A discussion of the theme of dreams in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
This paper discusses how ignoring one’s surroundings can lead to tragedy. It uses examples from “The Martian Chronicles” and other sources to prove this point. Many different characters exemplify the fact that it is necessary to accept the realities of life before dreams can be achieved. Other points touched on include Martians being metaphors for dreams and that every pioneer had his/her own reason for leaving Earth. It also discusses how Mars and Martians reflect back everyone’s individual hopes and desires and how Mars is not capable of being turned into Earth.
While the quest to realize dreams is admirable, ignoring the realities of one’s world can bring tragic consequences. Dreams can only be achieved when life’s realities are accepted. This is one of several themes running throughout Ray Bradbury’s novel, The Martian Chronicles, about the colonization of Mars. Through a series of vignettes strung together by the idea that dreams and reality can coexist in life (Bloom 34), Bradbury successfully creates a realistic view of the possible future while expressing a warning, that without acknowledging one’s surroundings for what they are, no dreams will ever be fulfilled. In the novel, the settlers of Mars try desperately to re-create Earth into what is familiar to them instead of adjusting to their new surroundings, and therein lies their mistake, and ultimately their downfall.