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Ray BradburyA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Story Summaries & Analyses
“January 1999: Rocket Summer”
“February 1999: Ylla”
“August 1999: The Summer Night”
“August 1999: The Earth Men”
“March 2000: The Taxpayer”
“April 2000: The Third Expedition”
“June 2001: —And the Moon Be Still as Bright”
“August 2001: The Settlers”
“December 2001: The Green Morning”
“February 2002: The Locusts”
“August 2002: Night Meeting”
“October 2002: The Shore”
“February 2003: Interim”
“April 2003: The Musicians”
“June 2003: Way in the Middle Air”
“2004-2005: The Naming of Names”
“April 2005: Usher II”
“August 2005: The Old Ones”
“September 2005: The Martian”
“November 2005: The Luggage Store”
“November 2005: The Off Season”
“November 2005: The Watchers”
“December 2005: The Silent Towns”
“April 2026: The Long Years”
“August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”
“October 2026: The Million-Year Picnic”
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
On his way to a party in Mars’s blue hills, Tomás Gomez stops for gas at a lonely service station and speaks with the man behind the counter, who he calls Pop. Pop claims he came to Mars because every aspect of it is different from Earth, suggesting that even time acts differently on Mars. He criticizes the attempts to recreate Earth on Mars. Pops believes that people shouldn’t ask Mars “to be nothing else but what it is” (105), and Gomez agrees. Happy after the interaction, Gomez sets out on the night road.
Gomez next stops in an abandoned Martian town, noting, “there was a smell of Time in the air” (105). He considers the Martian ruins perfect, and another mile down the road spends a contemplative moment surveying the landscape with happiness. To his surprise, a Martian operating an insect-like vehicle appears, and the two warmly greet one another. The Martian introduces himself as Muhe Ca.
When they attempt to exchange items, Gomez and Muhe discover that they are on different physical planes, and each assumes the other is a ghost. Despite this, they are on similar trajectories. Each hopes to attend a party and flirt with women.
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By Ray Bradbury