dust so it just settles back into its former
position. So, on the Moon, it is feasible to have
craft that ride oceans of dust such as you
shall see in this presentation.
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Pat Harris
Well never forget the efforts that so many
people have made to help us, and whatever happens
wed like to thank them. All of us are quite sure
that everything possible has been done.
Pat Harris is the skipper of the one and only
dustboat on the Moon and in the solar system,
Selene. However, this is not something he is
exactly proud of. He would much rather be
piloting an interplanetary spaceship than a lunar
jalopy. However, he did not finish grad school so
he lacks the credibility to be put in control of
a spacecraft. But his little boat has treated him
well and he enjoys hearing the squeals of
surprise and gasps of awe that he can get out of
the tourists when he shows them a vista they will
never forget. He has no wife, no kids only his
ship and his job. Life isnt anything spectacular
for Harris, until he and his passengers get
sucked forty-five feet underneath the surface of
an ocean of dust. Using his intellect and his
sheer will to survive he is able to save him and
his passengers aboard Selene. The character of
Pat Harris is round and dynamic in that he shows
many different emotions and personalities
throughout the story such as love, fear, and
bravery.
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Commodore Hansteen is a solar system renowned
astronaut. Hes traveled to Pluto and back and
has been everywhere there is to be in the solar
system. He has dealt with holes in spaceships,
mutinous crew members, and even men driven insane
by the boredom one faces on long trips between
the planets. However, nothing has prepared him
for what he is to experience underneath Sea of
Thirst. While trapped underneath the sea he
implements his leadership skills, along with
Captain Harris, in order to keep everyone
occupied and to keep their mind off of their
impending doom. He also serves as the
motivational spirit among the passengers because
he helps to keep them fighting for rescue and to
never give up. However, his character is round
and not dynamic because, all though a
motivational leader, he only displays this
personality.
Commodore Hansteen
Dont give up now! screamed the Commodore.
Weve only two hours air left, I know. But where
theres a will theres a way, so come on!
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Chief Engineer Lawrence
Alright, I need a boat that can float on dust,
but still be able to suck twenty-one doomed
passengers out of a sunken ship. Make this
happen, weve got lives to save!
Chief Engineer Lawrence is an intelligent man and
he knows all there is to know about engineering
and problem solving. However, being faced with
rescuing twenty-one hostages of a sea of dust is
a whole new breed of problem. He has to be able
to combine his skills with other scientists from
all over the Solar System in order to figure out
how to make a craft light enough to float on the
dust yet strong enough to pull Selene out of
it. Lawrences character is round and dynamic.
This is because he expresses many emotions
throughout the story, such as desperation and
anger. However this is the only personality that
he shows, his commanding one.
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Sue Wilkins is the stewardess aboard Selene and
is also Pat Harriss love interest. During the
hardships that follow the ships sinking into the
Sea of Thirst Ms. Wilkins is a strong, guiding
force and helps to keep the passengers in a
positive and uplifting mood. Wilkinss character
is a round and static character. She is round
because she expresses emotions like love and
anger. She is static because she only shows one
personality to the reader, her dutiful-stewardess
personality. She is flat and her dialogue is
boring and tired.
Sue Wilkins
Pat, if we never make it out of here alive, I
want you to know that I love you. From the bottom
of my heart. I love you.
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Tom Lawson
Tom Lawson is a prodigal astronomer who spends
his life in a little space station in orbit above
the moon. He is a shut-in and has no friends or
family. He is called upon by Chief Engineer
Lawrence to help locate the missing Selene. While
helping in the search effort, Lawson starts to
become a real person again. He realizes that he
is appreciated by his colleagues and that they
respect his immeasurable wealth of knowledge
about the moon. He begins to get over his fear
and hatred of people. Lawsons character is round
and very dynamic. He is the most dynamic
character in the book because you watch him
transform from an introspective people-hater into
a person who eats up attention and learns to
love.
Youre looking in the wrong place. Shes not on
the moon anymore shes in the moon!
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Plot Summary
Exposition
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Exposition
Pat Harris, captain of the dustboat Selene, takes
the ship and its twenty two passengers on his
umpteenth tour of the Sea of Thirst. He takes
them on the usual route across the sea and
through the Mountains of Inacessability. He
weaves in and around dangerous precipices and
through tightly squeezed crevices, getting many
ohs and ahhs from the passengers. After the
tour he turns Selene back to port and heads back
to Clavius Base, the home base. All is going
well, the passengers are enjoying their tour and
Pat is loving his job. Thats about when the Sea
of Thirst opens up and swallows him and his ship
whole.
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Plot Summary
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Rising Action
Exposition
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Rising Action
A large pocket of gas underneath the Sea of
Thirst collapses and leaves a gaping hole through
which dust gets sucked out of the sea. It is in
this funnel of swirling dust that Selene gets
sucked into and drawn into its abyss. As they
assess their situation they find that being stuck
forty-five feet underneath the Sea of Thirst is
the least of their problems. They face running
out of oxygen in seven days, possibly not long
enough to get rescued. Worse than this is dying
of carbon dioxide poisoning if their filters
cease working. The passengers also face running
out of water an dying of dehydration. They also
try to keep themselves occupied as they wait for
rescue so they do not go insane from the
isolation and the fact that this ship may be
their tomb.
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Plot Summary
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Rising Action
Exposition
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woot
Plot Summary
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Climax
Chief Engineer Lawrence and his crew locate
Selene forty-five feet underneath the surface of
the Sea of Thirst. Very carefully, they lower a
coupling down through the dust and attach it to
the submerged vessel. Then Lawrence gets lowered
down the tube so he can open up a hole in Selene
for the passengers to escape through. While he is
planting explosive charges to make the hole,
Selenes engine inexplicably starts to overheat
and combusts. When Lawrence finally punches
through the hull of Selene, smoke has filled the
cabin and the passengers are frantically fighting
the flames while dust pours through the ruptured
hole that the fire has caused.
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Falling Action
Very quickly, each and every passenger launches
him/herself up the coupling in the low gravity
and into a pressurized tent that the rescue team
set up. Just as the last passenger, Captain
Harris, launches himself up the coupling and into
safety the flames aboard Selene reach the
liquidized oxygen tanks and they explode
violently, destroying the boat. However, everyone
makes it out alive and are transported back to
Clavius Base.
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Exposition
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Plot Summary
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Resolution
Exposition
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Resolution
After their harrowing ordeal together, Captain
Harris and Sue Wilkins get married and have a
child. Harris also decides resigns from his
position as the captain of the only dustboat on
the moon and take up a job as a captain of a real
starship that was offered him. However, he still
took the Selene I, Selenes successor, out on her
maiden voyage.
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On/in the Sea of Thirst on the Moon
The falling dust wasrising outside the walls of
the cruiser. Now it had reached the lower edge of
the windows now it was creeping up the panes
now it had covered them completely. In darkness
and in silence, they were sinking into the Moon.
Setting
Clavius Base
Far overhead, wispy cirrus clouds were sailing
by-or so it seemed. They were, or course, only
images projected on the inside of the dome, but
the illusion was so perfect that it sometimes
made the C.A. homesick. Homesick? He corrected
himself this was home.
Inside of Selene
In the dim red glow, the interior of Selene now
had a fantastic appearance, one that would have
been utterly inconceivable when she left Port
Roris a few hours before. Twenty-two men and
women, most of them stripped down to their
underclothing, lay sprawled across the seats or
along the floor.
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Dialect
The dialect in this story is written in formal
English. Writing it in one characters dialect
would be too difficult because it is told from at
least four main characters view points. If the
dialectic style was limited to only one
character, it would be confusing when the author
switched perspective from one character to the
next.
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Themes
Stated
Perseverance-no matter how many times the
passengers of Selene think themselves doomed,
they never give up and in the end make it out
alive.
Mental Strength-it takes an enormous amount of
mental strength for the passengers on Selene to
keep themselves calm and not to go completely
insane during their week of isolation.
Survival-each and every passenger aboard Selene
did what he or she could to try and secure their
survival underneath the Moons surface.
Implied
Sacrifice-the crew working to save Selenes crew
put their lives on the line so that they could
make it out of the boat alive.
Given the opportunity to do so, a cold man will
turn warm-Tom Lawson was a mean, cold angry man
because of the abuse he received as a child and
his foster home experiences. However, as more and
more people are friendly with him, he too becomes
a kind, friendly person.
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Irony
Dramatic
A scientist on Earth named Father Ferraro tells
officials on the moon that Selene had been
trapped underneath a landslide in the Mountains
of Inacessability, the mountains surrounding the
Sea of Thirst, when in fact she had been sucked
underneath the sea of dust.
Chief Engineer Lawrence calls off the search for
Selene in the Sea of Thirst because of Father
Ferraros report, but he doesnt know that Selene
is there, just underneath it.
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Irony
Verbal
Captain Harris tells the passengers that they
will be able to survive for seven days with the
current conditions inside the dustboat when the
truth is that they will all die of heat stroke
within the next twenty-four hours. This is
because the dust outside the ship is trapping
their heat and radiating it back into the ship,
causing the temperature rise three degrees per
hour.
Dr. Lawson tells reporters that they have not yet
found Selene, even tough they have, so that he
could ward off the horde of journalists.
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Irony
Situational
You think that the passengers will all die of
heat stroke but in the end the temperature
stabilizes because when the dust around them
heats up, it rises to the surface of the moon and
the heat dissipates. Therefore, the sand absorbs
their heat but also helps to dissipate it, not to
radiate it back in.
When the passengers take knockout pills to help
conserve oxygen, the Commodore takes one too and
Captain Harris is forced to stay on watch for the
rescue team even though one would think Hansteen
would take watch for the rescue.
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Symbolism
Although Mr. Clarke did not use many examples of
symbolism in this book, there was at least one
very good example of it. This was that the boat,
Selene, represented humankinds efforts to
explore space and to populate it as well.
However, the dust that has captured it represents
the hardships and setbacks that man will face on
the path to familiarizing space.
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Imagery
Now he could hear it, faint but distinct, and it
set his skin crawling with apprehension. There
could be no doubt it was the sound of countless
dust grains whispering past Selenes walls like a
ghostly sandstorm.
It was unmistakable, and so was its meaning.
Something metallic was scraping along the hull.
When Captain Harris awoke, it was already much
hotter. Yet it was not the now oppressive heat
that had interrupted his sleep, a good hour
before he was due to go on watch.
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Imagery again
He had sailed the Sea of Thirst a hundred times,
yet never before had he touched its substance
with his naked skin. The gray powder sprayed into
his nose and eyes, half choking and wholly
blinding him. Though it was as bone dry as the
dust from a Pharaohs tomb-dryer than this,
indeed, for it was a million times older than the
pyramids-it had a curiously soapy feeling.
Like a cool sea breeze after a dusty summer day,
like a wind from the mountain pine forests
stirring the stagnant air in some deep lowlands
valley-so the flow of oxygen seemed to Pat. He
took four slow, deep breaths, and exhaled to the
fullest extent, to sweep the carbon dioxide out
of his lungs.
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Mood
The mood in this story is a tense one and also an
apprehensive one. The characters help to express
this mood by constantly worrying over whether or
not they will escape from their ship alive or
dead or at all. The characters also make an
apprehensive mood because they do not trust one
another and therefore keep expecting one of them
to go insane or snap. For in a confined, isolated
space, it doesnt take much to make a person
snap. So the reader is constantly looking for
which passenger will go crazy first or which one
lose their cool.
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Mood Quotes
I cant take it anymore! cried Mrs. Schuster
as she collapsed to the floor sobbing. Pat
thought to himself, One down, twenty to go.
Its already getting harder to breathe, the
Commodore told Pat. Id say if were still here
after five maybe six hours, were done for.
Pat overheard one of the passengers say, Huh.
Seems like Ms. Wilkins and Mr. Harrison are doing
just fine. If they tried as hard at saving us as
they did that, she scoffed, wed be gone by
now.
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Tone
The tone of this book is largely one of suspense.
The author treats this as a suspense novel in
that he cuts away from exciting scenes just as
they reach their mini-climax. He also creates a
tone of urgency in his novel. This is because
just when the crew of Selene and the crew trying
to rescue her think they have everything figured
out, it all falls to pieces. In the end, it is
almost like a race against time.
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Tone Quotes
Pat collapsed on the ground and started gasping
for breath. The carbon dioxide was too much for
his lungs too take. Then all of a sudden someone
started tapping on the outside of the boat.
Thank God! thought Lawrence to himself. The
coupling had connected perfectly or so he
thought. Cutaway to next chapter, 14, and
different scene
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Point of View
The point of view that A Fall of Moondust is
written in is third-person omniscient. Mr. Clarke
chose to write this book in third-person
omniscient because it involves so many characters
and each one is very important and his/her
actions are vital to the plot. So if he had
written the book in first person or third person
limited and had focused on Pat Harris, for
example, the reader would never have known what
was going on with the search effort and therefore
would be stuck inside a stuffy cabin with
twenty-two seemingly doomed passengers. What an
exciting book that would have been. Using this
point of view also helped to accent the tone of
urgency because it showed you how much everyone
was doing in order to save the passengers inside
Selene and the problems that they faced doing so.
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Questions?
Ten questions I believe the author wanted the
reader to ask when he read this book are
How long will it be before we are taking tours on
one of the Moons dust oceans?
Does the situation make the man or does the man
make the situation?
Is the human race ready for all the hidden
dangers that the Moon presents?
How would I react to a life or death situation?
Does a sense of urgency help to unify and bring
people to cooperate together?
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Are certain people born natural leaders?
What does it take to become a hero?
What year is this supposed to take place in?
Why did Pat and Sue get married after the
incident? Did it take a situation like the one
they were in to spark true love?
Are there really oceans of dust on the Moon?
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Related Readings
2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
This novel is a good book to read in company with
A Fall of Moondust because it too is based in
outer space and deals with isolationism and how
people either keep themselves occupied or drive
themselves insane.
When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin
Balmer
This novel is a good read along with A Fall of
Moondust because it involves a race against time
as scientists try to figure out a way to evacuate
the Earth before an errant planet collides with
it.
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Related Readings (contd)
Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke
Another good follow up novel to A Fall of
Moondust, this book is about a young man who wins
an internship to a space station in orbit around
the Earth. While there he encounters dangers such
as nuclear radiation, and being sucked into
space. It carries on the theme of survival that
is expressed in A Fall of Moondust
The World at the End of Time by Frederik Pohl
Out of millions of worlds that have been
populated by the human race, only one remains.
Now it is its inhabitants are challenged to
survive ice ages, wars, and even alien attacks.
The survival of the human race rests squarely
upon their shoulders.
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Related Readings (contd again)
The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
This story deals with not being saved on the
Moon, but being saved on Earth. The novel takes
place about 200,000 years in the future. The
earth has withered and died and is now nothing
but desert. Man was once a great dynasty
throughout the Universe, but was crushed by an
alien race. Now, humans live in contained cities
and have life spans of about one million years.
Now they are trying to break the cycle and
reconnect with one another to save their dying
planet Earth.
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Personal Reflection
Over all I would have to say that this book was
just okay. It wasnt bad, but it also wasnt
great. It was all too obvious that it was written
by a young and budding science fiction author who
still needed quite a bit of improvement. One
reason why this was so obvious was that Mr.
Clarke made each character seem too righteous,
too smart. He made everyone seem like a godsend
and a genius. It seemed as though he focused too
much on accurately depicting the moon, its
features, and the physics of low gravity instead
of focusing more on the characters and their
emotions and vulnerabilities.
Another reason why this was such an obviously
underdeveloped book was that every main character
seemed detached from what was going on in the
story. Whenever a problem occurred they were
cool, calm, and calculated. They never flinched
at a setback, whether minor or major. That made
the novel seem very unrealistic.
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Arthur C. Clarkes main purpose for writing this
book, A Fall of Moondust, was mainly to test the
waters. He wanted to see what his abilities were
in the writing world and its different genres,
for this was only his fifth book. Prior to this
book, his other novels had been based mainly in
philosophical sci-fi. However, he decided to try
his hand at a thriller.
Purpose
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