The Theme Of Injustice In Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles

The Justice League In the work, Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, the theme of injustice on Mars has been reflected through the characters in the fourth expedition. Jeff Spender stands out from the beginning, as his solemn behavior opposes that of the celebratory ones of the rest of the crew. From the start, he understands the injustice of the men being on mars in the first place, and is grieved knowing what will happen to the martian civilization after humans take over. His anger towards the injustice shown in his reaction to the destruction of the martians, Biggs desecrating the land, humans taking over the planet, and his discovery of martian lifestyle. Unlike everyone else, Spender does not want to destroy the planet and remake it, …show more content…
They discover that the martian race was taken out by chicken pox. Spender becomes angered by this injustice saying, “”. He found it unfair that a civilization as advanced as the martians, were destroyed by a disease so simple. A disease that was brought by humans in the first place! Humans didn’t just attempt to take over and destroy the martian ruins and make it earth-like, they unintentionally destroyed the martian life as well. Following that, there’s a celebration held by the crew, led by a man named Biggs. Intoxicated, Biggs drops empty bottles into the martian canal, naming it after himself. At the sight of this, Spender punches him and tells the captain, “”. Not only was Biggs destroying the land, he was naming it after himself. This event could be seen as foreshadowing of the destruction about to occur on mars. It also references a part in the novel where the humans name a hill after Spender, a moment that is clearly ironic because of the abhorrence Spender felt at the thought of humans renaming the land. Spender has a strong sense of empathy for the lost martian race and continues to stand up against the wrongdoings of the