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| August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury (Essay for ADP/B.Sc English Students) |
Essay "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains" for ADP/B.Sc English Students
The story
portrays a scene of obliteration (destruction), in which the human race has
been destroyed by a nuclear war. The fear of the devastating effects of nuclear
force was typical of the Cold War era. The world was still recovering from the
effects of World War II and events, such as the dropping of atomic bombs in
Japan, were fresh in the minds of citizens throughout the world. In 1945, the United
States released a nuclear bomb over the city of Hiroshima that destroyed nearly
everything in the city. Three days later, Nagasaki was also bombed. Tens of
thousands of people died as a direct result of the bombings, a quarter of a
million more perished of radiation poisoning within 30 days. Even though the
war ended shortly after these events, the fear of retaliation and the
increasing focus on the development of nuclear weapons by many military powers
world wide produced fear in the minds of people. After the war, tension
increased between the two major military powers of the time, the U.S.S.R. and
the United States, culminating in the Cold War. This was a time of uncertainty,
and the possibility of nuclear war was a daily fear.
Bradbury is
showing how advanced and impressive man’s technological accomplishments
are. Yet he is also cautioning us about
the destructive power of our technical creations. There Will Come Soft Rains" brings Bradbury's criticisms of
heedless advancement to a climax. The story’s protagonist – an automated
house – is impressively helpful, but it is also mindless, emotionless, and
meaningless after its human occupants have been killed by other technology (the
atomic bomb).
Although the
technologically advanced house “outlives” its human occupants, it is ultimately
destroyed by a simple falling tree branch that catches it on fire. Bradbury suggests that although technology
can destroy and outlive its human creators, nature can destroy technology and
all traces of humanity. Not only are our
technological and artistic accomplishments meaningless without us, they are
quickly erased.
In August of
2026, in California, a fully-automated house announces that it is time to wake
up. Yet the house is empty. Breakfast is automatically made, but there is no
one to eat it. Outside, where the automatic sprinklers come on, a wall can be
seen where the paint has all been burned off except for a few silhouettes
(outlines/figures). There is a silhouette of a man and woman doing yardwork and
of a boy and a girl throwing a ball. The rest of the neighborhood is charred
(burnt) and flattened, and a radioactive glow hangs over the city. A dog enters
the house, covered with sores, and dies. The robotic mice that automatically
clean the house take the dog away to the incinerator. As evening comes, the
house automatically reads the woman's favorite poem, "There Will Come Soft Rains."
There will come soft rains and the smell of
the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pool singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
The poem
describes how, once man is utterly destroyed because of a war, nature will go
on without man, as if nothing had happened. At ten
o'clock p.m., the house is finally destroyed as well when a gust of wind blows
a tree branch through the kitchen window, spilling cleaning solvent on the
stove and causing a fire to break out. The house warns the family to get out of
the building and tries shutting doors to limit the spread. The house also
attempts to fight the fire, but its water reservoirs have been depleted after
numerous days of cooking and cleaning without replenishment. The house burns to
the ground except for one wall, which continues to give the time and date the
following morning.
The irony of the story "There Will Come
Soft Rains" is strong. The poem within the story describes how happy
nature will be when man has destroyed himself, but the truth is that nature has
been decimated by the war. The dog that comes in to die is lean and covered
with sores. The rest of the city is "rubble and ashes." Radiation
hangs in the air. Yet nature lives on in a mechanical form. Mechanical mice
scurry about the house. The closest thing to soft rains that fall are the
mechanical rains of the sprinkler system that goes off when the house catches
fire. The poem, which seems pessimistic, is actually very optimistic compared
to the reality. In this penultimate story, Bradbury shows his final example of
the folly of thoughtless technological development. It is no wonder that some
in the Science Fiction community accuse him of being anti-science.
Bradbury uses personification to transform
the house from mere setting into the story’s protagonist, depicting it as a
living organism. At first, the reader feels sympathy for the house which
demonstrates admirable loyalty and diligence by continuing to assist with its
family’s daily routines despite their absence.
But as the story continues, this automated dedication stops feeling like
care and is revealed for what it truly is: heartless and mindless
mechanization. The family dog enters the
house and becomes frenzied when it cannot find its owners, in sharp contrast to
the house which has continued its regular routines with mechanical
obliviousness. After the dog dies, the
house’s automated metal cleaning mice incinerate the dog’s body with the same
unsympathetic efficiency that they had just cleaned up dirt and leaves. The house also begins to feel pathetically
senseless: it is unable to put out a fire caused by a falling tree limb because
it has senselessly used up all its water pouring baths for humans who are no
longer living.
Ultimately,
the story develops into a conflict between the house and a fire that consumes
it. The house, which represents
technology and human creation, is destroyed by a tree limb, represents
nature. This symbolic conflict suggests
a key theme: however great man’s creations may be, nature will outlive them. The fact that the human-like house has no
water in its moment of greatest need may also symbolize that our thoughtless
daily use of natural resources is exhausting the planet.
The
house is a representation of humanity. Where the house stands now, was once
forests, streams, and all the other wonders of the natural world. Mankind
changed the landscape, bent it to his will, and built the house to attend to
his needs. The house is an extension of man, now that the men have all died,
the house has too. Bradbury paints a bleak picture: all of our ingenuity, all
of our brilliant mechanical creations, all of our scheming, planning, and
controlling comes to dust in the end. When we are gone the world will continue
on, nature blooming and thriving, with mankind a distant memory of a momentary
blight. The story of men is told in the dying of a mechanical house.
Q.
“August 2026; there will come soft rains” is an ironical description of human
society that is moving towards lifelessness.
Ans. This is
a story based on scientific fiction. The writer gives us a horrible picture of
the future. The writer gives us a food for thought that science is progressing
by leaps and bounds. Miracles are happening every day. Impossibilities have
been made possible todays. Life has become easy and enjoyable due to the
facilities which science has provided us. But ironically the writer gives us a
horrible picture of future. He imagines that in the 21st century ,
the progress of science will take negative and horrible turn. The future life
of man will depend on the machines. Robots and computers will dominate the
world. In the pursuit of happiness and comfort man will frequently use the
machines and the robots. The irony of the situation is that he will not be able
to enjoy the comforts of life then. The writer discusses different reasons ;
Why man will not be able to enjoy the comfort.
The human
ability to enjoy is deadened by his too much dependence on machines and
scientific tools. Moreover , his too muchdependence on machines and scientific
tools will eliminate him from the face of the earth. This is a reference to the
atomic war. This atomic war will eliminate human beings. As it happened in
Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
This story
also presents the post atomic war situtaion. As there is no human being in this
story. It is a possibility that all have been eliminated from the face of the
earth in an atomic war. Not the human beings are supposed to suffer in the
atomic blasts but the animals and the natural things as well.
The main
events of the story take place in a lonely house of the American state of
California. The daily routine of life takes place in a mechanical and regular
manner. There is no body in the house but every thing takes place according to
the programme. The clock strikes seven to awake the inhabitants but the house
is deserted and empty. The kitchen is at work. The breakfast stove ejects
pieces of browned toast , eggs , slices and milk. The irony is that there is no
one to use it. Then it is announced that , it is raining outside. There are the
robots and the machines to carry on the daily routine and house chores. But the
irony is that the human beings who are going to be served , they have been
destroyed during an atomic blast. Everything is going on regularly but Alas!
Man is not present to enjoy these facilities. It is in fact the loss of
humanity in the most developed society. It is the main idea which the writer
wanted to convey to us.
The house
with its lonliness inspires fear in us. The machine and the electrical devices
are working for the comfort but Alas! Man has been destroyed by his own
machines and devices. There are the means of recreation for the children but
the lamentabel fact is that, the children have also been turnned into ashes in
the post war condtion.
The writer
has successfully drawn a picture of the life in the machine era. This story is
a criticism on the destructive aspect of scientific progress. It is a dilemma that
in his pursuit of comfort, man has lost his touch with the natural beauty. He
is totally surrounded by machines. The writer imagines that in future man will
be at the mercy of machines and electrical devices. The writer imagines the
destruction caused by atomic war in 2026.
The house is a representation of
humanity. Where the house stands now, was once forests, streams, and all the
other wonders of the natural world. Mankind changed the landscape, bent it to
his will, and built the house to attend to his needs. The house is an extension
of man, now that the men have all died, the house has too. Bradbury paints a
bleak picture: all of our ingenuity, all of our brilliant mechanical creations,
all of our scheming, planning, and controlling comes to dust in the end. When
we are gone the world will continue on, nature blooming and thriving, with
mankind a distant memory of a momentary blight. The story of men is told in the
dying of a mechanical house.
America is a modern country. It is the
only super power in the world. Life in America is highly comfortable and
modern. There life is regulated by computrized machines. It has made great
advancement in the field of atomic energy and conquest of sapce. In this story
the writer imagines that different cities of America will be destroyed by
atomic war and the miraculous advancement in science will ultimatley cause a
great destruction for America.
