The Martian Chronicles
Ray Bradbury (1950)
“A book about Mars that is really about Earth -- written by a man who never learned to drive, distrusted machines, and saw the American frontier myth for the beautiful lie it always was.”
EraPostmodern / Cold War
Pages222
Difficulty★★★☆☆ Challenging
AP Appearances3
Character Analysis
The liberal conscience of colonization -- decent, thoughtful, and ultimately powerless. Wilder sees the destruction coming and objects to it, but his objections change nothing. He is transferred to the outer planets, conveniently removed from the scene of the crime. Bradbury uses him to demonstrate that individual morality cannot resist systemic momentum.
How They Speak
Measured, moderate, the language of command tempered by reflection -- neither as plain as the settlers nor as elevated as Spender