Ray Bradbury’s science-fiction short story “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” is situated on Mars after a nuclear war on Earth obliterates the planet and forces its people to seek refuge elsewhere. The story itself revolves around the nature versus nurture concept and the challenges that come with adapting to a foreign environment. Bradbury brilliantly showcases the difficulties of abandoning a known way of life and the struggles endured throughout the Bittering’s journey to assimilation on Mars.
For this assignment, students were to work in groups of two or individually and find quotes that appropriately fit thirteen literary short story elements. From there, each term was to be explained and then shown how it relates to the quote from the story. Finally, students were to take a photo to represent each quote and explanation. The completed project was then to be posted onto Edublogs.
Exposition
“THE rocket’s metal cooled in the meadow winds. Its lid gave a
bulging pop. From its clock interior stepped a man, a woman, and
three children. The other passengers whispered away across the
Martian meadow, leaving the man alone among his family” (Bradbury 1).
The exposition of the story allows readers to gain insight regarding background information necessary to comprehend the main ideas. It also allows the audience to be introduced to the characters and the setting, which gives them a better understanding as to what may arise throughout the story. Readers can infer that the introduction to this story was somewhat shocking and nerve-wracking for the family, due to their reactions as they exited the rocket.
Rising Action Example #1
“’Mother, Father – the war, Earth!’ she sobbed. ‘A radio flash just came. Atom bombs hit New York! All the space rockets blown up. No more rockets to Mars, ever!’” (Bradbury 3).
Rising action allows for the readers to become intrigued with the main plot of the story. It is most often the part of the story where the initial conflict is introduced to the characters and their audience. One can interpret the emotion felt by Laura Bittering because of the tone in her voice and her actions following her speech. It is evident to readers that this event is a crucial element to the plot and essentially kick-starts the story.
Rising Action Example #2
“’Onions but not onions, carrots but not carrots. Taste the same but different. Smell: not like it used to be… They stood in the shed and looked at their one cow. It was growing a third horn’” (Bradbury 5).
This realization is yet another essential piece in the plot of story. The Bittering family slowly begins to recognize that their belongings and resources they brought with them from home have started to take alien-like characteristics. It is difficult for the family to completely comprehend what is going, which makes it considerably tough for them to accept this reality full of adjustments. An event like so also captivates the interest of the readers, which keeps them wondering what may happen next.
Climax
“His wife, lying beside him, was dark from many sunny afternoons. Dark she was, and golden, burnt almost black by the sun, sleeping, and the children metallic in their beds” (Bradbury 6).
The climax is the element of the story that all the rising action components and preceding events lead up to; it is the highest point of the plot. Following the peak in the story, the events slowly start to wrap up and come to the conclusion. Harry Bittering is finally realizing that the more time that is spent on Mars, the more him and his family are physically and emotionally becoming Martians. This was the turning point for Mr. Bittering as he recognizes that his family is legitimately developing into aliens. This realization is the most significant piece in the story, since the family has started to assimilate to the Martian way of life.
Falling Action
”He saw their skin baking brown. And he saw the yellow eyes of his wife and his children, their eyes that were never yellow before. A few tremblings shook him, but were carried off in waves of pleasant heat as he lay in the sun. He was too tired to be afraid” (Bradbury 8).
Falling action is the element of the story where the events after the climax begin to tie the story together, prepping for the conclusion and allowing readers to decipher the ending type. Harry is finally beginning to accept the fate of himself and his family members who are all morphing into real-life aliens. Despite him working relentlessly to try and prevent these changes from taking happening, the odds of saving his family from the inevitable were slim to none. Harry’s acceptance of reality gave him and readers a sense that the story would soon be coming to a close.
Denouement (conclusion)
“Five years later, a rocket fell out of the sky. It lay steaming in the valley… But the American-built town of cottages, peach trees, and theatres was silent. They found a half-finished rocket frame, rusting in an empty shop. The rocket men searched the hills. The captain established head-quarters in an abandoned bar” (Bradbury 11).
The denouement is the concluding element of a short story. This is this point in the storyline where the plot is resolved and the ending type is revealed. The Bittering family had finally accepted their new reality on Mars for what it was; they had settled down comfortably in the Martian village and made it their new home. When the earth men arrived on mars after the war was concluded, they came searching for the families that had sought refuge on Mars during the catastrophes back home. However, they were unsuccessful in finding those people as they had fled the original town. Readers are left in a state of uncertainty as to how the plot winds up since the story cut short before the audience fully understands what happened.
Physical Setting
“The nights were full of wind that blew down the empty moonlit sea-meadows past the little white chess cities lying for their twelve-thousandth year in the shallows” (Bradbury 6).
The physical setting describes where the story is situated based off of the time period, location, or the environment. This element of a short story is crucial for a profound understanding of the characters and the story itself. From the descriptors used to illustrate the Martian towns, readers can infer that Mars is a very desolate and isolated place. This complicates matters for the family and affects their psychological state in a negative way, as they are secluded from society and any kind of social interaction.
Emotional Setting
‘I feel like a salt crystal,’ he often said, ‘in a mountain stream, being washed away. We don’t belong here. We’re Earth people. This is Mars” (Bradbury 2).
The emotional setting introduces the audience to the atmosphere and mood of the story. It gives the audience insight as to how the characters are feeling psychologically, which allows one to have a greater emotional connection with them. Readers get the feeling that as immigrants seeking refuge on a new planet, the family feels as though they don’t belong and that they are outcasts to their new society. It is evident to the Bittering’s themselves that they clearly do not fit in with the extraterrestrial lifestyle and that there is an overall sense of isolation from the rest of Mars.
Conflict Type
“Alone, thought Bittering. Only a thousand of us here. No way back. No way. No way” (Bradbury 3).
Conflict creates interest for the readers throughout the story. It is the literary element that showcases the difficulties faced by a character with an opposing force, which can be an internal or external struggle. This story demonstrates an external conflict type that one would often refer to as person vs environment. Due to the lack of resources and supplies on Mars, Harry Bittering is unable to successfully construct a rocket to take them back to Earth. One may also realize that the Earth itself is currently in a state of disaster with the nuclear war taking place, which would then affects those seeking to travel back home, as the planet is not stable enough to safely house the population.
Ending type
“The captain looked at the room, the dusty windows, the blue mountains rising beyond, the canals moving in the light, and he heard the soft wind in the air. He shivered. Then, recovering, he tapped a large fresh map he had thumb-tacked to the top of an empty table” (Bradbury 12).
Ending types are dependent on how the author chooses the story to end. The results can range from expository happy, all the way to a surprise or plot twist. When the men arrived from Earth, essentially nothing vital to the story took place. The ending type is unresolved because rescuers showed up and readers were left unsure of what had happened to them. The conclusion itself was able to keep the audience intrigued until the very last part of the story; It allowed curiosity to take over while provoking ideas in the readers’ minds as to what may have have occurred post-story.
Irony
“Mr Bittering felt very alone in his garden under the Martian sun, bent here, planting Earth flowers in a wild soil. Think. Keep thinking. Different things. Keep your mind free of Earth, the atom war, the lost rockets” (Bradbury 4).
Irony can be described as expectations versus reality. Dramatic irony is used throughout the course of this story, as the audience knows more about what will happen to the family than the characters themselves do. Readers know this because they can see the changes that are taking place in regard to characters’ physical and emotional appearance, their resources and food sources, and virtually how the family is adapting to their environment. Despite Harry Bittering starting to notice that there really is no turning back, for the majority of the story, he was unaware that him and his family would soon morph into Martians due to their surroundings.
Suspense
“His wife took him aside a few days later. ‘Harry, I’ve used up all the food in the deep-freeze. There’s nothing left. I’ll have to make sandwiches using food grown on Mars’” (Bradbury 7).
Suspense is a literary tool used by authors to keep their audience captivated. It entertains readers as there is a large component of uncertainty that causes a great deal of apprehension as to what may happen next. Readers have a lofty view point throughout the course of this story so therefore, they can predict and have a good sense of what may be to come in terms of complications and dilemmas to the plot. As for the characters themselves, they are unaware of any problems that may occur and that they are truly changing into aliens. In addition, this story features a lot of seemingly unimportant issues that when added together, they amplify the overall conflict and worsen it for the characters.
Characterization
“The fear would not be stopped. It had his throat and heart. It dripped in a wetness of the arm and the temple and the trembling palm” (Bradbury 7).
Characterization is used to demonstrate various traits and attributes of a character within a short story. It gives readers the opportunity to make stronger connections with characters, while comprehending their situation and what they are experiencing emotionally. As seen throughout the story, Mr. Bittering is very apprehensive individual; he is often concerned and fearful of what is to come for the members of his family, as well as for himself, as to what the future holds for them. He tried to do whatever possible to eliminate any possible chance of something going wrong. Harry often tried to control his anxiety towards any issues, but he struggled often due to the fact he did not have anyone he could confide in or someone that could sympathize with what he was dealing with on a daily basis.
