THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES: FREE ONLINE NOTES

November 2005: The Watchers

CHARACTERS

Luggage store proprietor
Sells out all his goods upon news of the war.

CONFLICT

Protagonist

Earthian settlers of Mars, who are concerned about events on their home planet.

Antagonist

Earthians who contact the settlers, asking them to come home.

Climax

The settlers on Mars witness the start of the Great War as Earth seems to explode.

Outcome

The proprietor sells out, indicating the exodus back to Earth by most all settlers.

THEMES

The importance of the past, and the hold it can have even on people who have moved on to new frontiers to start anew. For all the efforts the early settlers of Mars have made to establish their mark on a new world, they are still Earthians at heart and must heed the call to return home.

Summary

At nine o'clock in the evening, Earth seems to explode in front of the Martian settlers' eyes. A Morse Code message is sent to them, with news that the atomic stockpile of Australia prematurely exploded, wiping out the continent; further, London and Los Angeles have been bombed and the settlers should come home. At 3 AM, a crowd flocks to the luggage store, whose proprietor stayed open for this eventuality; he sells out of his goods by dawn.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Free Summary

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