'If I Forget Thee, O Earth . . .'

Marvin’s father is unnamed and encountered only indirectly through the boy’s observations. There is no description of his appearance, and there are no details about his occupation or other elements of his life besides his relationship to Marvin.

The father does not change during the story and serves mostly as a plot device, so he is an example of a static character, but not one without some degree of emotional depth. Marvin’s description of the father shows him to be purposeful and somewhat stern, but not uncaring or harsh. In particular, the father is shown to have strong feelings about reaching their destination, although he never expresses his emotions directly. When he drives across the Moon in the scout car, he races along the surface as if excited or anxious. The father’s silence during this journey—he says nothing to Marvin until they have arrived at their destination—further increases the tension.

The reason for his intensity is not clear until after the Earthrise. Coupled with the solemn speech he delivers, this moment implies his prior behavior stemmed from the recognition that he was about to show Marvin something that would change the boy’s life forever. Certainly, his demeanor suggests the great seriousness with which the father attends to his own duty. However, the father’s distant and almost severe manner also has symbolic weight in connection with Legacy and the Relationship Between Fathers and Sons. Though the lunar colonists have deep ancestral ties to Earth, none of those currently alive will ever experience it firsthand; the father’s remoteness, at least within the scope of the story, mirrors that of Earth itself and suggests the slim comfort that holding on to Earth’s legacy provides.