We're going to explore how Red Mars shows humans interacting with each other, and we're designating this theme as the large-scale version of this interaction. There are so many questions surrounding the idea of community on Mars that you could probably fill a rocket with them (you know, if questions were things you could fill rockets with). How do communities interact with each other? How do you tell one community from another? How can the individual change the community? How can the community change the individual? We could go on, but perhaps we'll let you take it from here. See you at the next theme.
Questions About Community
- Do you see communities that seem permanent or unalterable in the novel? If so, describe the community and how its unchanging ways are important to the novel thematically. If not, why do you think having no permanent communities is important to our understanding of this theme?
- Are there any characters that exist as Martian Lone Rangers? That is, do you think any character lives and operates outside of a community? If yes, who is it and how do they fit into this theme? If not, why not?
- Why do you think the novel shows so little of Earth's communities? What purpose does this serve the novel, particularly regarding this theme?