Surely even in 1950, when Bradbury's classic sci-fi novel was published, scientists were aware that Mars lacked a breathable atmosphere, that humans could not withstand the planet's temperature extremes without insulating spacesuits and that the supposed "canals" of Mars were probably not filled with flowing water. Yet the novel imagines the planet as something of an Eden that attracts colonists from Earth in great numbers.
The problem is there are Martians who don't take kindly to being colonized. The first explorers who land on Mars in 1999 are eliminated in imaginative ways, but eventually like North American Indians, the Martians are overwhelmed.
Bradbury's novel takes the form of a series of related short stories, which is why so many chapters from the book could be so easily published in science fiction magazines of the 1940s. Some characters return in subsequent chapters, while others appear, then disappear for good.
Eventually a massive nuclear war starts on Earth, and the new Martians strangely develop a need to return home, apparently not wanting to miss a good war. This all but leaves Mars a desolate planet, an Eden after the Fall and after the Expulsion.
The novel, like all good science fiction, is more about humanity than science. These people may have relocated to Mars, but they remain Earthlings at heart. Their return to Earth for the big war proves it.
Ray Bradbury was born 100 years ago in Waukegan, Ill. Reading, or rereading, The Martian Chronicles seems like a good way to honor his memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment