A Short Response to Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”

Most of the students in the American school system are familiar with Ray Bradbury. Bradbury is known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, in which all books, by law, are supposed to be burned. This process is used in order to achieve control across the community by actually setting fire to controversial ideas, and therefore wipe them from existence, which furthermore cuts off the circulation of such ideas from the population. However, in the end there is a bombing which wipes out the pre-existing societal expectations and they are able to build a new structure; a structure in the hopes of preserving the knowledge that comes from books and mass media in general.

“There Will Come Soft Rains” could potentially pick up where Farhenheit 451 is left off. The plot of the story gives me a mix of Fallout and Monster House vibes. Fallout in which a nuclear explosion takes place, and monster house in that the way everything is described using personification.

There is no question that I tend to do a little bit of research in order to not overlook crucial points that are made during literature. In doing so, I came across how the first thing that is mentioned is a clock. This clock is also greatly personified, which brings about the sense that technology is closely related to humans. Looking at this relationship, there is a clear sense of how technology also influences and controls most of our lives.

After the atomic bombings, it is interesting to note as well that the house is not phased by the absence of humans. There is a routine in which it strictfully abides by. However, the dog longfully misses the idea of human companionship, and is greatly affected. In which the robot mice ultimately attack fire with hoses, unable to accept death. The fact in which humans and animals can accept death, and technology otherwise can not, shows how technology always must be in control.

When first reading this story I saw nothing but a house with human characteristics, but after diving deeper into the analysis of the short story, it is easy to compare its meaning to deeper aspects, such as technology and our relationship to it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I think that it’s meaning is true today, and continues to prove itself as such.