The Revolution
The novel commences with metaphor. The opening lines (not including the letter which constitutes the Prologue) is a metaphor for the Russian Revolution of 1905. That is not the more famous on which would not occur for another dozen years, but it set the stage for that which was to come.
"It was early in that great upheaval which continues to shake our country which, I think, is not approaching its inevitable, fateful conclusion."
The End
Near the end of the story, the author presents a portrait of the consequences of effects which the narrative has led to. It is an demonstrable exhibition of the writer’s talent for imagery which he necessarily sublimates to the forces of plot for most of the text.
"It was as if the hot summer sun melted the ice that had lain like a shroud over the life of the country."
Soviet Sci-Fi
The Soviet Union has yet to be established when the novel was written, but the dream was in the air. One particular metaphorical description situates with efficiency that this is, indeed, a communist science fiction novel:
“Earth shone far off in the distance like a giant sickle.”
Soviet Subtext
The Martians practice a sophisticated system of blood transfusion as a means not just maintaining health, but of extending the life span. As with so much of Martian life, this process is allegorized into metaphor rich with communist subtext.
“Quite in keeping with the nature of our entire system, our regular comradely exchanges of life extend beyond the ideological dimension into the physiological one."
Red Connections
Metaphor is also engaged to make connections between the Reds who call Mars home and the Reds intent on a creating a Bolshevik utopia. The parallel is consistently drawn; some more starkly than others.
"That is not the road our Earthly brothers have traveled. Their path is a thorny one, full of twists and turns.”
