Character Analysis: The Martian Chronicles By Ray Bradbury

We are only a brief second in the long history of the universe; many things have preceded us to make us the most complex creatures that ever walked the Earth. We are a “new level of complexity” which makes us different from all other creatures that have come before us. Our species has only been around for 250,000 years, a short time compared to the formation of the Earth at 4.5 billion years ago and the creation of the Universe at 13.7 billion years ago, but the time we have had on this Earth has greatly affected the outcome of history. In an attempt to provide an overview of human history in his book This Fleeting World, David Christian introduces it in the context of the history of the universe and then systematically breaks it down

In The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, the most prominent theme portrayed is that of change. In Bradbury’s novel, the Earthlings are trying to start a new world during the 20th century by inhabiting Mars. Bradbury demonstrates the theme by showing the changes in the personality of the characters throughout the stories, population on Mars, and environmental changes on the Earth.

Ray Bradbury shows this in his book, “The Martian Chronicles,” which accounts for how humans terrorize a foreign planet much in the same way they have damaged their own. The stories take place in the time of the cold war; Bradbury uses Mars as a “getaway” for the people of Earth, but they only go to create destruction on this red planet at well. A social critique on Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” can show how human nature persists through the colonization of another planet, emphasizing the struggle between the majority and minority, the danger of self interest, and the innate human destruction of the world around them as well as themselves.

When the people from Earth attempt to inhabit Mars, they do not think of the citizens who already reside there, “after all, like the Pilgrims, these people came here to escape Earth. Maybe they won’t be too happy to see us. Maybe they’ll try to drive us out or kill us,” (Bradbury, Chapter 5). The people may be trying to escape their personal past, but it is not possible to escape the pasts of others. As they continue to infiltrate Mars, they meet many obstacles and have continuous conflicting actions with the Martians.

Despite Ray Bradbury’s warning in, The Martian Chronicles, human greed has lead to the destruction of culture. The opposition would claim that the destruction of culture is a natural process, on the other hand, because of human greed the destruction of culture has been drastically sped up. For example, an article from Achieve3000 shows a connection between the erosion of the Easter Island Moais and the longing for people to see them. According to Susana Nahoe, an archaeologist from Chile, “More tourism, more deterioration. More visitors, more loss” (qtd. by Achieve3000 staff). This statement explains that because of the human greed to see the Moais for themselves, they cause harm to the ancient statues. In addition, an article from Newsela

Has mankind managed to progress in a positive way? In “The Pedestrian”, Ray Bradbury shared his opinion about the situation. Using characterization and imagery Bradbury shows that if the world advances to the point where people lose all humanity then the world might as well not exist, although his opinion may not be the opinion of all mankind it is logical and understood. Rays opinion about the future and forces the reader to consider the possible reality of it.

Tension, humor, and foreshadowing are some examples of elements that readers will find in The Martian. In The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on Mars. Because of a dust storm, Mark's teammates believe that he is dead and left him behind. The Martian is a science fiction book that gives readers an idea of how people might be able to colonize Mars and gives readers an idea of what space is like. The Martian has an author that self-published his book, and who used humor and foreshadowing to keep his readers engaged.

Ray Bradbury was an American author born on August 22, 1920 who died on June 5, 2012 at the age of 91. Bradbury was a prolific and beloved writer who wrote many novels considered today to be staples of the science fiction genre such as Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Martian Chronicles (www.biography.com). The Martian Chronicles is a collection of short stories Bradbury wrote over several years detailing the colonization of mars by humans. Present in this collection of stories are a number of themes portraying the weaknesses of mankind. In these stories are tales of corporate greed, mental illness, religious zealotry, gullible ignorance,

Forming a society on an inhospitable, deserted, and entirely hostile planet was far from being an easy goal. Everyone presented their plan to colonize Mars, but no one had a perfect plan. There was always a spot where a difference was notable, such as the decision of bringing frozen human embryos. The Martian, a movie that was about surviving the Red Planet, also showed notable unique features in the habitat. However, by analyzing the differences of these colonies, combining ideas could have lead to a very efficient colony. Thus, Mars could have been the start of human expansion throughout the solar system.

Throughout its history, humanity has struggled to thrive in the face of the unstoppable forces of evil, nature, and its own mortality. When examining the history of humanity and considering its achievements, it is tempting to imagine that humans have achieved much as a species, that they have made progress against the forces gathered in opposition to them. However, when the cost is revealed, when the human life paid in the name of that meager progress is counted, the results seem to pale in comparison. The graves of the dead serve as a monument to this grim reality; humanity’s efforts to combat the advance of human evil, nature, and death are in vain. Both Natasha Trethewey and Joseph Conrad examine the futility of the human struggle in

The Martian is arguably one of my favorite books because of the fantastic tone and character development. The Martian follows Mark Watney, a scientist who majored in botany and mechanical science. He get stranded on mars after a dust storm knocks out communications with NASA and the rest of his crew leaves when they believe he is dead from shrapnel in the storm.

In The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury there are many differences between humans and martians. One of the biggest ones, aside from the obvious being from different planets, physical appearance, and telepathy is that the humans want everything to do with the martians while the martians want nothing to do with the humans. This is shown by the humans knocking on doors constantly and even just walking into a martians house in “The Earth Men” and by the martians ignoring or even killing the humans before they even interact with them much.

     The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, is a science-fiction book and was written in 1946. This major work by Bradbury is a collection of short stories relating to Mars or Martians. Bradbury had a clear vision of the Mars in which these stories are set. His vision was one of a fantasy world from the Martians point of view. In this work, the humans from Earth are the aliens from outer space. Bradbury has won many awards including the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Aviation-Space Writers Association Award, the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement, and the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Bradbury supported his awards

Change is something unavoidable but needed to adapt to one's surroundings. In The Martian Chronicles, It is said “But one day Earth will be as Mars is today. This will sober us. It's an object lesson in civilizations.” ("—And the Moon Be Still as Bright," 81).

In The Human Story, James C. Davis explains how humankind came to be. How we developed civilizations, cities, empires, religions, and many other pieces of our everyday lives. He wrote about how our society has developed from going to war when you were 15 years old, and dying for your side. Although the book skips around, he covers topics “... from homo erectus to George W. Bush.”