The stories in The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury are arranged in a notably singular way. They do not have many characters or events in common, but they are all united by the setting of Mars and, more importantly, the overshadowing influence of imperialistic governments. From the first time humans set foot on Mars to the time they finally leave it, the stories of humans and Martians are all affected by imperialism. Through this persistent backstage influence, Bradbury makes it clear that imperialistic governments seek only power, they are afraid of losing that power, and as a result they will eventually destroy themselves. The first major facet of Bradbury’s message is that imperialistic nations seek only more power for themselves. In the …show more content…
For instance, the members of the Moral Climates agency who destroyed books are killed by the unstable Mr. Stendhal (). Likewise, Sam Parkhill gets the deeds to Martian land, just before all interest in Mars dissipates (). Finally, the nations of earth eventually destroy themselves in a nuclear war. In all three of these examples, the power seeking, paranoid parties fall victim to their own actions (). And as Spender predicted, the devastating effects of an imperialistic mindset are not confined to Earth, but also impact the fledgling colonies on Mars. Driven by frantic concern for friends and relatives at home, the colonist return to earth, leaving Mars an uninhabited wasteland because of their actions (). Bradbury imperially asserts that an imperialistic government will eventually cave under the weight of its own injustices. On the whole, Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles conveys a bleak and at times even depressing view of government and human nature. He spends a great deal of time harping on that totalitarian governments seek only power, they are afraid of losing that power, and will ultimately destroy themselves. But despite this generally unfavorable tone, Bradbury ends on a hopeful note. The Thomas family left earth to escape the Imperialistic governments, and on Mars they can build a new civilization and a new era of human history, free from the ambition and paranoia that ultimately destroyed the old