Essay

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY LITERARY ANALYSIS WITH PRIMARY SOURCE—MLA



Emma Kallstrom

Dr. Charles Wolfe

English 1020

13 April 2010

“They knew how to live with nature and get along with nature”:

The Martian Secret to a Successful Civilization

Twentieth-century Americans witnessed stunning scientific

discoveries, such as the atomic bomb and the space age, frightening

political maneuvering stemming from America’s sense of superiority and

the Cold War, and continued social strife in racial tension and religious

intolerance. These scientific, political, and social phenomena clearly

influenced Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles. The development

of the V-2 weapon, capable of reaching heights of 100 miles, during

World War II marked the beginning of the space age. After the war ended,

rocket-powered weapons development led naturally to space exploration

programs (“History”). In addition, the Cold War arose from the rivalry and

weapons buildup between the United States with its Western allies and

the Soviet Union with its communist supporters (Snead). In The Martian

Chronicles, Bradbury takes rocket technology and space exploration,

combines them with the power struggle between the atomic-weapon-

wielding superpowers, and imagines potential consequences played out in

both the Earth and Martian arenas. Although the novel treats a variety of

social and political ills, often bizarrely juxtaposed, a discernible story arc

emerges regarding the relationship between successful civilizations, living

in harmony with the environment, and careful management of technology.

Name/Instructor/ Course/Date— double space,

align at left and top margin

Title—centered

Attention-getter opens the essay

Thesis statement

Kallstrom 1

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

In The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury moves from the Martians’

harmonious coexistence with nature and technology through mankind’s

destructive and self-destructive disregard for such harmony to the final

realization that humans must adopt the Martian philosophy in order to

survive and succeed as a civilization.

The standard for living in harmony with nature and science is

established in the second chapter, “Ylla,” in which the lifestyle of a typical

Martian couple is described. The description of the house evokes a serene,

peaceful environment of fruit-bearing walls and creek-inlaid floors.

Everything about the house has been designed to complement the Martian

climate. For example, being farther from the Sun than Earth, the Martians

have found a way to get as much sunlight as possible: The house “turned

and followed the sun, flower-like” throughout the day, but to withstand the

cold of night, it “clos[ed] itself in, like a giant flower, with the passing of

light” (Bradbury 2, 5). Because the climate is also mostly dry, the Martians

have invented ingenious ways to harness their limited water supply to

provide necessary humidity: Within the home, a “gentle rain sprang from

the fluted pillar tops, cooling the scorched air, falling gently on [Ylla]. On

hot days it was like walking in a creek. The floors of the house glittered

with cool streams” (Bradbury 2-3). The Martians have remained in control

of their technology, using their impressive technological advances to

enhance their harmonious relationship with nature. They sleep on clouds

of chemicals that support and conform to their bodies overnight and

Author provides a blueprint to what will be discussed throughout the

paper. Notice that she presents these ideas in the order they will be pre-

sented later in the paper.

Topic sentence— tells the reader that this section of the paper will

be focused on this main idea.

Quotation as evidence. Note how the quota- tion marks and

parenthetical are constructed.

Kallstrom 2

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

gently lower them down to the floor in the morning. Books are fashioned

from durable metal, eliminating the need for wasteful, polluting paper

production. One of Mr. K’s books sings of “ancient men [who] had

carried clouds of metal insects and electric spiders into battle” (Bradbury

2), which reveals that at one time, Martian history had resembled that of

war-prone Earth. However, at some point, Martians took control of their

destiny, and the civilization as a whole endured successfully as indicated

by the fact that the Ks’ ancestors had lived in that same house before them

for the past ten centuries.

Unlike their Martian counterparts, few Earth men appreciate the

advantages of a peaceful, natural existence as illustrated in chapter seven,

“—And the Moon Be Still as Bright.” After three failed missions before

them, the fourth expedition lands on Mars only to find a dead planet. The

crew’s cavalier attitude clearly shows the typical Earthman’s, or more

specifically, the typical American’s, insensitivity to the loss of life or

culture as long as their goal is achieved. They revel in their success despite

the discovery that a nearby Martian city’s population was decimated as

recently as a week ago. Crewmember Biggs especially lacks respect for

Mars or its lost civilization: he pollutes a canal by throwing wine bottles

into it and later vomits the effects of that wine all over the beautiful

ancient tile in the Martian city the team investigates. Of the sixteen

surviving crewmembers, only Spender and Captain Wilder understand the

reverence that Mars deserves.

Observe how the author has used multiple quota- tions from the

novel to support her analysis.

The author uses a transitional sen-

tence at the end of one paragraph to lead to the topic sentence in the

next.

Kallstrom 3

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

Spender, an archaeologist, is keenly interested in learning as much

as possible about the Martians and their culture. His mind reels at the news

that the Martians were senselessly destroyed by chicken pox:

Chicken pox, God, chicken pox, think of it! A race builds

itself for a million years, refines itself, erects cities like

those out there, does everything it can to give itself respect

and beauty and then it dies. . . . [I]t has to be chicken pox,

a child’s disease, a disease that doesn’t even kill children

on Earth! It’s not right and it’s not fair. . . . It doesn’t fit the

architecture; it doesn’t fit this entire world! (Bradbury 51)

Having rejected the mission, Spender wanders off to study the Martian

artifacts on his own and begins to feel a connection with them. Through

his research, he discovers the key to the Martians’ way of life and the point

at which the Mars and Earth philosophies diverge:

They knew how to live with nature and get along with

nature. . . . Man had become too much man and not enough

animal on Mars too. And the men of Mars realized that in

order to survive they would have to forgo asking that one

question any longer: Why live? Life was its own answer.

Life was the propagation of more life and the living of as

good a life as possible. . . . They quit trying too hard to

destroy everything, to humble everything. They blended

religion and art and science because, at base, science is

Long quotation used as evidence.

Note how the author has intro- duced the quote

with her own words and how she followed the

MLA require- ments for a long

quotation.

Kallstrom 4

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

no more than an investigation of a miracle we can never

explain, and art is an interpretation of that miracle. They

never let science crush the aesthetic and the beautiful.

(Bradbury 66-67)

Spender recognizes the value of living in harmony with nature and

science. He anticipates and loathes the effect colonists from Earth will

have on Mars, knowing that they will destroy Mars just as they have been

destroying and continue to destroy Earth.

Even though Capt. Wilder understands Spender’s argument, he

feels more responsibility to the mission and adopts a more optimistic

attitude about Earth’s relationship with Mars. He openly hopes that Earth

will learn from Mars and use the knowledge to improve its civilization:

“[O]ne day Earth will be as Mars is today. This will sober us. It’s an

object lesson in civilizations. We’ll learn from Mars” (Bradbury 55). His

doubt and inner struggle become apparent, however, during his pursuit of

Spender through the Martian wilderness. During their temporary truce-

protected discussion, Spender tries to sway Wilder to his point of view,

but Wilder keeps his focus on the mission. Nevertheless, he swears to do

all he can to provide future archaeologists with adequate opportunity to

investigate thoroughly the Martian ruins in order to preserve the culture

as much as possible. Apparently, he does try to keep his promise because

in chapter 24, it is revealed that Wilder had been shipped off to Saturn,

The author con- sistently uses her own words before she incorporates

quotations as sup- porting evidence.

Kallstrom 5

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

Neptune, and Pluto for the twenty years following the fourth expedition to

prevent his interference in the colonization program on Mars.

Following the success of the fourth expedition, colonization

of Mars begins in earnest, confirming the Earthmen’s insistence on

molding the environment to suit them instead of learning to adapt to their

surroundings. In chapter nine, “The Green Morning,” colonist Benjamin

Driscoll, having fainted upon arrival because of the thin air, vows to

fight “a private horticultural war with Mars” (Bradbury 75) and plants

thousands of tree seeds and sprouts. By doing so, he effectively changes

the climate of Mars, adding rich oxygen to the atmosphere. The next

chapter, “The Locusts,” finds 90,000 colonists “beat[ing] the strange world

into a shape that was familiar to the eye, . . . bludgeon[ing] away all the

strangeness” (Bradbury 78). The transformation of Mars to adhere to Earth

standards is evident in chapter 13, “Interim,” in which Tenth City, built of

imported Oregon pine and California redwood, so accurately resembles

a replica of an Iowa town that one might believe “a whirlwind twister

of Oz-like proportions had carried the entire town off to Mars to set it

down without a bump” (Bradbury 88). Spender’s prophecy that “We’ll rip

[Mars] up, rip the skin off, and change it to fit ourselves” (Bradbury 54)

has been fulfilled; Earthmen have changed the face of Mars.

The physical landscape is not the only item on the Earthmen’s

agenda; soon, their ideology takes over as well, further emphasizing their

Note how the au- thor does not just give a summary of the story; she uses her descriptions of the story to

support the topic sentence of the

paragraph, which also ultimately

supports the thesis statement of the

essay.

Kallstrom 6

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

disharmony with their new surroundings. They begin with the basics—

renaming towns with familiar Earth names:

The old Martian names were names of water and air and

hills. They were the names of snows that emptied south

in stone canals to fill the empty seas. . . . And the rockets

struck at the names like hammers, breaking away the

marble into shale, shattering the crockery milestones that

named the old towns, in the rubble of which great pylons

were plunged with new names . . . , all the mechanical

names and the metal names from Earth. (Bradbury 102-03)

This renaming of places had also been predicted by Spender: “[W]e’ll give

them new names, but the old names are there, somewhere in time, and the

mountains were shaped and seen under those names. The names we’ll give

to the canals and mountains and cities will fall like so much water on the

back of a mallard” (Bradbury 54). After the renaming is accomplished

and Mars becomes comfortably familiar, officials arrive to impose the

same laws and regulations that govern Earth’s society. The Earthmen

take complete control of Mars despite the existence of real Martians as

confirmed by sporadic sightings of a few who have survived the Disease

(chicken pox epidemic). In this way, amid the frenzy of colonization, the

Martian culture is eradicated by the settlers from Earth.

The Earthmen’s vision dominates Mars; however, an occasional

settler understands the uniqueness of Mars and feels a natural harmony

Look carefully at how the author sets up the long quotation and

then the shorter one. Longer

quotations do not have quotation marks and end

with a period fol- lowed by the cita- tion information. Short quotations end with the cita- tion information

and then a period.

Kallstrom 7

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

with it. Pop, the gas station owner in chapter eleven, “The Night Meeting,”

embraces his strange new home:

We’ve got to forget Earth and how things were. We’ve got

to look at what we’re in here, and how different it is. I get a

hell of a lot of fun out of just the weather here. It’s Martian

weather. Hot as hell daytimes, cold as hell nights. I get a

big kick out of the different flowers and different rain. . . .

I’m just experiencing. If you can’t take Mars for what she

is, you might as well go back to Earth. Everything’s crazy

up here, the soil, the air, the canals, the natives . . . . Well,

that’s Mars. Enjoy it. Don’t ask it to be nothing else but

what it is. (Bradbury 79)

Pop’s acceptance of Mars is so rare that it is not equaled again until the

end of the book. Before then, however, the colonists witness the distant

explosions and depart en masse for Earth, leaving a few individuals

stranded. Genevieve Selsor, introduced in chapter 23 (“The Silent

Towns”), willfully chooses to stay behind. She finds solace in her isolation

on deserted Mars—she can eat whatever and whenever she wants without

facing society’s criticism for being overweight. Eventually, Genevieve

meets Walter Gripp, who was left behind unintentionally. Although he

is desperately lonely, Walter cannot accept Genevieve—the last woman

on Mars—as a companion and opts instead for a life of isolation. By the

time Capt. Wilder returns in chapter 24 (“The Long Years”), Walter has

Kallstrom 8

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

become so acclimated to Mars that he refuses passage back to Earth.

Capt. Wilder encounters another forgotten colonist, former crewmember

Hathaway from the fourth expedition. Even though Hathaway cannot bear

the loneliness of his existence and creates a robotic family to keep him

company, he chooses to live in the Martian wilderness instead of in the

town built by the Earthlings. This handful of individuals represents the

very small minority of people who accept Mars for what it is.

Finally, one family rejects Earth values permanently and embraces

the Martian way of life unequivocally. They have seen the destruction

caused by letting technology get out of control in the form of atomic war

on Earth: The desolation following the Great War is depicted in Chapter

25, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” which coincides with the family’s

emigration. This family determines to shed all vestiges of Earth—its

technology, laws, and ideals—and start a new and improved civilization

on Mars. They choose an authentic ancient Martian city in which to dwell

and start their new lives. The father symbolically burns his important

papers from Earth (government documents, religious doctrines, financial

records, war propaganda, and world map) as he explains to his young sons

what went wrong with Earth:

I’m burning a way of life. . . . Life on Earth never settled

down to doing anything very good. Science ran too far

ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a

mechanical wilderness, like children making over pretty

The author con- tinues to follow

the blueprint she gave at the end of the introductory

paragraph.

Kallstrom 9

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

things, gadgets, helicopters, rockets; emphasizing the

wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to run

the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed

Earth.

. . . [T]hat way of life proved itself wrong and strangled

itself with its own hands. (Bradbury 179-80)

Their capitulation to the Martian way of life is complete when the children

ask their father when they will see real Martians, and he poignantly shows

them their own reflections in the canal.

In The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury explores the future of

mankind if it were to follow its current course of space exploration, the

development of atomic weapons, and international power struggles. His

fictional hypothesis emphasizes the destructive tendencies of humans

and warns them of the disastrous outcome that is likely to occur. He does

offer a glimmer of hope, however, suggesting that by learning to live in

harmony with the environment, effectively blending nature and science,

mankind may yet save itself.

Note how the author ends her essay with both

a short summary and her own pre- diction based on Bradbury’s work.

Kallstrom 10

Marginal annotations indicate and contentformatting

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. New York: Bantam, 1979. Print.

“History of Technology.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.

Snead, David L. “Cold War.” Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley

I. Cutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Scribner’s, 2003. N. pag. Gale

U. S. History in Context. Web. 4 Apr. 2010.

Heading centered

1. Place the first line of each entry flush to the left margin. Each line after that in the entry will be indented.

2. Do not forget to alphabetize the list of sources.

3. Double space all entries.

Format for online dictionary

Format for book.

Kallstrom 11