The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa (Bradbury)

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Ray Bradbury

The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa

Summary of the Short Story

Microsummary: A space crew on a rocket ship landed on Venus, where they engaged in a chaotic battle with Venusians, ultimately resulting in their defeat and the Venusians mourning their loss.

The space rocket Clarissa was on a journey from Venus with a crew of fearless hunters who had spent nine days hunting game in the Venusian jungles. During a lull in their journey, Anthony Quelch, a writer, was working on his book, "Fascism Is Communism with a Shave."

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Anthony Quelch — crew member; writer with a baggy appearance; comical, cowardly.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was having a wild party in the control room, which had been going on for so long that it was a complete mess.

The boys upstairs were throwing a party in the control room.

Eventually, the rocket landed back on Venus, and the crew members rushed out into the rain, only to return shortly after, realizing they had forgotten their corsets. As they ventured out again, they were confronted by Venusians who closed in on them like a swarm of landlords.

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The Venusians — inhabitants of Venus; emotional, powerful.

Quelch urged his crew to fight, but they were quickly outnumbered and defeated.

Charge, men! cried Quelch, running the other way.

In the aftermath of the battle, two Venusians stood weeping over the bodies of the Earthlings, lamenting the tragic outcome. As dawn broke over the mountains, the scene was one of quiet devastation, with the ship gleaming in the pink light and the Venusians mourning the loss of life.