What are the motifs in The Star by Arthur C. Clarke?

Quest and hubris are recurring ideas. The mission described in the story begins as a quest to find the cause of the supernova. It in some respects resembles such classic "quest" narratives as Arthurian legend or the Gilgamesh epic, in which a small-scale or personal quest turns out to have universal significance. The plot follows rather ordinary forms through exposition, rising action, and climax, but then does something unexpected- it does not provide a final resolution. The narrator's own feelings about what he has learned are revealed, as are his fears about how humankind will receive the information. But the reader is left to ponder how he or she imagines the human race will respond.