125 pages 4 hours read

Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1950

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

“November 2005: The Off Season”

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

“November 2005: The Off Season” Summary

Sam Parkhill, a member of the fourth expedition featured in the story “—the Moon Be Still as Bright” is now married and has built a hot dog stand at the crossroads of what he expects to be a busy highway. Thousands of rockets, bearing hundreds of thousands of people, are expected from Earth, and Parkhill knows they will bring traffic past his stand. His wife Elma is uncertain of their success due to the increasing threat of atomic war on Earth.

A masked Martian manifests before Sam and requests to speak with him, but Sam grows panicked by its presence—this is the second time it has appeared that morning—and kills it after it presents a brass document tube he mistakes as a weapon. Elma retrieves the document, but neither she nor Sam can read the Martian writing. Sam buries the Martian’s remains.

When Sam spots a fleet of Martian sand ships approaching, he and Elma flee the hot dog stand using a sand ship Sam bought at auction. Another Martian manifests on Sam’s ship and commands him to return to the hot dog stand so the Martians can give him an important message about Earth. She claims the Martians come in peace, but Sam kills her with very little hesitation.

Related Titles

By Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Pedestrian

Ray Bradbury

The Pedestrian: A Fantasy in One Act

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury