Repercussions In The Martian Chronicles

In history, humans began industrializing in the 1800s where they built factories and created pollution in the world. They tore down whatever was in their way, displacing other people and animals in their habitats, to build something that made money. It wasn’t until the 1960s, where it became mandatory to write up an environmental impact report before a building can be constructed, which forces the builders to think about the negative impacts that could occur from the building. The Martian Chronicles, though fiction, paints a clear image of how the world is like today, but with less technological advancements. In “The Martian” a Martian shows up and has the ability to change into a person that people love and miss or need for various reasons.

No matter what, humans only look out for their own best interest, no matter the cost and no matter the damage to the environment, the place they live. Humans on Mars are no stranger to looking out for their best interests. In “The Green Morning” Benjamin Driscoll arrived in Mars. He survived on the planet for a while but he could not get enough oxygen for his body. He hopped on a motorcycle stocked with seeds and went on his way. Even thirty days later, “he had never glanced back” (p. 76) to think about any negative impact. A little while later, after a substantial amount of rain, he awoke to thousands of trees and an abundant amount of oxygen. Doctors on the planet suggested, before he planted the trees as a solution, that he return to Earth but he was adamant that he stay there. He went directly to the Director of Mars, not the Martians that have lived there for many years, to see if he could plant trees on Mars. There are not any trees on Mars and there probably is a reason for that but Driscoll is only looking out for himself. If he stopped, just for a second, he could realize that if he talked to the Martians about planting trees he could find out if there would be any environmental impacts on the planet. He had drastically changed the planet, just so he could get what he wanted. Donald Trump is very similar to Benjamin Driscoll. The

Humans force animals to understand what they are saying and if they cannot, they are punished. This belief that humans are better leads to an abuse of power from humans to other species. In “The Martian” humans on Mars meet this Martian that can change into different people and once they figure out that they could get back someone they lost, their selfish desires kick in. They fight over the Martian, forcing him to change into another person repeatedly. The people believed that they knew their loved one and that’s why they deserve them back. Screaming and sobbing, the people bombard the Martian with their need of their loved one back again in their arms. They fought even when the Martian was “trembling and shaking violently” (p. 130) and if they really loved the person they were fighting for, they would realize that they were hurting the Martian. “He was melting wax shaping to their minds. They shouted, pressed forward, pleading. He screamed, threw out his hands, his face dissolving to each demand. ‘Tom!’ cried LaFarge. ‘Alice!’ another. ‘William!’ They snatched his wrists, whirled him about, until one last shriek of horror he fell.” (p. 130).These people put their selfish need ahead of the need of the Martian just to prove to the other people they really love their loved one that is now gone. If they had put their needs aside, they would know how much they were hurting the one thing that could