| Upon the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, Ray Bradbury quickly emerged as the nation's leading science fiction writer. Bradbury's novel figured among the most prominent tales of Mars---eclipsing even the highly popular Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who first popularized the Mars adventure novel with the appearance of A Princess of Mars in 1912.;While many critics praised The Martian Chronicles for its inventiveness, its acute treatment of social injustices, and its lyrical prose, other critics were quick with complaints. Prime among these was a plangent criticism of Bradbury's attitude toward science and technology: critics alleged that the author promoted a pessimistic view of science and technology, one fraught with an abiding philosophy of futility. This thesis scrutinizes this claim by critics and examines the novel's use of nostalgia to show how Bradbury's views on science and technology are far more complex than critics allow. |
