The Martian Chronicles Memory and the Past Quotes

How we cite our quotes: ("Story Name," Paragraph)

Quote #7

"This isn't your ship," said the vision. "It's old as our world. It sailed the sand seas ten thousand years ago when the seas were whispered away and the docks were empty, and you came and took it, stole it." ("The Off Season," 86)

No wonder Martian culture seems old and a little stagnant: they're surrounded by 10,000 years of history. History is great, sure. But if you can't walk without tripping over a castle (or a sand ship), then maybe it's time to be a little more selective.

Quote #8

Space was an anesthetic; seventy million miles of space numbed you, put memory to sleep, depopulated Earth, erased the past, and allowed these people here to go on with their work. But now, tonight, the dead were risen, Earth was reinhabited, memory awoke, a million names were spoken... ("The Watchers," 1)

When you go to Mars, memory goes "to sleep," but when there's a war coming, "memory [awakes]." This is weird, because it makes memory sound like something outside of the individual—like, we can't actually control our memories. It's all just based on circumstance.

Quote #9

"Do you remember Spender, Captain?" "I've never forgotten him." ("The Long Years," 58-59)

But we have. Zing! Since these stories constantly introduce new characters (and since they were originally published months or years apart), Bradbury has to work to make sure we remember some of the older ones. What's cool about this, though, is that it emphasizes the scope of the story Bradbury's telling.