Ray Bradbury: Short Stories Lesson Plan

How does “Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed” present two very different ways to live? Is the story a criticism of how we live on Earth? What’s the alternative?

Harry Bittering embraces Earth’s lifestyle—and as a result he’s uptight (he wears a tie while gardening), anxious, lonely, and fearful (“Bittering wandered into the garden to stand alone in his fear”). To escape from these negative emotions, he throws himself into his work (“Work, he thought, work and forget”). Earth is industrial—and Bittering mirrors Earth’s industry by building a rocket. Ray Bradbury seems to be saying that Bittering’s way of thinking and living is what led to Earth’s disaster in the story. Martian...