The Dangers Of Ignorance In The Martian Chronicles By Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, is a classic novel about the human invasion of Mars. When one discusses the theme of this book, there are definitely a numerous amount of possibilities that he or she could analyze. However, only one of these remains to be seen throughout the whole book. Using the second, third, and fourth expeditions described in his work, Bradbury displays a very prominent theme of dangers of ignorance.
First of all, in The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury shows the danger of ignorance in the second expedition to mars that occurs in his book. The character Captain Williams, accompanied by three other astronauts get themselves in quite the predicament by chasing after glory and recognition. When speaking to a Martian named

In “-And the Moon be Still as Bright,” Bradbury creates the fourth expedition. This expedition is, perhaps, the most important part of the book. In this expedition, Captain Wilder and Jeff Spender are the two main characters here, along with the rest of the crew. There isn’t any specific Martian contact in this chapter, however Spender runs off and returns to kill off the rest of the crew. When Spender speaks to Captain Wilder, he discusses his feelings about earthmen invading Mars, which holds true to the rest of the book. Spender states in regards to mankind ruining mars, “You think not? We Earth men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things. The only reason we didn’t set up hot-dog stands in the midst of the Egyptian temple … is because it was out of the way and served no large commercial purpose” (Bradbury 54). Essentially, Spender feels passionately about preserving the Martian culture and their land. He believes that mankind will ruin Mars from their ignorance. Earlier in that same chapter, Bradbury reveals that most of the Martian population had been eliminated due to chicken pox, brought to Mars by humanity, backing up what Spender has to say; “God knows what happened to them. But we at least know what they unintentionally did to the Martians.” (Bradbury 51). Both of these ideas stay true to the rest of the novel. In Bradbury’s