Khai-An Doan
Mrs. Seymour
English II-H Period 1
21 February 2023
The Martian Chronicles and its Social Commentary
The Martian Chronicles, a novel written by Ray Bradbury, is a written piece which imagines many scenarios as an effect of humans landing on Mars. The novel discusses several themes throughout the story, most of which reflect issues apparent in the world and its people. The Martian Chronicles hints of these problems, as well as provides an analysis of its effects. Additionally, the novel utilizes the method of social commentary, defined as the act of leaving a critique of a societal issue (social, political, etc.), with the intent of promoting awareness of such issues. Furthermore, Bradbury conveys messages of social commentary
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The novel voices a message claiming that humans, whenever given the opportunity, would colonize land in sight., turning it into their own. The Martian Chronicles writes of an example when describing the process of humans starting new lives on the planet of Mar upon the erasure of the Martian species. The chapter “The Naming of Names” describes, “The old Martian names were names of water and air and hills. They were the names of snows that emptied south in stone canals to fill the empty seas. And the rockets struck at the names like hammers, breaking away the marble into shale, shattering the crockery milestones that named the old towns, in the rubble of which great pylons were plunged with new names, all the mechanical names and the metal names from Earth” (Bradbury 102). As they inhabit their new space, the settlers familiarize themselves with the new planet by chucking away at the names of Martian towns. Mars is slowly being transformed into a replica of Earth, as instead of preserving their nature-like names, humans rename their now-owned land with their own into industrial sounding names. These newly modified names demonstrate the greed towards the human species. As Mars is reported as a newly deserted planet, humans rush to make it their own. Contrary to respecting the land, these individuals morph the land and its features into something of their eyes. In relation to the novel, Bradbury’s commentary on colonization is able to be seen today, as demonstrated in the colonization of other countries. The date of February 24, 2022 marks the beginning of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Eric Nagourney, writer of “A Year of War in Ukraine: The Roots of its Crisis” expresses, “Across the country, missiles have hit homes, cultural gathering spots and industrial plants that provide Ukrainians with the basics of life, including heat, electricity and water. Millions have become refugees.” As