For Friday: Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, “The Taxpayer” and “The Third Expedition”





Group “SF/A” should answer TWO of the following:

Q1: According to “The Taxpayer,” what’s wrong with Earth? Why does he want to flee to Mars so badly? Does this explain why there have been so many expeditions to Mars in such a short period of time (1999-2000)?

Q2: When the Third Expedition discovers the Earth-like city on Mars, one exclaims, “we’re looking upon a phenomenon that, for the first time, would absolutely prove the existence of God, sir.” What does he mean by this? Why would an Earth-like civilization prove that God exists (and do you agree)?

Q3: The Expedition offers a number of theories for the existence of an early-1900s town in the middle of Mars: why do all of them insist that the inhabitants must be insane or hallucinating? What does this remind us of in the previous chapters?

Q4: When Hinkston asks Lustig’s grandmother if this is heaven, she responds “Nonsense, no. It’s a world and we get a second chance. Nobody told us why. But then nobody told us why we were on Earth, either.” Even though this seems to be a set-up, what might the grandmother’s words suggest about our own life on Earth? Why might this lie (if you believe it’s a lie) contain a bit of truth?


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