Dawn
ENGL 3850-02N
Dr. Coats

February 20, 1997

A question one may ask when reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars for the first time is: How the heck did a confederate officer get to Mars? Of course, it takes two seconds of reading to get an answer: Who cares? This novel depicts a Mars that only E.R.B- an imaginative genius- could have envisioned. Complete with green Martian men, a princess, and of course, a dashing hero who saves the day over and over again, this is a story that leaves one begging for more. A Princess of Mars is an adventure that through the use of several science fiction elements takes one for an unforgettable, wild ride on that mysterious red planet called Mars.

The first and most obvious element is science and technology. There are endless examples of both science and technology. On this version of Mars, there are two rays, undiscovered by earth: a solar eighth ray, which allows for perfect aviation of the heaviest ships (121), and a ninth which powers the atmosphere factory (112). Martian weaponry includes what John Carter calls a "rifle", which shoots radium projectiles up to 200 miles (24-25)! In fact, Martian life hinges on the atmosphere factory. This becomes the downfall for the Martians in the last chapter of the book: "I do not need to tell you what this means to Barsoom. . . . The instruments show a rapidly decreasing air pressure on all parts of Barsoom - the engine has stopped." Though greatly advanced, these Martians are still very vulnerable and can be killed, which is a common theme in science fiction. No matter how technologically advanced or scientifically sound these Martians are, they can still be wiped from the planet by switching off a pump.

More scientific advancement shows up places such as farms, which produce highly advanced crops and meats. Science has just about perfected food on this planet, at least according to the hero, John Carter:

These scientific and technological advancements are a huge part of what makes this book so interesting. Humans are tantalized by advancements in technology and science and science fiction is the most appropriate forum for the exploration of this curiosity. E.R.B does not let the reader down. On the contrary, he pacifies that innate curiosity and sends one mind spinning with possibilities.

Another element present in this fascinating tale is "religion and myth" and myth making. A lot of what made up E.R.B's Mars came from the thinking of the time period in which he lived (the story was first published in 1912). For instance, there is a reference to polar ice caps on Mars in chapter twenty one: "The water which supplies the farms of Mars is collected in immense underground reservoirs at either pole from the melting ice caps..." This is a common belief of the public at that time, later disproved. Another myth brought to light is the way the Tharks lived, in a society much like Plato's republic, in which only the most perfectly bred children are raised by the community, who never know their parents or love. It is a life of survival of the fittest, no tears shed for the weak:

Of course, this type of society in real life has never existed. It is interesting, though, to see it applied to a race of Martians. In the end though, this way of living is terminated by the alliance of the Tharks and the Heliumites. It could be that E.G.B in essence was trying to get out the message that one cannot survive without love, which brings us to the social commentary present in this novel.

The underlying theme seemed to be of love and friendship. These two things conquer all in this book. John Carter soothes the savage beast, named Woola, by being affectionate towards it: "His response to my manifestation of affection was remarkable to a degree; he stretched his great mouth to its full width, baring the entire expanse of his upper rows of tusks and wrinkling his snout until his great eyes were almost hidden by the folds of flesh (51)." In other words, the beast smiled. Even Tars Tarkas admits that friendship has made the Tharkans true allies to the Heliumites: "it has remained for a man of another world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning of friendship; to him we the fact that the hordes of Thark can understand you; that they can appreciate and reciprocate the sentiments so graciously expressed (152)."

It is thoroughly apparent that love does conquer all, at least in this story. John Carter ultimately risked his life because he loved Dejah Thoris so much: "It was not I who did it, it was love, love for Dejah Thoris, a power that would work greater miracles than this that you have seen (147)."

Another interesting use of a science fiction tool is in E.G.B. imaginary beings. On Mars there are many interesting creatures, such as Woola, John Carter's "Martian watch dog (31)." Some other imaginary beings from the mind of E.G.B include the white apes and of course, the green Martian men. The name "white apes" accurately describes what these creatures look like. They, as described by John Carter, were 10 to fifteen feet tall, white and hairless with the exception of a shock of hair on their heads, and had snouts and teeth very much resembling those of the earth's African gorilla. These creatures are violent and tried to kill John Carter, but were thwarted by Woola, who saves John Carter's life. It interesting to note that the creatures that John comes into contact with are usually very violent and unloving. In fact, if a Martian creature exhibited love towards another, this creature became a Martian outcast, like Sola:

Green Martian men are synonymous with Mars. They show up in stories, movies, and even video games. However, those green men are nothing compared to E.R.B's green Martian men. The Tharks have white eyes with blood red irises, tusks and teeth that are also white as china (the plate, not the country), which makes these creatures very ferocious looking (22). They also are fifteen feet tall, on earth would weigh four hundred pounds, hairless and have two sets of arms (23). These green Martian men are definitely not cuddly and cute and battle is their main sport. In fact, the better the battle, the more these creatures would laugh! Humor, another science fiction tool, to these people has a lot to do with pain and death: "The death agonies of a fellow being, are, to these strange creatures, provocative of the wildest hilarity, while their chief form of amusement is to inflict death on their prisoners of war in various ingenious and horrible ways (29)." In other words, if these creatures laugh at someone, they are not being funny, they are enjoying that person or creatures' torture which results in death. This may be the most frightening aspect of these creatures. However, when all is said and done, the Tharks do away with this thinking, and surely there must have been a huge sigh of relief when that occurred!

Lastly, this novel is a prime example of a "space opera." There are the good guys (Heliumites) and bad guys (Zodongans), a hero who outwits and outbattles everyone (John Carter), a damsel in distress that the hero falls in love with (Dejah Thoris), a faithful companion that would risk it's life for the hero (Woola) and various other characters that help the hero along the way to ultimately defeat the bad guys (Tars Tarka, Kantos Kan). Of course, the hero gets the girl in the end; they get married and have an egg (in this story Martians lay eggs, like reptiles, instead of live birth, like mammals). Princess of Mars could have been any number of other types of stories in its general form. It could have taken place on Earth; the characters could have been comic book superheroes, etc. The point is, when E.R.B.'s imagination is added to a storybook outline, it makes for one heck of a sci-fi adventure and it suggests that anyone can write a story like this, that if one uses his or her imagination anything is possible.

It is easy to see why Edgar Rice Burroughs was so popular. In this fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat, sci-fi thriller, the planet Mars is fully alive, a place that one might like visit. Even though satellite pictures have disproved the thinking that led to the many ideas proposed about Mars in this book, it is exciting to think that this could happen there anyway. By the time John Carter is taken prisoner by the Tharks, one forgets that how he got there is impossible. The suspension of belief allows one to fully enjoy this novel and start looking for other E.G.B. novels to read.

Through the use of the science fiction tools mentioned in this paper, Edgar Rice Burroughs achieves considerable status among science fiction writers, possibly one of the greatest sci-fi writers in the history of science fiction. He captures one's imagination and doesn't let go, taking one on a breathtaking adventure on a planet deemed mysterious and foreboding, the planet of red dust and green men named Mars.

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