I Shot an Arrow into the Air story

tz1959e1x15 · 1960-01-15

Astronauts are deserted on what appears to be an uncharted asteroid. Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg. Story by: Madelon Champion, Rod Serling.

11 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 3 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
selfless character vs. selfish character	choice	Colonel Donlin did everything he could to maximize his crew's chances of survival, whereas Officer Corey was only concerned with saving himself.
stranded without food and water	choice	The story follows a trio of astronauts who were stranded without much in the way of supplies on what they presumed to be a barren asteroid.
compromising one's ethical principles vs. self-preservation	major	We are made to ponder whether Officer Corey was justified in killing the other two surviving crewmen of the Arrow 1 in an effort to survive on a barren asteroid.
cooperation vs. competition	major	Corey ruthlessly emphasized that it was each man for himself, contraposed with Donlin and Pearson who wanted to show cooperation and compassion. The astronauts were like a society of three people in this respect.
human vs. desert environment	major	The story follows a trio of astronauts who were stranded without much in the way of supplies on what they presumed to be a barren asteroid.
ironic twist of fate	major	First Corey killed for water only to find that his bullet had spilled the extra water; then thinking himself safely alone on an asteroid Corey killed his comrades and made off with their water only to find that they had been on Earth all along.
ruthlessness	major	Officer Corey was only concerned with saving himself, and turned on his fellow crewmen at every opportunity.
working together under stress	major	Donlin struggled to hold his team together despite the hopelessness of the situation and Corey's insubordination.
habitable asteroid	minor	The Arrow 1 crewmen presumed themselves to have crash landed on an asteroid.
remorse	minor	Officer Corey begged his two deceased fellow crewmen for forgiveness upon discovering that they had crash landed in a Nevada desert, rather than on an unknown asteroid.