Marionettes,+Inc.

= Marionettes, Inc. = = By: Ray Bradbury =

Summary:
Braling and Smith spend a night out with each other for the first time in many years because Braling's wife is extremely strict. When Smith tries to find out why his wife allowed him to go out he won't tell him. Finally, once they get home to Braling's house, he shows him how he got out that night. He calls out a marionette that looks exactly like him and explains where, how he got him, and how he keeps him locked up in a box in the basement when he doesn't need him. The only difference is the ticking sound that the marionette's chest makes. Smith is impressed with the marionette so he decides he wants to get one because his wife is completely overbearing and even more so over the past month. When Smith tries to take money out of his account he notices that ten thousand dollars is missing. When he gets home and demands where his money is he realized that something was wrong, and bent down to listen to his wife's chest. Smith discovered his wife was a marionette and was devastated. On the other hand, Braling wanted to put his marionette back in the box for a few days until. he went on vacation in Rio. The marionette refused to get back in the box in the basement and announced that he had fallen in love with his wife. The marionette then locked Braling up in the box and left him there to die.

Setting:
Marionettes Inc. takes place in a suburban town, in Braling's house, and a local bar.

Protagonist:
Braling and Smith

Antagonist:
The Marionettes

Forms of Technology:
The main form of technology in "Marionettes Inc." were the Marionettes themselves. They were robot like structures that mimicked the characteristics of a certain person. The Marionettes enabled Braling to go to the bar with Smith because a Marionette had taken his place at home, with his wife.

Main Conflict:
Braling Two fell in love with Braling's wife when he go the chance to spend the night with her when Braling went out with Smith for a drink one night. So when Braling got home he went to go put Braling Two in the box and Braling Two said that he didnt like the box and that he didnt want to go back in there because he is built just like a real person and he has feelings too. So they got into a fight about it and then Braling Two said that he loved Braling's wife and that he wanted to go to Rio and spend the rest of his life with her. So Braling Two locked Braling in the box, left him in there, threw away the key, and went back to bed with Braling's wife.

Theme ﻿ ﻿ (s):
A theme of this story would be deception because Braling was tricking his wife into thinking he was at home when he really left Braling Two in his place so he could go out with Smith. Braling was deceiving his wife by going out behind her back.

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Pictures:

Discussion Questions:

 * (Hypothesize) What could happen in the future as the humans become more dependant on the marrionettes?
 * What is your reaction to the idea of marionettes? Would you use them if they were available during this generation?
 * How did technology affect the relationships of the two men and their wives?

Taylor Young, Caroline Collopy, and Erica Crosier