Ignorance In The Martian Chronicles

Ignorance is an innate characteristic of all human beings; however, the ones that thrive are the ones who overcome such an intrinsic obstacle. Throughout the novel The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, ignorance has been a consistent theme in every story. Bradbury conveys that mankind will not survive unless it can overcome its own ignorance. Throughout the course of the novel The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury illustrates mankind’s ignorance to explain the error of its ways. Throughout the course of the novel, Bradbury constantly emphasizes the dangers of mankind’s ignorance through technological advances. One example of this takes place in the story “--And the Moon Be Still as Bright” when Spender states that he had “seen that what these

One example of this takes place in the story “Earthmen” when Captain Williams of the second expedition to Mars says that, “We’d like someone to give us the key to the city or something like that, and we’d like someone to shake our hands and say ‘Hooray’ and ‘Congratulations’.” The epitomizes how humans need some form of reward or praise to feel like they have accomplished something. Bradbury also conveys how humans only care about the results and glory of a strenuous feat rather than accepting the accomplishment of a difficult hardship. Another example of how Bradbury expresses mankind’s need for a sense of accomplishment takes place in the story “--And the Moon Be Still as Bright” when it is stated that “the mountains will never sound right to us; we’ll give them new names, but the old names are there, somewhere in time, and the mountains were shaped and seen under those names.” This represents how humans ignore the tradition and culture of the Martians by just taking what they desire and doing whatever they please. Bradbury utilizes this to convey that mankind’s need for recognition and fame blinds it from the destruction it causes to the culture and tradition of various civilizations. He also portrays that humans typically spread their culture and traditions rather than adapt to those of other civilizations. He also conveys that

One example of this takes place in “--And the Moon Be Still As Bright” when Spender mentions that, “they knew how to live with nature and get along with nature. They didn’t try too hard to be all man and no animal.” This portrays how the Martians found a way in which technology could coexist with nature. In contrast, humans have gotten to the point where there could only be either nature or technology in the end. He also attempts to convey that mankind is losing more and more of its humanity as it steps further into the realm of technology. Another example of this takes place in the story “Rocket Summer” when it is stated that, “the rocket stood in the cold winter morning, making summer with every breath of its might exhaust.” This represents how mankind’s technological advances are also the catalysts for the destruction of Earth’s environment, which in turn is the termination of mankind itself. Essentially, Bradbury is trying to convey that mankind is its own worst enemy. Clearly, Bradbury conveys that the separation of mankind and nature will be the end of