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Ray Bradbury Message Board


Anonymous posts on 2/25/2009 12:37:16 AM Bradbury was wonderful for my short attention span... What I found interesting was how well it relates to now, the social divides of our society and seeking of better, discounting our history(not understanding each other still). It also really was an interesting commentary on a time period in our history where Americans were under the treat of nuclear war, living and breathing it. Something I still cannot imagine. Something about Brittany's commentary on Spender I found interesting, and this could just be my take. I will not discount Spender wanting to understand another civilization, but it also seemed that he wanted to stay to reinvent himself- take over a place as his version of utopia. I question if this is really different from others wanting to recreate what makes them feel secure. It seems to be preference, both with a sense of superiority (sorry to be cynical, it is my nature). On a different subject. I loved Usher II. I felt horror by the idea of a mass book burning, so I understood revenge. It made me question all the forms of censorship we currently deal with; a whole different beast has emerged.
Brittney - olso1713 posts on 2/24/2009 6:12:58 PM Sarah S had a very interesting interpretation of Bradbury's definition of the last Martians. Before reading her post I had not considered the fact that Bradbury could be pointing out the way humans (at least Americans) take over and claim whatever they feel is rightfully theirs. Al K and Courtney helped me understand NIGHT MEETING much better. Before reading their posts I really hadn't considered this story being about inability to see life through other people's eyes. Now it definitely shouts that message to me. My favorite stories were THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS, USHER II, and -AND THE MOON BE STILL AS BRIGHT. In THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS, I found it very humbling to read about the one side of the house that was burned with the silhouettes of the family remaining in tact. It is really scary to think that could happen to any of us basically at any moment. USHER II was fun to read because, to me, it was just a cynical, fictional account of how someone with extreme feelings against censorship might react if given all possible opportunity to act upon his or her feelings. It was very entertaining. -AND THE MOON BE STILL AS BRIGHT was by far my favorite story. I feel very strongly against ethnocentrism and have always attempted to be as considerate as possible to all people. I think it is vitally important that everyone in this world try to put themselves in the shoes of people they don't understand very well. This story supported those feelings. I was a little disappointed that the story ended with Spender being shot and killed, as opposed to Spender killing the rest of the crew. I think his decision to do that was a little extreme, but I understand the feelings and beliefs behind his decisions I guess.
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Samantha Kelly - UMD posts on 2/9/2009 5:54:42 PM Funny that we have the same name - threw me off. I was wondering if I had posted and forgot. Your question is an interesting one, but not one that can be answered, at least not now. It would be interesting and amazing to discover that this was happening, but how would we? It is an interesting idea because I don't think most people think or believe there is any other way to live than in this time, on our earth. We never stop and think about other possibilities. We live so much in our time and are so focused on what is happening here and now. You pose an interesting, but unanswerable question.
Sam K - UMD posts on 2/6/2009 12:21:44 AM In the chapter titled August 2002; Night Meeting, Tomas Gomez has a run-in with a martian. Now, in this point of the book, it was not unheard of for men to meet Martians. At first, they did not understand each other, but after a while, they did and after conversing for a bit, they found out that each of them was seeing things in separate space-time continuums. However, at the same time, they were still able to interact with one another. They then realize that one must be from the past. In fact, they both think this, and are convinced that the other is from the past. So, my question is this: Could two different societies co-exist on different planes; one from the past and the other from the future? You may be quick to dismiss this idea, but stop and think... could it be happening as we speak?
baxte076-UMD posts on 1/25/2009 10:40:21 PM The Martian Chronicles was probably the first science fiction book that I have ever read, and it was so good that I can’t wait to read more. Ray Bradbury did such a great job at depicting what the Martian world is really like. Life on Mars is so mysterious to us and something that we rarely think about, so it was interesting to see Bradbury’s point of view on what the Martians would look and act like. I loved how the Martians had their own world just like ours and, just like our views towards Mars, thought that Earth was inhabitable because of the oxygen levels in the air. Not only did the Martians live a normal life like ours, they were actually much smarter, as we were shown in each story throughout the book that showed how the Martians outwitted the Earth men each time they tried to land on Mars. It was so typical of the men to think so highly of themselves after successfully landing on Mars and also so typical that the men would ruin Earth with their pollution and war and that they would look to Mars for the next place to take over and ruin. The arrogance of the Earth men, especially, was a big part of this book. It gave realism to the book, though, because it’s something that could definitely be true. We think that we have come so far and know so much about the world and universe, but Ray Bradbury brought out the possibility that there are Martians and that they know much more than we ever will.
Sarah S-UMD posts on 12/20/2008 1:11:31 PM I think Martian Chronicles is a story about our cultures inability to change. Mars is recreated to be just like Earth. Destroying what is different and forgetting what was their before. In the end humans take over and say that they are Martians thus sealing the fate of the original Martians being forgotten.
Matt J. UMD posts on 12/20/2008 6:39:22 AM I am still of mixed views on this book. For me it jumped around to much. Just as I was getting into a particular section it would jump to something else. That said it was original a grouping of short stories so I will over look it. However, the underlying theme to me was very clear. Humans tend to try and turn places that aren't familiar into something more familiar. Take for example when you move into a new house, you bring stuff from your old place to "make yourself feel more at home". Much as the settlers of Mars brought their things from Earth and setup the cities and such exactly like they were on Earth. Even though they had the golden opportunity to start completely fresh.
Forest B UMD becke395 posts on 12/18/2008 11:24:59 AM I really enjoyed this book because of the different view points it took by using different characters in each short story. I have always been a fan of Bradbury ever since I read Fahrenheit 451. He knows how to right high quality science fiction because he is able to create a whole different intricate world. An interesting point is that there were good and bad characters in each race. Although the Humans killed many the Martians, in one of the first chapters the Martians killed the humans. This story does point out that if the human race continues on their endeavors into space we will take the approach we always do and implement changes which we think is necessary on other planets without really understanding the repercussions. I think this book could be valuable in understanding how not to interact with another race or species.
Al K -UMD posts on 12/17/2008 12:01:03 AM Courtney enlightened the night meeting for me. I understood that Tomas and the martian were trying to bridge the gap between them and understand one another. I did not realize that the inability to see each other's party was the inability to understand one another's point of view. The material about the African-Americans in the book was very interesting considering the time that the book was written. The way that Bradbury challenged the status-quo on the treatment of African-Americans. Also, the statement by Silly about what Mr. Teece would do at night, really impacted that segment.
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