A-Z SHORT STORIES

Bradbury has written numerous stories and novels, usually in the science fiction genre, where he shows his concerns with the trends of modern society by looking into the future. This bleak story is a good example, with the detached third person narrator describing a range of activities, which becomes more and more unnerving as the reader realises there is no human presence and all movement and voices are mechanised. The silhouettes on the wall reveal the poignant truth, showing a family destroyed while pursuing normal family activities. At the end of the story the technology destroys the home; the story suggests that man’s technology has already destroyed humanity itself.

Encourage students to note Bradbury’s use of ironically human verbs applied to the machinery.

Wider reading

One of Ray Bradbury’s most famous novels is Fahrenheit 451, about a world where books are banned and burned, while The Pedestrian is a short story where walking has become a suspicious activity.

Compare with

Meteor by John Wyndham; Report to the Threatened City by Doris Lessing