THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES BY RAY BRADBURY

CHAPTER SUMMARIES WITH NOTES

JANUARY 1999: Rocket Summer

CHARACTERS

No specific ones.

CONFLICT

Protagonist - The rocket.

Antagonist - Winter, metaphorically set aside by the rocket's heat.

Climax - The rocket descends and melts winter away.

Outcome - The town is temporarily in summertime again.

THEMES

The seasonal shift emphasizes the changes brought by technology on human life, and in turn foreshadows the theme of human life (with their technology) changing Mars and the Martians when they colonize the planet.

Summary

The rocket descends on a small town in Ohio during winter, bringing summer in its heat.

Notes

This vignette is very brief and intends to convey a sense of awe and wonder at what technology is capable of. Summer is symbolic of youthfulness and energy, which space travel and colonization is supposed to inspire.

FEBRUARY 1999: Ylla

CHARACTERS

Ylla K - A Martian wife.

Yll K - Ylla's husband.

Nathaniel York - The Earthman who contacts Ylla through dreams.

Pao - A friend of Ylla's who lives in the Green Valley.

Doctor Nlle - A friend of Yll and Ylla.

CONFLICT

Protagonist - Ylla, who wishes to meet the Earthman from her dreams.

Antagonist - Yll, who is jealous of Ylla's attention towards this seeming imaginary figure.

Climax - Yll deceives Ylla, forcing her to stay home at the time the Earthman is supposed to arrive.

Outcome - Yll kills the Earthman, causing a rift between himself and his wife.

THEMES

Marriage and jealousy are the two main themes of this story. What makes a marriage work? How much trust is necessary? And what happens when someone or something threatens the marriage?

Summary

Ylla K has dreams about a man from Earth arriving on Mars. She shares with Yll details of this Nathaniel York's exotically strange appearance, the music of his culture, and the belief that he will and in the Green Valley. Yll K suppresses his jealousy as best he can and tries to be more attentive to his wife, but realizes she intends to meet York when he lands. Using the ruse of a supposed visit by Doctor Nlle, Yll convinces Ylla not to go to Green Valley - she herself tried the ruse of visiting Pao to go to the area. She stays home and Yll goes out hunting, killing York. Though nothing is said of this, Ylla is aware of what happened.

Notes

The wife's name is an extension of the husband's, subtly indicating her subservience to him. The married couple never admit to each other that Ylla's dreams of York are based in reality, instead speaking of it as a kind of imaginative fancy. However, both of them behave as if York's arrival is real, making him Yll's rival for Ylla's affection. The marriage is kept together tenuously by this refusal to speak of things that could tear their bond apart.