Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

This is our discussion of the short story....

" The Man " by Ray Bradbury

From the anthology The Illustrated Man collection by Ray Bradbury. See The Illustrated Man anthology discussion hub for more info on the anthology and pointers to discussion of its other stories.

So, what if you arrived on a planet the day after the Prophet Muhammad had just left? The spaceship's Captain is a skeptic, will not accept divinity on faith alone, heads off to waste his life searching for "proof", when with faith he could have the peace and serenity he desires right where he is. Or, he could just retire to some planet where pot is legalized.

G33z3r wrote: "So, what if you arrived on a planet the day after the Prophet Muhammad had just left? The spaceship's Captain is a skeptic, will not accept divinity on faith alone, heads off to waste his life sear..."

Interesting. With the healing of the sick and all that, I assumed Bradbury was talking about Jesus Christ. I suppose this is my white-male western-centricism rearing its ugly head again. Thank you for clearing things up. As far as the story goes, I'll give it 2 or 3 stars. It seemed a bit predictable and unsatisfying for me.

Randy wrote: "With the healing of the sick and all that, I assumed Bradbury was talking about Jesus Christ. ..."

Sure Bradbury was thinking JC, but I thought I'd take it a different direction, just because. (I also thought of Buddha.) And, yeah, i thought it was kind of Hallmark Greeting Card in its message.

Missed him by that much.

I also found myself imagining various cults developing from this... people plotting appearances by "The Man", predicting where he would be next based on sundry minutia, signs & portents, organized tour groups to where he's expected to show up next (or following where he's been from planet to planet). Also, heightened interest in astrology.

G33z3r wrote: "Sure Bradbury was thinking JC, but I thought I'd take it a different direction, just because."

I know, I was just trying to be funny. Next time I'll put a winky face ;-)

Randy wrote: "It seemed a bit predictable and unsatisfying for me. G33z3r wrote: it was kind of Hallmark Greeting Card in its message"

I was trying to think of some interesting comment to post about this story and that about sums it up.

It felt a bit smirkish by Bradbury (hehe look at the cynic captain), but it was done well enough that I admit I smirked a bit too.