Middleton 5
Cali Middleton
Ms. Hogan
EN 1113
17 April 2014
With Technology, There Will Come Hard Rains
It is possible that technology is this world's most deadly invention. In "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains", author Ray Bradbury subtly presents the idea that the advancement of technology can be dangerous to humanity. This short story surrounds a house that has been abandoned by its owners who were suddenly killed in a nuclear explosion. The house is a mechanical "smart house" and continues to function normally without its owners until a tree limb falls in the kitchen window causing the house to burn to the ground. Bradbury combines the elements of character and setting to convey his ideas through the use of personification, symbols, and irony.
To begin with, the house, which is arguably the main character, as well as, the setting for this story, is given many obvious human-like characteristics.
Smart House (film)
Tate Modern irony
English: Mission: STS-41-B Film Type: 70mm Title: ...The combination of these characteristics allows the reader to have feelings toward the house, good and bad. The house is given the job of doing a task like cooking. The text says, "In the kitchen the breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces of perfectly browned toast, eight eggs sunnyside up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two cool glasses of milk" (438). This quote describes one of the everyday tasks that a human would normally complete without an overwhelming amount of help from technology. This can be related to the idea that humans have become too dependent on technology and are taking advantage of it. Later in the story, the house attempts to read the owner a poem. The story goes on to say, "A voice spoke from the study ceiling: 'Mrs. McClellan, which poem would you...