The Dead Man story
Odd Martin becomes friends with Miss Weldon, who seems to be fine with the fact that he's dead. Directed by: Costa Botes. Story by: Ray Bradbury.
13 total · 1 choice · 3 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| undead being | choice | At the center of the story is Odd Martin, an odd man who believes himself to be "dead" following a drowning accident. He suggested that he did not have a pulse, and he refuted the idea that he meant "dead" simply as a metaphor for being dead inside. It is never made clear whether he was right. |
| compassion | major | Miss Weldon was the only person who felt compassion towards Odd Martin. They were both somewhat picked on by the people around them, and came to develop a sense of camaraderie. |
| romantic courtship | major | The story concerns the peculiar courtship and sudden marriage of John "Odd" Martin and Miss Weldon. |
| the need for companionship | major | Miss Weldon proposed that Odd should stop telling people he was dead because, in her view, his problem was simply that he lacked the companionship of a good woman. Although Odd kept insisting that he was, indeed, dead, he seems to have concurred regarding the rest. |
| creative writing | minor | In the introduction, Ray Bradbury shared with the viewer the wellsprings of creativity that inspire his writing. |
| human occupational activity | minor | Mr. Simpson ran a small town barbershop. [barber] |
| law enforcement | minor | The sheriff twice oversaw the moving of Odd Martin's supine body from a roadside parking spot to the comparative safety of the sidewalk. One gathers that this was a daily occurrence. |
| marriage ceremony | minor | Odd Martin and Miss Weldon tied the knot in the end. |
| master and pet | minor | Miss Weldon promptly adopted the cat that Odd Martin was on his way to drown in a burlap sack. |
| newlywed couple | minor | The story concerns the peculiar courtship and sudden marriage of John "Odd" Martin and Miss Weldon. |