The Martian Chronicles Lesson Plan

Who is Tom? Is he a Martian? Is he real? Is he a hallucination? Based on what you've read about Martians earlier, what is Tom and how does he manifest as so many different deceased relatives of the humans on Mars?

How does the quote from Tom: "If you can't have the reality, a dream is just as good. . . . Perhaps I'm not their dead one back, but I'm something almost better to them: an ideal shaped by their minds."

Student answers will vary, but they should apply what they've read about Martians previously to suggest that Tom may be a hallucination created from the minds of the humans; he may be created telepathically; he may be an immaterial being that takes on material...