Genre
Science Fiction, Novel.
Setting and Context
The setting of the story is Mars during the 20th century and the story has been written in the context of the benefits of Communism.
Narrator and Point of View
The story has been narrated from first person's point of view and the narration shifts from one character to another.
Tone and Mood
Pensive, Ironical, fictional, Chaotic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Leonid, who was a Bolshevik. He embarks on a journey to Mars in order to understand the cultural differences and to experience life in other worlds. The Martians are the antagonists in the story as they plan to kill the humans for making space for the Martians.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story is between humans and Martians.
Climax
The climax in the story comes when Leonid reaches Mars.
Foreshadowing
There is a foreshadowing of clime change in the novel. The author states, “Only seventy years ago, when our coal reserves were exhausted and the transition to hydroelectric power was still far from complete, we were forced to destroy a considerable portion of our beloved forests in order to give us time to redesign our machines. This disfigured the planet and worsened our climate for decades.”
Understatement
Through portraying the life on Mars, the author has understated several problems of human society. The author has understated the effect of human activities on environment, the need for neutrality of gender and the problem of overpopulation on earth.
Allusions
There are allusions to Communism, proletariat, labour, working class, earthlings, Martians, murder, gender neutrality, death, murder, mental illness and aliens.
Imagery
There are images of murder, journey, Communist system, Martian way of life and experiments.
Paradox
The paradox in the story is that the Martians were planning to colonize earth in order to overcome the problem of overpopulation on Mars. It is paradoxical as earth is also over populated and humans are searching for signs of life on other planets.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Martian way of life and the life on earth. Another parallel has been drawn between humans and Martians.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
An example of metonymy is Netti, who stands for Martians and an example of synecdoche is neutrality of gender which has been demonstrated through the character of Netti. Leonid takes her as a male because there was no specific gender distinctions on Mars.
Personification
Communism has been personified in the book.
