The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury tells a story about humanity. The Martian Chronicles is really a collection of divergent tales loosely spun together. The story is jerky. Bradbury tells us of the contrast between a dying Martian society and a human society in the throes of development and exploration, desparately seeking to extend itself to another place.

The story is in three parts: exploration, terraforming, exodus to earth.

Part one describes the four expeditions, in increasing numbers of crew, each with more devastating effects on the Martian population and culture.

Part two, including a cameo appearance of "Johnny arbor-seed," demonstrates human ability to transform the planet into another earth: the towns, the citizens, the everyday life we are accustomed to. People seem genuinely eager to continue their earthly lives, but on a different planet.

Part three draws the colonists from Mars to be part of a global war which will destroy Earth. A few outcasts, misfits, loners, or those who missed the call home remain. At last we are offered the hope that perhaps Mars will be re-populated by eight humans (soon to be Martians) who escape Earth's final hours.

A television movie of The Martian Chronicles was made, but the movie, though faithful to the book in many instances, leaves scenes out and changes characters. The movie is not the book. Many of the same ideas are present and perhaps the issues of responsibility and ethics are better presented at the end of the movie than at the end of the book.

Themes and considerations that should be remembered during reading are the following:

• Are the Martians mature and the Earthlings immature? What makes maturity?
• What qualities and characteristics must a species have before it can be comfortable enough with itself to leave its planet?
• Were the Martians a dying race who passed their planet to another race? Or were they unconcerned with the invaders? Or do they exist in another time?
• Can humanity ever learn to become more tolerant and responsible toward other cultures, especially those most alien? Will we continue to be frightened by the strange and destroy what we don't understand?

You might want to check out a review of The Martian Chronicles.

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The review is rather short.

Preliminary | Assignments | Models | Final