Short Story 'Way In The Middle Of The Air'

Words: 591
Pages: 3

1. Do you think the author would describe life on Mars differently if the book was written in 21st century?

Yes, the author would describe life on Mars differently from a 21st century point of view. One thing that would be different in the books is the story “Way In The Middle Of The Air” because the type of racism that existed in the 1950’s is not the same as today. Another aspect that would be different in the books is that in the books many people were coming to Mars to escape from the nuclear war they believe was going to occur. If the books was written now people wouldn’t be seeking asylum in Mars because of a nuclear war.

2.How does distrust play a large role between the stories?

Distrust plays a large role in many of the stories and is the reason in some of the stories that the martian and human do not get along. In “The Earth Men” the distrust between the martian and the humans is so large that the martian kills himself and the four astronauts because he cannot believe they exist. Another story that displays distrust is “The Third Expedition” because the Martian do not trust the human to the point where they kill all the astronauts that came to their planet.
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Why did the author choose to split the book into short stories rather than one large story? The author choose to split the book into many short stories, to show the different point of views of all the different character. The author also uses it to show different reactions and approaches to living on Mars. The author couldn’t show everyone point of view in one story because everyone had different point of views to the array of problems faced in the story.

4. What could Mars symbolism in the