I decide an Earthling is an Earthling, even if he calls himself a Martian

I have read Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles" several times in the past, and one of the reasons I wanted to take the science fiction/fantasy class was to re-read the latter novel. While the class prof sees hope for the human race in the final chapter of this composite novel, I see no such thing. For all that the Earthlings try to make their break with their past, I think Earthling-ness is hard-wired into us. As long as we exist, a certain percentage of us will fear the unknown and try to beat it into a senseless pulp. SPOILERS in this week's paper:

The Martian Chronicles re-examined imperialism at a time when the last European colonies were regaining autonomy and American political dominion was on the rise (1940s-1960s). Much in Chronicles mirrors historical encounters between interlopers and natives: Martians die off from chicken pox as Native Americans died from diseases brought by Europeans. Earthlings dismantle Martian cities as colonialists razed holy sites for coffee plantations or strip mines. Like its contemporary novel, The Ugly American, Chronicles shows how Americans interact with other cultures. The results aren't pretty.

Most Earthlings dream of remaking Mars in Earth's image. Sam Parkhill, who uses Martian windows for target practice in an earlier story, is one of these. In "The Off Season," Parkhill builds a hot-dog stand to feed Earthling immigrants. Martians try to warn him of Earth's impending destruction, but Parkhill, reacts with terror and violence. The Martians, in an ironic gesture lost on Parkhill, deed him vast gem-laden territories just as Earth descends into global war. Nobody will be coming to buy hotdogs or emeralds now. Parkhill, like the rest of the colonists, returns to Earth and death.

A few Earthlings approach Mars with respect, but they are usually seen as nuts by fellow Earthlings. In "The Fire Balloons," Fr. Peregrine aborts his attempt to convert Martians when he sees they are higher beings who have worked out their own salvation and do not need his. The encounter strikes one of the book's few hopeful notes as Fr. Peregine and his missionaries recognize God in a new form.

As the Chronicles ends, the reader sees that the same competition for dominance that Earthlings show on Mars results in Earth's final world war. In the Chronicle's last story, Earthling families return to the now abandoned Mars to preserve the human race. Will Mars change them for the better? Will they be wiser than their predecessors? Given the stories that have gone before, it seems doubtful.