How we cite our quotes: ("Story Name," Paragraph)
Quote #1
Around the rocket in four directions spread the little town, green and motionless in the Martian spring. There were white houses and red brick ones, and tall elm trees blowing in the wind, and tall maples and horse chestnuts. And church steeples with golden bells silent in them. ("The Third Expedition," 7)
One of the most mysterious stories is "The Third Expedition," which shows us an Earth-like town on Mars before there are any humans living there. (We know this, but the characters in the story don't. This sets up some dramatic irony—which is when we know something the characters don't.) So this looks like home, but it's actually the farthest thing from home you can imagine. As Herr Sigmund Freud might say, it's unheimlich.
Quote #2
In spite of himself, Captain John Black felt a great peace come over him. ("The Third Expedition," 60)
When we first read this story, we don't know that this is a trap. But there's still something a little menacing in the fact that Captain Black feels peace "in spite of himself." Hint: if you're on an alien planet, it's probably a good idea to stay just a little on edge.
Quote #3
"Anything that's strange is no good to the average American." ("—And the Moon Be Still as Bright," 219)
Spender makes a connection between home and foreignness here: when you're at home, nothing is strange to you. But is this true of all the characters? Do they all just want to feel at home and comfortable, surrounded by familiar things?
Quote #4
"I'd like to live here," he said. ("—And the Moon Be Still as Bright," 251)
This is Wilder's conclusion after listening to Spender talk about Mars. So... why can't he? Why can't he call Mars home at this moment? (Or ever, really—at the end of the book he comes back to Mars just to look around before returning to Earth.)
Quote #5
He remembered his arrival on Mars. Like a thousand others, he had gazed out upon a still morning and thought, How do I fit here? What will I do? Is there a job for me? ("The Green Morning," 8)
Driscoll can't get by on Mars's limited oxygen. So, he makes home where he is, planting trees. In other words, he changes the land to be more like home rather than adapting to a new home.
Quote #6
And they looked again, together, and on both sides of the comfortable dark house and behind, it was scenery that was not Earth scenery. The soil was a strange color of violet, and the grass was the faintest bit red, and the sky glowed like a gray diamond, and a strange crooked tree grew to one side, looking like an old woman with crystals in her white hair. ("The Wilderness," 51)
Will has lured Janice up to Mars with the promise of a house just like her house on Earth. But just beyond that "comfortable dark house" is a totally foreign landscape. Hm. We're not sure if this is going to work out.
Quote #7
"It's a funny thing, Father, but yes, I think we'll all go back. I know, we came up here to get away from things—politics, the atom bomb, war, pressure groups, prejudice, laws—I know. But it's still home there." ("The Luggage Store," 13)
Hey, it may be racist, violent, and about to explode in a mushroom cloud, but it's still home. If we were armchair psychologists, we might call this an abusive relationship—but it shows how powerful the lure of the familiar is.
Quote #8
AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT ATOMIZED IN PREMATURE EXPLOSION OF ATOMIC STOCKPILE. LOS ANGELES, LONDON BOMBED. WAR. COME HOME. COME HOME. COME HOME. ("The Watchers," 15)
This is the Earth's message to the people on Mars during the war. There are a couple things to say about this message. First, notice that there's no clear reason why the people should go back to Earth—the message doesn't say "come home to help in the war effort." Second, that's a lot of repetition—and the phrase "come home" gets repeated five more times in the chapter. Third, notice that they say "come home" instead of "come back," so it really emphasizes the fact that these new settlers (and the people they left behind) haven't moved on. And finally, notice that the message seems to be sent from all the Earth to all the people on Mars—it's a very general sense of the word "home."
Quote #9
"And to my wife and children, without whom I couldn't have survived alone. It is only through their kindness in caring for me that I've lived on, waiting for your arrival." ("The Long Years," 116)
Left alone on Mars, Hathaway builds himself a robot family to replace his real one. They might help the place feel a little more like home, but it isn't quite home-like enough to make Hathaway relax. It's missing something. You know, like living people.
Quote #10
"Here we are. This is ours. This is where we live from now on!" ("The Million-Year Picnic," 82)
For Timothy's dad, making Mars home starts with a simple declaration: "This is where we live." This is the final story in the book, and we really want things to work out for Timothy and his family, but everything that's come before in the book suggests that it's not that easy to make a new home. Still, fingers crossed!