I could cry when i read this nugget of a tale, to see before me a description of something so alien yet so natural, to want to be there shaping and moulding into something else, something beautiful...isn't that a secret dream of ever man, woman and child....i am enraptured by the characters and the softening of human resolve, definitely one of my favourites...anyone else ?

Cool story, don't know why it didn't appear in "The Martian Chronicles" with the others, as it certainly fits in with and compliments the other stories in the collection comprising that novel.

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 04-03-2003).]

This is a great story.

There is a positive way to view the story, which is that it speaks to the evolution of man (not Darwinian, necessarily, just the capacity for change). Man's capability to change is what gives him hope for the future. As the environment changes, we adapt and continue to exist.

Mr. Bitterling, however, represents the fear of change that many of us have. While the change in this story looks innocuous enough (they all end up happy -- at least we are led to believe they are happy), something sinister has occured. The original "they" are no longer in existence. The fact that they are happy doesn't necessarily mean there is no loss in the cessation of a truly human species among them.

This is what causes us to fear change. While this story, of course, talks about homo sapiens turning into martian sapiens (or something), change also occurs in our societies, in our educational theories, in our religious beliefs and practices, etc. These changes are frightening, as they mean that what once existed goes out of existence, and something new comes in. When change can incorporate the old and new, change is less unsettling. But when it must excise and destroy the old in order to sustain the new; we actually do lose the old.

These people were not earthlings anymore. Is that good or bad? Or is it both? While this story shows the change (after Bitterling's initial fear) as being pretty painless, most significant change is not painless.

But, whether painless or not, change is inevitable, and we had better learn to go with the flow or we'll be unhappy and unadaptable.

As far as the flow of the story goes, I am impressed at how smoothly the story transitions these beings. When they are fully human, they go swimming in the canals, and at the end, they run down to the canals for a dip as full-fledged Martians. The story is so seamless and flows so well, the change is almost undetectable.


[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 04-04-2003).]

I think it's also worth pointing out that when "man" lands on the planet, he thinks it is HE that will change Mars (renaming the mountains, replanting the landscape etc.) but it is MARS that changes man.

You might even say Mars is putting us in our place. Our hubris is easier to recognize by the end of the story, when the new arrivals plan to name landmarks after each other. If only they knew...

I'm dead chuffed that such intelligent people have chosen to reply ! Apologies for the delay .....Mr. Dark, do you think that loss is a negative thing ?

Liz,

"Dead chuffed?" Man, I love the English.

Pete Terranova
Oklahoma City

"Mr. Dark, do you think that loss is a negative thing ?"

Well, that's a big question. I think sometimes it is a negative thing, but I think most of the time it is just the way life goes.

My favorite quote on this (other than some of the writings in Buddhism and Taoism on change/flux) is in the following paragraph (from a book I really enjoyed called, "Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Timeless Wisdom From the Science of Change." by John Briggs and F. David Peat):

"At one time or another, we've all felt our lives were out of control and heading toward chaos. For us, science has striking news. Our lives are already in chaos -- and not just occasionally, but all of the time. What's more, the new science suggests, an individual and collective understanding of chaos may dramatically change our lives. Although we humans tend to abhor chaos and avoid it whenever possible, nature uses chaos in remarkable ways to create new entities, shape events, and hold the Universe together."

In, "Dark they were...", the reality is that there is a loss of the human species as it changes into a new form. That loss is real. And loss is frightening. But, I find that I am least happy in life when I try to cling to a fixed reality that may be, at best, an artificial construct. Loss is a necessary side of change, and I think change is what allows for growth.

Is all this change/loss pleasant? No. Is some of loss a negative? Yes. I've been through a divorce, layoff, some sicknesses. None of them pleasant. There is some loss in each event. Loss of love, loss of a sense of security, loss of the ability to trust that the body will always do what you want it to do, etc. But at the end of each loss, there is (or can be, unless bitterness creeps in), room for new kinds of experiences, new relationships, new perspectives, a new focus and direction in life. I think at PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) seminars, this idea is over-simplified. I believe there is real pain and fear in the loss of things viewed to be fundamental to us. To deny that loss is to deny the reality of our lives. On the other hand, to not accept loss and change and seek new things and directions is to doom oneself to unhappiness and a dull, unrewarding, statis.

I think this unwillingness to change causes more problems than what it tries to fix. Emerson spoke frequently about religion needing to be alive and open to new truth, or it becomes stale, shallow and irrelevent. How many businesses have failed because they have been unable to adapt to new market realities? How many marriages/relationships have failed because one partner could not accept the changes occuring in another partner as they try to make life meaningful to them.

On the other hand, there is a certain comfort and perceived safety in stability.

As in most things, I think the answer is in finding a balance between accepting change and the losses that inevitably co-occur or follow, and in seeking and holding to stable principles and persons that give us a tether to keep us connected to things that can give some security.

In regard to "loss," Bradbury uses this as a main theme in many of his works. I am thinking of the loss of childhood and childhood things in Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked this was comes. It is present in The Other Foot as one man loses racial hatred and gains personal insight. In the Revine, we eventually replace our chilhood fears as we confront them and move on. Bradbury skillfully uses this as a vehicle to show us our humanity.