Examples Of Ethnocentrism In The Martian Chronicles

Ethnocentrism, it’s a characteristic that most humans deny they have, but in reality it's always there, looking over their shoulder. Award-winning author Ray Bradbury highlights humankind's biggest flaws, in the fiction book, The Martian Chronicles. Bradbury's novella strikingly resembles the ongoing problems in today’s society by detailing instances that would cause humans to be labelled as ethnocentristic. In separate short stories, Bradbury describes human migration to Mars, after Earth’s major atomic war has begun, conveying the message that humans destroy anything wherever they go, even things that don’t belong to them. Ethnocentrism is a human characteristic that causes false entitlement, and comes along the fear to lose it, but nevertheless

Fear is expressed through Sam saying, “all of a sudden you pick on me. Leave me alone.” When humans came to Mars, they thought of themselves as superior because they were able to conquer the Red Planet, while their own planet was already a technological success. This already found success on one planet, earned them to develop a attitude of entitlement once they came to Mars. When the Martians innocently approach the couple, they are welcomed by a cold introduction, and threats, ‘I mean you harm’ says Sam. Sam is paranoid that his dream will be ripped away from him, so he wants to sound more intimidating, but in reality he is just fearful. Men’s neediness to expand onto Mars has made them entitled, with that feeling being fueled by ethnocentrism, and the fact that they came all the way from Earth. Behind all this thick skin, are very scared humans who realize that their laws don’t apply on this planet anymore, and that not everything belongs to them. The characters in the Martian Chronicles are not the sole ones feeling entitled to certain statuses or things . Mrs.Gates in To Kill A Mockingbird sends the same thematic message, that fear arises when a ethnocentric being is worried about losing his large amount of dominance. An excerpt from the book

Mars is a now a planet doomed to be inhabited by Earth men, being built to fit Earth’s picturesque features. The Locusts, a particularly interesting chapter in the Martian Chronicles, highlights the settlement of mankind on Mars, describing the quick destruction it has yet to experience. Men have now settled, and started planning out their lives, but many can’t resist having Earth’s comfortable luxuries again. It’s over, Mars is now doomed to become the new Earth, “from the rocket ran men with hammers in their hands to beat the strange world into shape that was familiar to the eye, to bludgeon away all the strangeness, their mouths fringed with nails so they resembled steel-toothed carnivores, spotting them into their swift hand as they hammered up frame cottages and scuttled over roofs with shingles to blot out the eerie star”(78). Mars has been the new settlement for many people seeking refuge from the chaos and war that has struck their planet. This quote highlights how these settlers are bringing their destructive habits onto Mars. A specific excerpt from the quote highlights these beliefs, “ran men with hammers in their hands to beat the strange world into shape that was familiar to the eye.” An especially powerful word in this quote is “strange world” which depicts how to the settlers this is a strange place that needs to be fixed, so it can