Today we will be reviewing one of the stories in Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which, by the way, I like infinitely better than Dandelion Wine. The chapter I will be reviewing is the 6th chapter, "April 2000: The Third Expedition." In the chapter the third rocket carrying humans is sent from earth to mars and the crew finds themselves on martian soil, only it looks exactly like Earth from the early 1900's. They grew suspicious and begin to look around but they are soon taken aback as they notice that all their dead beloved family and relatives are found within the small town they are in. They take it as a miracle and each crew member follows his/her family into their houses. Unfortunately for the crew, the family members they are seeing are only telepathic mind tricks by martians and each and everyone of them is killed in the night.
On page 32 the novel states "Around the rocket in four directions spread the little town, green and motionless in the Martian spring. There were white houses and red brick ones, and tall elm trees blowing in the wind, and tall maples and horse chestnuts. And church steeples with golden bells silent in them." Which gives the reader a little idea of the looks of the place in which the rocket has landed. It also brings up great mystery as the reader will wonder how there is a place on mars that looks exactly like Earth in the past. The passage occurs in the beginning, just after meager background information is given about the rocket's trip through space. Ray Bradbury uses the setting to comment on the conflict in the story. This is because the setting is part of what is used to deceive the astronauts into thinking that they had landed in a friendly and welcoming environment.
On page 32 the novel states "Around the rocket in four directions spread the little town, green and motionless in the Martian spring. There were white houses and red brick ones, and tall elm trees blowing in the wind, and tall maples and horse chestnuts. And church steeples with golden bells silent in them." Which gives the reader a little idea of the looks of the place in which the rocket has landed. It also brings up great mystery as the reader will wonder how there is a place on mars that looks exactly like Earth in the past. The passage occurs in the beginning, just after meager background information is given about the rocket's trip through space. Ray Bradbury uses the setting to comment on the conflict in the story. This is because the setting is part of what is used to deceive the astronauts into thinking that they had landed in a friendly and welcoming environment.
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