Mind Map Gallery The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles Mind Map The Martian Chronicles is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth that is eventually devastated by nuclear war. The book is a work of science fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, dystopian fiction, and horror that projects American society immediately after World War II into a technologically advanced future where the amplification of humanity's potentials to create and destroy have both miraculous and devastating consequences.

Edited at 2021-05-21 13:15:10

Second Hand Poet

The Martian Chronicles

Second Hand Poet

Recommended to you
Outline

The Martian Chronicles

Overview

The Conquest of Mars

A future history told in sequential vignettes, The Martian Chronicles details humanity’s quest to conquer another planet while destroying its own. The novel is Bradbury’s stark warning against the dangers of conformity and complacency, as well as a metaphor for the rise and fall of civilizations.

1. Humans set out to explore Mars.

2. Martians use their telepathic powers to dispose of the first three human expeditions.

3. The fourth expedition arrives to find the Martians wiped out by chicken pox.

4. Settlers arrive and build towns just like back on Earth.

5. Earth explodes in nuclear war, and settlers abandon Mars.

6. With both humans and Martians nearly extinct, members of a human family come to Mars to restart civilization and become Martians.

Themes

Conformity vs. Individualism

The protagonists chart their own courses instead of following the status quo.

Destructive Nature of Humanity

Bradbury’s human antagonists shatter Martian buildings and desecrate Martian bones.

Memory & Nostalgia

The Martians use illusions of humans’ loved ones against them.

Context

Science & Technology

Bradbury felt hope and anxiety about the technological advances he witnessed in his lifetime.

Cold War Fears

Americans feared nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Colonization

From the 15th to the early 20th century, European colonization transformed much of the world, often for the worse.

Numbers

1999

The “far future” date Bradbury chose to start his story

Years a 1997 edition advanced the dates in the novel

Stories in The Martian Chronicles not previously published in magazines

750

Amount Doubleday paid to publish The Martian Chronicles

Author

RAY BRADBURY 1920–2012

Originally classified as a science fiction writer, Bradbury experienced his first mainstream success with The Martian Chronicles, which he wrote during the post-WWII and early Cold War era. Bradbury poignantly captures the hopes and anxieties of the time period, during which both space exploration and nuclear holocaust seemed possible.