Ignorance In The Martian Chronicles By Ray Bradbury

In The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, the most overarching theme portrayed is that there is danger in ignorance. Bradbury demonstrates this theme in his use of characters like Mr. Xxx, Spender, and Captain Wilder. The characters all have a veiled view of their reality which they are lead to believe things that are not morally right. The actions taken by these characters shows the passions of humanity in its simplest form. Bradbury also makes hidden references to actual events that perpetrated the same ignorance.
The first character to demonstrate ignorance is Mr. Xxx. Mr. Xxx misinterprets that the humans were not Martians. He believes that they were merely insane. Bradbury shows this when he wrote, “Yes. If hallucinations can appear this ‘real’ to us, to anyone, if hallucinations are catching and almost believable, it’s no wonder they mistook us for us for psychotics.” (Bradbury 27). Mr. Xxx does what he thinks is right. This is apparent in the quote, “Only one cure. Only one way to make them go away, vanish. A shot rang out. Mr. Xxx fell. ” (Bradbury 30). Mr. Xxx demonstrates the dangers of ignorance in the way he refuses to see reality and it costs him his life.
The next character to exhibit ignorance is that of Spender. Spender disagrees with

Captain Wilder misunderstands what it would be like to be lonely. This shows in the quote, “How would it be, he wondered, to live on a planet with a wife and three children and have them die, leaving you alone with the wind and silence?” (Bradbury 165). Captain Wilder realizes that Hawthorn’s family, even though they are androids, relieves his loneliness. This is present in the quote, “There’ll never be anything as fine as them again. They’re built to last; ten, fifty, two hundred years. Yes, they’ve as much right to- to life as you or I or any of us.” (Bradbury 165). Captain Wilder illustrates the perils of misunderstanding the emotions of