Martian Chronicles

– Why The Humans Were Wrong Essay, Research Paper

?Why did you do it?? the captain asked. Jeff Spender quietly laid the pistol at his feet. ?Because I?ve seen that what these Martians had was just as good as anything we?ll ever hope to have. They stopped where we should have stopped a hundred years ago?? (64) In the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Spender realized the truth before the rest of the crew. He knew that only harm could come out of the habitation of Mars. Humans don?t learn from their mistakes. They prove this by failing to preserve Martian culture, constructing an American society, and seeing Mars only as a resource to be exploited.

The majority of the crewmembers that were sent to Mars cared nothing about the Martian heritage. In the passage And the Moon be Still as Bright, Bradbury introduces Cheroke, a Native American whose grandfather lived in the Oklahoma Territory. When Spender went on his rampage he asked Cheroke an important question that shows that humans don?t learn from their mistakes. He asked, ?How would you feel if you were a Martian and people came to your land and started tearing it up?? (64) Cheroke knew what the American Indians went through, evacuated from land that was rightfully theirs and forced into a culture so different from their own. He saw that the same thing had happened to the Martians, although the Martians did not cope as well as the Native Americans. Cheroke refused to help Spender protect Mars from further habitation by humans, but he did realize that what they were doing was wrong.

Secondly, the Earth was in jeopardy during the exploration and habitation of Mars. A World War broke out. The Americans wanted to go up to Mars and create a society identical to their own. They did not realize at the time that their society was failing, that the war was caused by their corrupt government trying to rule everyone else. In the passage Usher II, Bradbury shows the foolishness of the Americans with ban of fictitious literature. Stendahl knew that this was wrong. Also, the American businessman who moved people to Mars didn?t care about fulfilling people?s dreams but only making money. In The Green Morning, Benjamin Driscoll is planning on becoming the Johnny Appleseed of Mars. He feels that there is not enough oxygen on Mars for the humans to thrive. He works diligently planting seeds for many species of trees, little does he know that it will lead to the destruction of the Martian ecosystem.

Finally, the humans only saw Mars as a resource to be exploited. In The Naming of Names towns are named by the natural resource that it contributes such as Iron Town, Steel Town, Aluminum City, etc. (103) If Mars hadn?t been profitable to the Americans they would have had no interest in it. Unlike the humans, the Martians knew how to live in harmony with the environment. This was the reason why only one out of every five Martian cities were inhabited. The humans, however, took no lesson from this building anywhere and everywhere they wished. Even the lowly Sam Parkhill was out to make his money at Mars expense selling hot dogs to tourists.

In conclusion, humans never depart from the mistakes in the past. By neglecting to preserve the Martian culture, constructing an American society, and seeing Mars only as a resource to be exploited they prove they don?t learn from their mistakes. They repeat the same errors and are oblivious to the damage done. Are they really blind to what they are doing or are they ignoring the damage to benefit themselves?