"A Martian Odyssey" Rating: Five Planets
by Stanley G. Weinbaum  
pub. Wonder Stories, July 1934   
collected in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I  
Preview Background
Data 		Navigation
Guide		 Further
Exploration
Preview
Members of the first human expedition to Mars encounter the natives.

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Background Data
Atom BulletThis is Weinbaum's first published story. It can be read as a travelogue on the wonders of Mars. Casey Fredericks points out that Jarvis' journey is analogous to that of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey (30).

Atom BulletThis story is important primarily because it presents perhaps the first fully realized extraterrestrial being in literature; Tweel has a truly alien personality.

  • up to this point aliens in science fiction were either BEM's (Bug-Eyed Monsters) like the drooling, tentacled, rubbery menaces of Wells' War of the Worlds, or simply humans from other planets

The story was a strong influence on subsequent fictional portrayals of aliens.

Atom BulletThis story was also popular due to its relatively greater concern for scientific plausibility than other stories written at the time

Atom BulletStory is also possibly an exercise in wish-fulfillment:

  • Dick Jarvis is the professional chemist Weinbaum might have been
  • the girlfriend back home is a famous entertainer
  • the crystal may be a cure for cancer; Weinbaum himself died of throat cancer 18 months after the story was published.

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Navigation Guide
Atom BulletDescribe Weinbaum's Mars
Atom BulletWhat is the mission of the astronauts?

Atom BulletCharacterize the astronauts:

  • Dick Jarvis
  • Putz
  • Leroy
  • Harrison
Atom BulletDescribe Tweel
Atom BulletCharacterize Tweel
Atom BulletHow do Jarvis and Tweel communicate? How do they interrelate?

Atom BulletDescribe the other life forms on Mars.

  • crawling biopods
  • pyramid builders
  • dream beasts
  • mound builders
Atom BulletCompare Tweel with the other life forms on Mars

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Further Exploration
Atom BulletTake a closer look at the crew. Note both their international make-up and their ethnocentrism. The crew (and Tweel) are armed. Who or what did they expect to encounter on Mars?
Atom BulletNote the lack of concern about the theft of the crystal.
Atom BulletNote the Saturday matinee, tall-tale aspects of the story.
Atom BulletNote the story's underlying darkness, conservatism, and view that human endeavor is futile.
Atom BulletNote that the story stops without any discussion of formal diplomatic relations with the Martian natives. What do you think the future will be like now?

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© 2002 Agatha Taormina
Last Revised: August 30, 2006