One main theme that I found throughout The Martian Chronicles was the destructive nature of humanity. Although the expeditions to Mars begin out of a desire for exploration and discovery, once the planet is deemed safe and free of those pesky alien lifeforms, the settlers move in. Even the way in which the Martians are wiped out by chicken pox is actually caused by man, albeit by accident. It's almost as if Bradbury is trying to show that our destructive nature is something we can't escape from. Even Spender, the one human who tries to preserve Mars and keep the humans out, does so by killing other humans. It's like the characters in the book can't help but turn to destructive actions. Fear is often the driving factor in these decisions. One key example is Sam Parkhill and his rash reaction to the appearance of Martians. He kills two of them despite the fact that they are speaking calmly to him and clearly mean him no harm. He then adds insult to injury by shooting at and destroying a number of their ancient cities when he's running away from them (p138).
Eventually we see this destruction annihilate Earth through a great war. So, the need for destruction does not contain itself to actions against the "other." The father in the last chapter of the book sums up the tragedy very well: "Life on Earth never settled down to doing anything very good. Science ran too far ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness...emphasizing the wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to run the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed Earth" (p180). This passage reminds me of a theory of peace and conflict resolution by Konrad Lorenz. He wrote that although humans are instinctively aggressive, this aggression has been given more leeway by the invention of artificial weapons because they hinder the social inhibitions of killing another human. In other words, guns and bombs and other weapons separate humans from the actual act of killing. This is what I think Bradbury means when he says humans "emphasize machines instead of how to run the machines." When a whole nation can be annihilated by the push of a button, it becomes easier; you don't have to see the people die and the heinous result becomes separate from your actions.
This view of humans as rash, violent individuals is contrasted with the view of the Martians. They are peaceful (aside from their attacks on the humans during the first and third expeditions) and appreciate things like art, science, and religion. On page 67 Spender is talking about his admiration for the Martians and it's hard not to feel the same respect for them as he does. He talks about how they appreciate life for life's sake and they don't question it. The author's intention to make the Martians the fairer species is clear. And why shouldn't we admire the Martians? They didn't destroy each other with a world war. They just wanted to live on their planet peacefully.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As Jackie pointed out, humans are definitely revealed as a very violent species in this book. In most of Bradbury's books there is a fear of the "wrong" technology - the technology that separates us from and/or diminishes our human connections. Bradbury acknowledges humans are violent but feels technology could be our downfall since, as Lorenz said, "human...aggression has been given more leeway by the invention of artificial weapons because they hinder the social inhibitions of killing another human."
ReplyDeleteAnthropologist Edward Hall, in his book Beyond Culture, called this phenomenon "extension transference," meaning that technology is not human but an extension of ourselves and that we lose our human social connections in the distance implied by the extension. Basically, our technology makes it easy to kill people without being there and feeling the full impact of the murder. Humans were always able to survive as a a species because our better features, social connections and empathy, were more powerful than our abilities to kill. Bradbury is saying those dynamics are and have changed.
I agree that the Martians are pretty peaceful in the book, but they are also glaringly hollow characters. It seems they are more of a tool for Bradbury - to contrast them with humans. I would have liked to have seen more about their civilization and way of life. I finished the book feeling I knew little about them.
Somehow the Martians were able to survive in spite of their potential for violence. Perhaps their telepathy, an evolved form of empathy, enabled them to transcend the "extension transference" or they consciously overcame aggression. If they were intended as the "fairer species," as Jackie writes, maybe Bradbury could have shown us more about how they lived and overcame any violent tendencies they may have had. Though this may be outside the scope of his book and his intentions.