Martian Chronicles

1. Martian Chronicles By Ray Bradbury

2. January 1999 Rocket Summer • Sets scene for the rest of the novel • Introduces the exploration of Mars • “Summer” image is a rebirth from winter – like a rebirth for the people of Earth – comes from technology • Sets up a comparison of later changes on Mars to the changes on Earth created by the rocket. • Rapid temperature change parallels the rapid change humanity is about to go through – foreshadowing???

3. February 1999 Ylla • Describes Martian life and lifestyle • Differences and similarities between humans and Martians are highlighted • Domestic problems/issues • Male dominance • Misconceptions about the solar system • Jealousy • This humanizes the Martians: allows the reader to identify with them. • Describes the demise of the 1st human expedition: foreshadows the difficulties humans will have. • Trivial nature of the cause of 1st expedition’s death makes the effort to go to Mars appear less important.

4. August 1999 The Summer Night • Singing songs in English • Earth culture coming to Mars • Establishes telepathic communication • Lord Byron’s poem “She Walks in Beauty . . .” • Challenges traditional notions of beauty • This opens the reader to the beauty of the Martians and Martian culture. • Makes the terrible end of Martian culture more tragic.

5. August 1999 The Earth Men • Describes the failure and death of the 2nd human expedition to Mars. • Humorous, wacky events aggravate and frustrate the reader. • Reinforces the humanization of the Martians – they are as petty and screwed up as humans. • Trivial nature of the cause of 2nd expedition’s death makes the effort to go to Mars appear less important. • Highlights the level of instability in Martian culture – comment on human culture??? Foreshadows eventual human research into psychosis. • Closed-mindedness – comment on humanity???

6. March 2000 The Taxpayer • Provides/explains human motivation to go to Mars – war is coming. • Sets up the 3rd expedition to Mars. • Taxpayer feels entitled to go to Mars – commentary on human feelings of entitlement.

7. April 2000 The Third Expedition • Martians perpetrate a mass hallucination to defend Mars against human settlement. • Mars finally sees Earth as a threat. • This is a turning point – Martians finally reveal their superiority. • This sets up the parallel of Europeans vs. Native American’s. • Humans unknowingly bring disease.

8. June 2001 “—and the moon be still as bright.” • Spender is concerned about keeping Martian history and culture intact. • Most Martians are dead due to Chicken Pox. • Shows examples of undesirable human behavior: • Drunkenness • Hatred • Violence • Pollution • Lack of appreciation for other cultures: e.g. Cortez • Crush dissenting opinions – send Capt. Wilder to Jupiter in later chapters.

9. June 2001 “—and the moon be still as bright.” • Ironic that Capt. Wilder kills Spender because the Capt. is the only other human who cares or understands the importance of Martian culture. • Spender’s actions support Bradbury’s notions that humans are not entitled to colonize Mars. • In this sense, critics generally agree that Spender serves as Bradbury’s voice. • This story parallels the colonization of new worlds by Europeans – U.S., Australia, Africa, etc.

10. August 2001 The Settlers • Opening lines parallel Tale of Two Cities • Outlines human reasons for coming to Mars. • Shows that people are coming to colonize – exploration is over. • Government sanction parallels the WWII recruiting posters – propaganda??? • Loneliness felt by settlers makes the move feel unnatural and improper to the reader.

11. December 2001 The Green Morning • This chapter parallels the Johnny Appleseed story. • Benjamin Driscoll plants trees to generate oxygen and make the atmosphere breathable. • Bradbury uses liberal amounts of poetic/artistic license in this chapter: • Plants grow over night • Plants grow all over the surface of Mars • Trees, grass, bushes, etc all grow without difficulty, in spite of the fact that Driscoll only planted trees. • Note: this adds to the irony of destroying Mars for the sake of Earth. This destroys Martian ecology and makes it Earthlike. • At the end of this story, Driscoll’s fainting shows that Mars continues to resist this transformation.

12. February 2002 The Locusts • Locusts are an insect that devour and destroy large areas of cropland. • Bradbury makes the parallel that the human settlers are consuming all of Mars. • Furthers the notion of destroying all that is Martian, and transforming it into something Earthlike, and familiar. • Allusion to biblical plagues visited on the Egyptians in Judeo-Christian tradition.

13. August 2002 Night Meeting • Tomás Gomez meets up with a Martian from a different time – time warp? • Tomás Gomez is an ordinary human (no special qualities) who has a conversation where he has to explain what humans have done to an ordinary Martian. • This makes the Martian culture real to the reader, and evokes pity at its loss. • This story lays the blame on the settlers, not on the Government that organized the trips.

14. October 2002 The Shore • First men – from the American frontier, Cattlemen, ranch hands, explorers, etc. Bradbury highlights their roughness, abilities, and their preference for solitude. • First women – prostitutes. • Second men – Urban poor from US cities. • “Roman candles” foreshadows fall of the US, like the Roman Empire. • Americans are running away from war, but will eventually have to return to deal with it.

15. February 2003 Interim • They have now destroyed and replaced the Martian culture • Everything the Martians tried to prevent happened anyway • Introduces religion to Mars

16. April 2003 The Musicians • Makes it seem as though the Martians are a joke-the kids are making fun of them • Another chapter that evokes pity • The Firemen start fires rather than putting them out – reoccurring theme in Bradbury’s books • Also, Firemen burning any traces of the Martians making it appear there were no Martians to begin with

17. June 2003 Way In the Middle of the Air • All the African Americans leave together to go to Mars • Ending makes it seem like the African Americans just disappeared as opposed to leaving. e.g. all their belongings are scattered everywhere • Bradbury describes a lot with the colors black and white • Story is told through the eyes of a racist non-sympathetic main character • Lots of biblical references – the assumption of the oppressed into heaven; the oppressors are left behind.

18. 2004-05 The Naming of Names • Martian names seemed to mean more than just a title, but the rockets/humans destroyed these and replaced them with mechanical/metal names • Naming shows ownership – humans give names to establish ownership of Mars • Completion of Spender’s dream dying • Sets up the next story • Start implementing policies from Earth

19. April 2005 Usher II • Deals with the censorship coming from Earth to Mars • Shows Humans don’t have any respect for their own culture • Bradbury makes death seem a lot less serious, just like in the first couple chapters • Uses a lot of Poe in this chapter • The Red Death symbolizes the ending of Stendahl’s “fun”. The house falling symbolizes the end of everything he had done.

20. August 2005 The Old Ones • After everyone else has come to Mars, now elders come. • Shows that Mars is open to just about everyone. • Now that old people have come to Mars, it seemed to have lost its “appeal”.

21. September 2005 The Martian • Symbolizes the end of the Martian race • Illustrates how everyone needs to belong somewhere and how the Martians tried to co-exist, but were not able to • Makes a strong statement about human selfishness and its destructive power

22. November 2005 The Luggage Store • Main purpose of this story is to set up that there is a war on earth • Switches between people leaving Earth to go to Mars, to people starting to leave Mars to go back to Earth • Theme of families and families sticking together • Reinforces the notion that humans never saw mars as “home.” • Adds severity to the destruction of the Martian culture – humans destroyed it, and then left.

23. November 2005 The Off Season • Brings back Sam Parkhill-allows reader to know what type of character he is • Goes back to theme between husband and wife • Martians final goodbye • Martians are trying to give Parkhill the deed to half of Mars • Martians trying to show him he has a place on Mars when the Earth ends

24. November 2005 The Watchers • Mars receives a message from Earth asking them to come home; Australia has been atomized. • Most Humans have been on Mars for 3-4 years, and still perceive Earth as “home.” • Humans begin thinking about, and showing concern for, loved ones on Earth. • Sets up the idea that Mars is abandoned (or nearly so).

25. December 2005 The Silent Towns • Walter Gripp appears to be the only one left on Mars – he frantically tries to find others. ‘Last man alive’ archetype. • Discovers Genevieve is still on Mars – allusion to Adam and Eve. • Maybe this chapter is asking is it worth it to restart a race with Genevieve? She is both physically unattractive and self-centered. • Humor comes from irony of the last two people on Mars being unappealing to one another. • There seems to be no one else left; the reader can assume they all traveled back to Earth. • Gender stereotype is worth noting – women want marriage and men don’t.

26. April 2026 The Long Years • Cpt. Wilder comes back to find Mr. Hathaway and family. • We find out Wilder has been to Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, exploring there – reveals there is nothing else out there (in space and on other planets) for Humans. • Humans silence Wilder’s dissenting opinions about human effect on Mars by sending him far away – exile. • Hathaway’s loneliness leads him to re-create his family, using robots. • Hathaway ends up dying at the end of this chapter, and after his death Cpt. Wilder leaves Hathaway’s family on Mars. • He cannot kill them because he believes it is the same as murder. Science Fiction trope of artificial intelligence.

27. August 2026 There Will Come Soft Rains • Automated house runs the same way as if people were there even though no people are living there anymore. • The house is the main character of the story. • Poem shows that nature won’t care if humanity dies. Points out the war on Earth doesn’t matter. • Despite the effort from the house, it could not save itself from being destroyed. • Artificial intelligence.

28. October 2026 The Million-Year Picnic • William Thomas brings his family to Mars, in their own rocket, to get away from Earth. After arriving, Thomas blows up the rocket so no one will find it. • One of Thomas’ friends also came to Mars in a different rocket with four daughters. Thomas and his friend decided they would start anew on Mars • At the end, Thomas reveals to his children that they are the new Martians – Noah’s Ark story??? Adam and Eve??? • Earth has been destroyed