Essay #8 Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles

Rockets as a Dichotomous Motif for Advancement, and Destruction, in The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles features the motif of rockets as a possibility of both discovery and destruction. Rockets simultaneously represent the grandeur of scientific advancement, and a history of violence and destruction. The rocketry technology for space exploration originates from war; and in particular the V-2 rocket, developed in 1944 in Nazi Germany (The Guardian 2012), which was the first long range ballistic missile (NASA Spacelink System n.d.). The design of this rocket of war is credited as a major influence to the development of space exploration as after the war, the United States and U.S.S.R. utilised the technology and its developers in their own programs, transitioning rockets from purely destructive purposes, into instruments of discovery for scientific progress, which would eventually allow for further exploration into our solar system (Ibid.).

In Bradbury's experience, rocketry technology is a double edged sword capable of eithers advancing our society; or destroying it. The rocket motif is used to introduce this dichotomy into the chronicles from the onset, to challenge that the idea that the advancements made possible by scientific breakthroughs will better the the lives of people:

“'Science ran too far ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness... emphasizing machines instead of how to run the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed Earth...We were lucky. There aren't any more rockets left.. Earth is gone. Interplanetary travel won't be back for centuries, maybe never. But that way of life proved itself wrong and strangled itself with its own hands. You're young. I'll tell you this again every day until it sinks in.'” (“The Million Year Picnic”).

Scientific advancements can lead to positive outcomes, but as The Martian Chronicles explores, if we don't know how to use technology with wisdom, and for peace, everyone (Earthling or Martian) will suffer in the end.

References

NASA Spacelink System. n.d. A Brief History of Rocketry.
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/rocket-history.htm
(accessed March 26, 2013).

The Guardian. 2012. V2 rocket: engine of war and discovery – video.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2012/aug/04/v2-rocket-engine-war-discovery-video
(accessed March 26, 2013).

Studies in Complements #1

Between talking about split complementary colours with one of my classes yesterday, and digging out my old watercolour supplies for life drawing class next week, this happened.

Essay #7 Burroughs: A Princess of Mars

I have to admit – A Princess of Mars has been my favourite text to analyse so far, because it's easy to digest pulp science fiction, and more of a page-turner than the previously assigned reads (long epistolary works are my kryptonite).

Serialized in 1912, it's remarkably still on par with contemporary speculative fiction; though in a way that's quite disappointing because it's a classic rescue the princess story; where the focus is on the adventures of men. My mother read the Barsoom series and others growing up, and said she used to think she must be a boy, because girls never went on adventures in any of the stories she read. That's changed less in the last century than I'd hope for, as you may have inferred from my many tirades on that topic, over at my other blog.

Still, there's always been something I've loved about the sub-genre of planetary romance. The naturalistic themes of exploring alien worlds always lures me in, and all the descriptions of yellow lichens and mastodons were quite enjoyable, being that I am quite unashamedly a total natural history geek. I nearly wrote my essay on that, but it would have resulted in a rambling discussion filled with rabbit trails on the representations of familiar and alien nature in the planetary romance sub-genre involving the yellow lichens of Barsoom, the forest moon of Endor, and Delta Vega; the planet of the ice monsters.

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Earthly Elements in A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars constructs an analogous relationship between the ancient history of Mars to contemporary life on Earth, by integrating Earthly elements into the Martian world. The futuristic analogy of Mars for Earth explores the possibility of a dystopian future, and draws readers into considering how human culture can survive cataclysmic events; and the role of science (as salvation, and as a means of understanding life and culture on other worlds) in humanity's future.

Even before Carter's adventure on Mars begins, a clear relationship is drawn between the landscapes of Earth and Mars, with the scenery of Arizona foreshadowing the ancient and barren world:

“...the grotesque details of the stiff, yet beautiful cacti form a picture at once enchanting and inspiring; as though one were catching for the first time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten world...”

During his Martian adventure, Carter makes further discoveries of similarities between the ancient history of Mars, and present life on Earth. An ancient mural depicts how life on Mars once was, with “...scenes which might have portrayed Earthly views but for the different colorings of the vegetation.” Clear relationships are also drawn between the ancient “higher” Martian people, and those of Earth's present. The familiar identifier of “human” is applied to all, and the ancient “higher” Martians are revealed to have been similar in appearance to different races of Earth.

The similarities between these planets at different stages of their history establishes the precedent for a world like Earth to suffer a cataclysmic ecological event, for which scientific advancement is the only means for survival (as it was on Mars, to prevent total climate failure). Ultimately this analogy inspires speculation on the futuristic role of science, and fulfills the key purpose of a science fiction story: to speculate on what may come to pass in the future, and explore the “undiscovered country” of futuristic life (Powell 2009).

References

Powell, G. L. 2009. The Role Of Science Fiction.

http://www.garethlpowell.com/the-role-of-science-fiction/

(accessed March 19, 2013).

Essay #6 Wells: The Island of Doctor Moreau

The Monstrous Nature of the The Island of Doctor Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau creates horror, not by the chimaerical (Brown 1993, 387) humanoids created by Moreau's experiments themselves; but by the savagery they highlight about human nature. This is achieved by constructing the Beast Folk as an allegory for the imposition of civilised over natural animalistic behaviour. The failure of the Beast Folk's civilised order, and the manner in which Doctor Moreau has failed to adhere to civilised practice; underscores the savagery shrouded by civilised behaviour.

Upon observing this ability of civilised order to conceal savagery, Prendick fears that civilised order will fail in larger human society as well. Upon his return to London, a famed bastion of civilisation, regarded at the time as the world's greatest city (Johnson and Lubin, 2013), Prendick recounts that:

“I would go out into the streets to fight with my delusion, and prowling women would mew after me; furtive, craving men glance jealously at me; weary, pale workers go coughing by me with tired eyes and eager paces, like wounded deer dripping blood...”

and:

“...unnatural as it seems, with my return to mankind came, instead of that confidence and sympathy I had expected, a strange enhancement of the uncertainty and dread I had experienced during my stay upon the island.”

This socially constructed order is seen as a mask concealing animal nature. Upon his return to London, Prendick's fears are engendered by the animalistic traits he sees lurking underneath the veneer of human civilisation: “When I lived in London the horror was well-nigh insupportable.”

The confluence of the natural order and civilised order disorients Prendick's perception of the world:

“I may have caught something of the natural wildness of my companions... such a restless fear as a half-tamed lion cub may feel.”

Prendick is comforted by relocating to the countryside, as it returns him to nature, and away from the perceived charade of civilised behaviour.

References

Brown, L. ed. 1993. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Johnson, R., and G. Lubin. 2013. The 16 Greatest Cities In Human History. http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-cities-throughout-history-2013-1?op=1

(accessed March 12, 2013).

Essay #5 Hawthorne: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

The Phases of Day and Night as Symbolism in Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Frequent allusions to the phases of the day and night, and their respective illumination or darkness, are used to echo the key themes in Dr. Heidegger's Experiment through symbolism. Light, in any form, is deeply symbolic of knowledge, and for that reason words describing light (brilliance, bright) are commonly synonymous with intelligence (wordnik n.d.), while “dimness” is synonymous for stupidity (wordnik n.d.), and darkness: “Can be an emblem of bad judgment, misfortune and ignorance” (Protas et al. 2001). Dusk; the time at after the sun has fallen below the horizon (NIST 2011), is used as a cryptogram to reference to the foolishness of Dr. Heidegger's friends.

Sunrise is symbolic of rebirth and resurrection (Protas et al. 2001), and the the water's power granted the experiment's subjects opportunity to be young again without repeating past ignorance when; "...the shadows of age were flitting from it like darkness from the crimson daybreak.” The water from the fountain of youth itself is said to cast illumination in the darkness:

“It was now so nearly sunset that the chamber had grown duskier than ever, but a mild and moonlike splendor gleamed from within the vase...”

The contrast of the darkness and light symbolism here emphasises the opportunity for revitalisation against the foolishness of those gifted with it, through invoking once more the symbolism of dimming light to represent the misfortune and ignorance which characterise the experiment's participants. Whatever the illusion of brilliance, and the chance for a reawakening offered by the fountain of youth; it is unable to transform the inner ignorance and foolhardiness of the participants:

“Yet, by a strange deception, owing to the duskiness of the chamber and the antique dresses which they still wore, the tall mirror is said to have reflected the figures of the three old, gray, withered grand-sires ridiculously contending for the skinny ugliness of a shrivelled grandam.”

References

NIST. 2011. Times of day. http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/times.cfm

(accessed March 4, 2013).

Protas, A., G. Brown, J. Smith, and E. Jaffe. 2001. Darkness.

http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/D/darkness.html

(accessed March 5, 2013).

Protas, A., G. Brown, J. Smith, and E. Jaffe. 2001. Dawn.

http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/D/dawn.html

(accessed March 5, 2013).

wordnik. n.d. Bright. http://www.wordnik.com/words/bright

(accessed March 5, 2013).

wordnik. n.d. Dim. http://www.wordnik.com/words/dim

(accessed March 5, 2013).