Way in the Middle of the Air

E472925

"Way in the Middle of the Air" is a short story by Ray Bradbury that portrays African Americans in the U.S. South planning a mass exodus to Mars to escape racism and oppression.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Way in the Middle of the Air canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf science fiction short story
short story
associatedWork The Martian Chronicles (fix-up novel) NERFINISHED
author Ray Bradbury NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
depicts Jim Crow-era racism in the American South
explores power dynamics between races
social injustice
utopian escape through space travel
firstPublicationYear 1950
genre science fiction
speculative fiction
hasApproximateLength short story length
hasCharacterType African American characters
white Southern racists
hasForm prose fiction
hasMotif exodus
flight from oppression
space colonization as refuge
hasSubject African Americans NERFINISHED
racism in the United States
space travel to Mars
includedInEdition 1950 edition of The Martian Chronicles
language English
literaryPeriod 20th-century American literature
mainTheme African American migration
escape from racism
oppression
racism
segregation in the United States
narrativePerspective third-person narration
notableFor controversial racial language and stereotypes
depiction of African Americans leaving the racist American South for Mars
originalMedium book
partOf The Martian Chronicles NERFINISHED
plotSummary African Americans in the U.S. South plan a mass exodus to Mars to escape racism and oppression
publisherOfFirstBookAppearance Doubleday NERFINISHED
settingLocation American South NERFINISHED
Mars NERFINISHED
timePeriodOfSetting mid-20th century
workInSeries Martian Chronicles stories

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Martian Chronicles containsStory Way in the Middle of the Air