August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains - Essay Example

Close reading The short story that is d August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury is a great example of how a talented person is able to provoke strong feelings with so few words. Indeed, there are virtually no main characters and many causes of the actions that are described are not explained properly; however, the author is able to create the necessary atmosphere. This is a story about the abandoned futuristic house that was maintaining life of the people that were absent. The text focuses on the efforts of the technology to keep the world in harmony. In the end, a tree crashes into the house causing fire and destroying it. This paper will provide a close reading of the short story, paying attention to various details and explaining how they were used to achieve the desired effect. To begin with, one should note that the text in question starts with description of several devices that do not exist in the cotemporary world. For example, in the first two paragraphs the reader learns about “a voice clock”, “a breakfast stove” and “a voice from the kitchen ceiling” (Bradbury 1). All this is done to explain the audience that the action takes place in the future. Nevertheless, it is rather surprising that the famous science fiction writer was operating with the technology of his time and could not predict dramatic changes in it. For example, to describe life of the smart house he writes: “Somewhere in the walls, relays clicked, memory tapes glided under electric eyes” (Bradbury 1). Nowadays, computers do not use tapes, they employ hard drives, but that was not the case in the middle of the previous century when the short story was written. On page four there is a great example of personification: “From attic trapdoors, blind robot faces peered down with faucet mouths gushing green chemical...red veins and capillaries quiver in the scalded air” (Bradbury 4). There is no doubt that this was used in order to show that in the complete absence of real characters, fire and technology, both inanimate objects, were able to interact with each other. There is another interesting passage: “Animals took shape: yellow giraffes, blue lions, pink antelops, lilac panthers” (Bradbury 2). As one can clearly see, the author used the colors that so not reflect the realistic colors of those animals. Keeping in mind that this was a part of the description of a children’s room, there is no doubt that these colors were used for the amusement of the children who lived there. As it has already been mentioned, the author portrays the world of the future. While thinking about it, many people tend to be rather optimistic. This optimism is reflected in the fact that the technology that is described in the text does not only interact with people: it literally sings. Nevertheless, Bradbury notes that even in the future people still were not able to find solutions to some problems. For example, no matter how smart the technology is, waster which is the inevitable result of human’s activity is still “digested and flushed away to the distant sea” (Bradbury 1). This means that the civilization of the future still features some flaws that were not dealt with. This little element contributes to the convincing power of the story. One of the most peculiar innovations that are described in the text are robot mice. Apparently, they are responsible for cleaning the house. There is no doubt that this is a rather interesting element since it shows the transition from perception of mice as harmful rodents to something that helps around the house even though robot mice are not actual mice. One should note that closer to one third of the text, the reader understanding that something is not right in this world. In spite of the fact that the first seeds of abandonment appear in the third paragraph (“but no doors slammed, no carpets took the soft tread of rubber heels”), it is only later that one sees that there are no people in this apparently ideal world. The author was able to find a great way to show this and simultaneously explain their disappearance: “the entire west face of the house was black, save for five places” (Bradbury 1). Later the audience is able to see the picture of how people were caught by surprise by a nuclear blast. This image is very moving as it shows that one’s life can end in a split second and nothing can be done to prevent this from happening. However, the gist of the story is revealed later in the text and cab be summarized in the following quotation: “the gods had gone away, and the ritual of the religion continued senselessly, uselessly” (Bradbury 2). Indeed, the entire short story focuses on the way what we would now call a smart house operates in the absence of the people. There is one interesting elements which is ironic and tragic at the same time. There is a scene when the house scares away the animals, but recognizes voice of a dog and lets it in. Just like the technology, the dog desperately looks for the people inside and finds no one. Afterwards, it dies in despair. This might be an allusion on the fact that prior to technology dogs served people just like the house in question, but after the extinction of the masters, the servants are doomed to death as well. One would make no mistake that the most iron part of the text is that poem that is being read out loud by a machine. It is picked at random, but it fits the situation perfectly. There are specific lines that describe the state of affairs: “Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, // if mankind perished utterly” (Bradbury 3). This is probably the closes that the author comes explaining the world that he describes. The end of the story is, probably, one of the most aesthetically pleasing parts of it. Thus, the author uses several uncommon images to describe the fire that ultimately devours the house: “ten billion angry sparkles”, “five avalanche” (Bradbury 3). In other words, while describing the awful catastrophe that happened in the world, the author is able to use beautiful world to do so. It is quite symbolic that close to the end of the story Bradbury notes several times that the voices that can be heard inside the house vanished. This, probably, means that the technology was the last inhabitant of the building and with its death, the latter will be absolutely abandoned. This conveys the message that technological devices are actually a part of the house that they operate in. Having examined all the points that were brought up in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: the short story in question that was written by Ray Bradbury highlights the role that technology plays in the world. Thus, it makes a great servant, but when the masters are gone, it is merely capable of carrying on senseless actions until a major force does not destroy it. It is quite understandable that the story in question is closely connected to the theme of the Cold War. The two countries heavily relied on the nuclear weapons and the population often lived in fear of the surprising strike from the other side. While this never happened in the reality, the constant presence of fear in the peaceful life has become widely spread. In addition to that, the text may be related life of the humanity in the future: the mankind keeps using technology extensively and may ultimately find itself surrounded by an environment that completely consists of technology. However, if people perish, the latter will not be able to exist without masters. Read More