Red Mars Themes

We're going to perform a little thought experiment, and we need your help to do it. Imagine for now that this phrase is completely true: Science is the greatest of human achievements and humanity's...

Let's pluralize this theme and make it worlds—in Red Mars we're dealing with two planets, after all. Mars and Earth form a dichotomy. That is, they oppose one another but are useful for compariso...

We're assuming Robinson has never been to Mars, but given how vividly he describes the crimson sunsets and chocolate-colored dust storms haloed in light in Red Mars, we certainly wouldn't be surpri...

Transformations happen all the time. Sometimes they are instantaneous, other times they occur slowly over millennia, but rest assured—transformation is a definitive part of life. It's perhaps the...

The transnational corporations in Red Mars are at the tippy-top of the money-chomping food chain. They take and take from both planet and people alike in obscene measures, caring only for their pro...

Rules were made for two things: following and breaking. You either keep your toe on the line or you step over it. But perhaps there is a third option: maybe rules were made for changing? That's cer...

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 surroundin...

What qualifies something as a home? We're not being smart here; honestly, what do think? Is it any place you rest your head? The walls that house your family? Is it something of your own creation?...

Identity in Red Mars is a tricky subject. Characters become very different people depending on whose perspective we view them through. Social issues such as terraforming might seem like a great ide...