Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury Analysis

Throughout “The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury, there are multiple times that Martians and Humans meet. Unfortunately for both parties, this usually ends in disaster. It began with the humans on the first three expeditions being killed by the Martians, but then the humans unknowingly gave Chickenpox to the Martians, killing the majority of them. Interestingly, the first time we see a Martian and a human get along decently is when they are unable to touch each other as shown in August 2002: Night Meeting.

August 2002: Night Meeting is the rather ironic title for a story that discusses how time is relative. It opens at a gas station, where Tomas has a conversation with the old man who runs it. This conversation foreshadows what happens later in the chapter. The old man is talking about everything that’s different on Mars and says “Everything's crazy up here, the soil, the air, the canals, the natives (I never saw any yet, but I hear they're around), the clocks. Even my clock acts funny. Even time is crazy up here.” (Bradbury) This

Shocked and confused, they both wonder why this could be, which leads them to a rather immature conversation of what is and isn’t real. “Tomas felt of his own body and, feeling the warmth, was reassured. I am real, he thought. The Martian touched his own nose and lips. ‘I have flesh,’ he said, half aloud. ‘I am alive.’”(Bradbury) Both Tomas and Muhe Ca attempt to reassure themselves that they are the ones that are real, and that their own worlds are legitimate. After arguing, they realized that they wouldn’t come to a proper conclusion and began talking about what they could see. To the Martian, the distant Martian city was alive and hosting a bustling festival, while to Tomas it was broken-down and covered with dust. In the same way, as Tomas tried to describe the human settlements and rockets, they were invisible to the