The Other Foot

by Ray Bradbury, Gary Kelley (Illustrator)

Chosen as one of the best stories of 1952

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult, Space

39 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1951

About the author

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Other Foot is an amazing short story written by Ray Bradbury in 1950, or thereabouts. It involves the fact that the Black residents of Mars have received the news that whites from Earth are migrating to Mars. The population is made up completely of blacks that had migrated from Earth twenty years after they were unceremoniously ousted from the Earth. Some of the older residents of Mars still resentfully remember the past and long for revenge. Some of them believe that this is the perfect opportunity to enact that revenge and behave in similar ways. However, one of the white men decides to approach the Martians with humility and communicate a sense of understanding and acknowledgement of previous bad behavior. Bradbury argues that bigotry gets easier when dehumanized by a mob mentality, when the concepts of us versus them are perpetuated by a tribalism that blinds us from seeing individual people. It is easier to hate a monolith instead of individuals. I think this story is as relevant today as it was back then, which is the definition of what great science fiction is supposed to do. The modern sense of tribalism is more political than racial, although it is naive to believe that race has no part of what is happening in our modern United States. This story is damn-near-perfect and underscores Bradbury amazing foresight at what he considered a growing divide in the American zeitgeist.

[alex (spring break!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Other Foot by Ray Bradbury

Language: 0/10

Synopsis: 20 years ago, all Black people escaped from Earth onto Mars to get away from all of the things that history has done to them. They’ve developed a whole new place to live on Mars, and they are doing well. But one day, a rocket comes down, and a White man is in it. How will they react to this? You’ll have to find out…

Review: I thought this story was kinda eh in this one. It was interesting to think about this situation, but otherwise it was kind of boring. As always, Bradbury’s writing is amazing, but that’s just a normal thing for him. It felt like something that we would read in school for a short story unit in 7th or 8th grade, which is not always a bad thing, but it overall just wasn’t my favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a continuation from one of the stories in The Martian Chronicles where African Americans decide to travel to Mars in order to escape the oppression on Earth. Now that Earth has been destroyed due to the nuclear wars, the people on Earth need a new place to call home, and their only option is Mars. I think Bradbury did a brilliant job in telling this story, and the ending left me pleasantly surprised.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the purpose of this story was to show a way to live without racism, somewhat radical in the 50s when it was written, the racial undertones are still baldly apparent. With the black Martians, the men (or main male character) are angry and aggressive, ready to lynch the white man that is coming, whereas the black women (or main woman at least) is more hesitant and wants to forget the past, though she bows to her husband's whims and goes along with it. The white man comes humbly in supplication, which is out of the normal stereotype, but he is the peace offerer, he comes in apology. Despite the racial stereotyping, I still think it's an excellent, if dated, story.

[catherine ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one. There’s something both futuristic and archaic about it.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 stars

Revolutionary at the time, but a little dated and simplistic now. A moving, idealistic story that is a pretty good read.

[L.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast read with lovely painted pictures. Gives a look at forgiveness and moving on.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short sci-fi type of story on racism. I'd consider it worth the time it takes to read (about 15 minutes).

[Ayman Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anger and hatred breed nothing but.

[lejla isaković · Rating 3 out of 5]

All black people have moved to Mars and left the whites to destroy the planet by warfare.
Was afraid I that I was going to find out that Bradbury was racist, but was pleasantly surprised.

[Elan Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an extension of "The Martian Chronicles," this short story describes black people colonized on Mars. They see something in the sky and learn that white people on Earth have made the planet unliveable; now, they also seek refuge on Mars. Bradbury presents us with the question: how would we respond when the shoe is on the other foot? I don't want to spoil anything because I recommend reading it. It's short and the illustrations are beautiful.

I have always considered Octavia E. Butler as the Queen of Afro-futurism. Although Ray Bradbury is not a man of color, he does sci-fi so well, and I think he reached her level of cultural awareness in this little book.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing fantasy about the colony of Africans who moved to Mars. After years and nuclear war, white culture has finally built a rocket and sent a white astronaut to Mars. This story is the anticipation of the African Martian community awaiting the arrival. The astronaut admits that they have foolishly destroyed the Earth. They beg that the Martians will help them and allow them to live humbly among them as second-class citizens, even servants. Both peoples try to find community again. They decide that "what happens now is up to you and me."

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated and simplistic, because it's a concept-driven story, but definitely a worthwhile quick read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up a long time ago off a used book or free book table. If I'd known it was only 35 pages long I would have read it a long time ago. It was good.

[Hanzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradbury's been surprising me with all these short stories of his. This one mixes racism with sci-fi, a combination I find to be super interesting and original.

[Jota Salamanca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran relato, con una gran enseñanza pero que en mi opinión nunca llegaremos a eso

Desde la premisa el relato atrapa, es interesante ver las actitudes de las diferentes personas en la historia, quien van con los brazos abiertos, quienes no son cerrados pero tienen sus recelos, y quienes son abiertamente racistas (por que es lo que es) con el hombre blanco que está por llegar a marte.

A pesar de que uno pueda llegar a entender los comentarios de Willie en el relato no hay que dejar pasar que es el puro resentimiento y racismo quien habla, y después ver como el mismo hace conflicto con su propio ser al ver que todos los que le hicieron mal ya no están y que por eso no debe pensar que los demás son iguales es estupendo.

El relato deja una gran enseñanza en su final pero que viendo como están los pensamientos actuales (tanto de un lado como de otro) nunca llegaremos a una comprensión mutua ya que estoy seguro que la sociedad actual solo se quedará con el hecho de estar en el otro pie u otro zapato para hacer daño.

[Daniela · Rating 1 out of 5]

There comes a poor old tired white grandpa all the way from Earth to Mars. He tells the black people who have been forced to live on this planet for two decades after being persecuted, terrorised and traumatised for hundreds of years to come live on this inhabitable toxic wasteland because "we can't do this without you." And we are supposed to believe that this black man who led these Martians into an anti-white mob, a black man who saw his people, his own parents be brutalised and murdered, saw their corpses hung as a standard of white supremacy, we are supposed to believe that this black man shifts this lynching mindset and hatred for the white man he harboured for 20 years because poor little white men did not know what they were doing?

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 1 out of 5]

A story about black people who went to Mars before the white people blew up Earth in a nuclear holocaust... to me, not a great story... and I don't Bradbury's background... was he just echoing here the politics of his day he saw in TV... or did he have visceral experience with the black attitude (pervasive to this day) that white people are the devil needing destruction. I still don't know and probably Never will know. I have black friends and they won't answer serious questions about their race hatred of whites.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story cannot possibly have the impact today that it must have had when it was first published, too much has changed, but there is a warning in it still for all who will listen. Two wrongs do not make a right; he who lives by the sword will die by the sword; forgiveness blesses the forgiver. It is dated but it gets one extra star for sheer bravery in tackling the subject of race evenhandedly and openly, before it became generally acceptable to do so.

[Jan Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long ago the black people of the US and Earth, fed up with racism and segregation, left to colonize Mars. While they were gone, the good citizens of Earth engage in nuclear warfare and destroy the planet. One day a rocket from Earth arrives with a white astronaut and the Black residents of Mars discuss the implications of letting a white person into their society and how they should be treated.

[SunKen_Sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting of mars here is very interesting with its futuristic tone while still not feeling 'modern.' Judging the story for the time it was written in (the 50's), I believe the story would be considered very progressive/revolutionary in its themes while judging the story with a modern lens, it appears a bit overly idealistic.

[Alena Vishnevsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than Farenheit 451. Sorry not sorry.

[Misbah Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not narration but a lesson complete in itself for the people living on the peak of racism.

[Lucía · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it for an English class, it was quite good. However, I don't know if Ray Bradbury should have really talk about this given that he was white.

[Malek Maaliki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short stories I have read. Very deep and rich, and in the end gives you hope.

[Jackie Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting premise but a little basic

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Creative Classics short story. The series overview says that the editors hope to pull short stories from the obscurity of "dark, musty anthologies." As someone who reads anthologies already, it seems like a strange statement. But whatever.

I can't remember if I have read this story in anthology before. It is now interesting mainly as an oddity of time and place. Written in the 60's it deals with African-Americans who have colonized Mars but who come face to face with a white refugee from Earth many years later.

[Michele Brenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of an anthology rather than a stand alone book. It made me cry and every time I re-read it I cry again. I found it very real and the characters move me so much and yet it has its moments of humour and through it all is a fine understanding of human nature infused with optimism.

[Nat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una historia que te hace reflexionar bastante

[Shakya Vlad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What if Mars has been colonized solely by Black people..?"
Nice one.Enjoyed,really.