My "The Million-Year Picnic"* Interpretation

*From The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury         

           “Boom!” an ear-splitting bang broke the calm caused by the boat motor’s low drone, as a giant red fireball engulfed the deep purple Martian sky. “Hide!” Dad yelled.  You see, in the Million-Year Picnic by Ray Bradbury, William Thomas, Dad, knows that the only way to save his family from global annihilation is to flee Earth and go to Mars.  When the family decides to begin a new life as residents of Mars, they are in fact Martians!

When Dad takes his family on a “fishing trip” to Mars he is taking the first step towards his family becoming Martians.  Although excited for the fishing trip, Timothy wonders, “Why go so far for vacation?”.  ‘They had come millions of miles for this outing- to fish.  But there had been a gun on the rocket.  This was a vacation.  But why all the food, more than enough to last them years and years, left hidden back there near the rocket?’ (Page 175)  Timothy begins to figure out that maybe it’s not just a vacation; maybe it’s something more.  He is right.

Dad explains to the family that they left Earth to avoid annihilation and to start a new life on Mars.  They’re going to leave all their old ways behind, just like those dwindling remains of Earth in the fire.  ‘ “I’m burning a way of life, just like that way of life is being burned clean of earth right now.” ’ (Page 179) Dad wants to show the family a new way of life by burning their memoirs from earth.  Now their new home is Mars.

The family eventually realizes that they are the Martians.  Dad takes them down to the canal and they see, ‘The Martians were there - in the canal - reflected in the water.  Timothy and Michael and Robert and Mom and Dad.  The Martians stared back up at them for a long, long silent time from the rippling water.’ (Page 180) This means that the family is finally realizing that they are the Martians and Earth is no longer an option.

If Dad had kept his family on Earth they would not have survived, so he had to move his family to Mars in order to survive.  Because they moved to Mars, they become Martians.  The bigger message of the Million-Year Picnic is that we can’t keep fighting wars, or we’ll kill out our species.  As Bradbury writes, ‘strangle ourselves with our own hands.’