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death is a lonely business and martian chronicles

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10 May 2003, 02:45 PM
snowfreak786
death is a lonely business and martian chronicles
hey, i have an SAP (selected author project) to write for school. and what i have to do is read two books by an author (i choose bradbury) and then create a generalization about the two novels. Well i read Death is a Lonely Buisness and Martian Chronicles and im trying to connect them through Bradbury's message of the dangers of being lonely. If anybody can help me out with that or has another idea, i would greatly apreciate it. Thank you
10 May 2003, 06:38 PM
douglasSP
This is a wild goose chase. Neither book has anything to do with the fear of being lonely. Why not take The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451 and examine Bradbury's attitude to technology and scientific progress?
10 May 2003, 08:33 PM
snowfreak786
too late to change
10 May 2003, 09:21 PM
lmskipper
I do see some lonely characters in "M. Chronicles," such as Ylla, the Martian in the chapter of the same name, Elma Parkhill, and perhaps Spender, but I don't see this as a major theme for this novel. But maybe you can make more out of it than I am seeing. Best of luck to you, and congratulations on your choice of author.
10 May 2003, 10:12 PM
Richard
Like the others who responded earlier, I don't see a lot of similarities in the two books. However, one theme you might think of about is the passing of one era or way of life to the next. The Martian society crumbles and dies as a result of man's colonization of Mars in THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. In DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, Ray Bradbury writes about a post-World War II Venice, California, which is literally crumbling around him as a new Los Angeles begins to be built...the amusement park is being torn down, the local theater has only one word on the marquee: GOODBYE. Sorry, but that's the best I can think of. Good luck on your assignment. (Why didn't I have the chance at such assignments when I was in school decades ago? I think I am making up for it vicariously on this message board!)
10 May 2003, 10:42 PM
snowfreak786
ok thanks to all, i think i will look into the idea about the passing of an era.
11 May 2003, 03:50 AM
dandelion
To me, both concern a lonely feeling evoked by the atmosphere of certain places. That isn't the plot, but it's certainly the mood.
11 May 2003, 11:59 AM
snowfreak786
good point, so i could focus on the tone of the novels and how they evoke loneliness through setting and atmosphere.
11 May 2003, 12:07 PM
Green Shadow
Sounds good, but, on the character side, Walter Gripp and Genevieve in MC are the epitome of loneliness.
11 May 2003, 12:25 PM
snowfreak786
i dont have to focus on the whole book, i can just use the parts i need
11 May 2003, 10:45 PM
snowfreak786
alrite, well for now, or for my rough draft atleast this is my thesis paragraph:

In Ray Bradbury's novels, The Martian Chronicles and Death is a Lonely Business, lonesome characters are brought to their death through their seeking acceptance or love from their society. In Martian Chronicles, several sub-plots involve characters who strive to be apart of their society but are ultimately brought to their doom. In Death is a Lonely Business, phony psychiatrist A. L. Shrank murders numerous characters by simply indulging their need to fit in. Bradbury skillfully uses of characters to portray the damnation of the common need for every human to belong and be loved.

i know its a stretch for MC but i will do my best to do mr. bradbury justice.