| Illustrated Man offers several themes within one loosely connected plot or idea. The young man who is walking through the Mid-west has encountered a fantastically illustrated former carnival worker. For the past 50 years the IM has looked for a witch from the future from whom he has received his body art. The illustrations have brought him only loneliness, ridicule, and terror over the years.
That being said, the illustrations come to life as the night passes and they camp outside of a small Wisconsin town. The young man can not resist witnessing the stories that unfold. Themes presented include machines and man's loss of control because of them; nuclear devastation; human nature at its weakest; human nature at its best; aliens, space & the planets; and even a few memorable moments for personal reflection and spiiritual consideration.
This book represents what Mr. Bradbury has mastered over the years. That is, his artistry in arranging stories from previous publications to form (or work within) a more significant over-riding concept or framework. (IE: Green Shadows White Whale, From the Dust Returned, Martian Chronicles, & Ill. Man)
One theme (for example) - "Machinery vs. man" - might be discussed in The Veldt, The City, Marionettes, Inc.
You may find a few other "themes" in your own interpretations as you encounter them at different readings. The greatest aspect of the stories as they work together (most written around 1950 or earlier) is the view Mr. Bradbury's offered of a "future" we are now living.
Even today, it seems his stories continue to unfold or reveal. Just like the Illustrated Man!
[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 03-01-2002).] |
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Michelle