Exploring the Themes of Routine and Technology in 'There Will Come Soft Rains'
In "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, a futuristic automated house carries out its daily routines despite the absence of its inhabitants. The story paints a haunting picture of a world devastated by nuclear war, where technology continues its tasks with eerie precision. Through intricate details and vivid imagery, Bradbury delves into themes of routine, loneliness, and the impact of technological advancement on society.
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Planning an A level Unseen: SCASI Sunday, 22 September 2024
August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains" Ray Bradbury In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o'clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would. The morning house lay empty. The clock ticked on, repeating and repeating its sounds into the emptiness. Seven-nine, breakfast time, seven-nine! 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. "Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, "in the city of Allendale, California." It repeated the date three times for memory's sake. "Today is Mr. Featherstone's birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita's marriage. Insurance is payable, as are the water, gas, and light bills." Somewhere in the walls, relays clicked, memory tapes glided under electric eyes. Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-one o'clock, off to school, off to work, run, run, eight-one! But no doors slammed, no carpets took the soft tread of rubber heels. It was raining outside. The weather box on the front door sang quietly: "Rain, rain, go away; rubbers, raincoats for today " And the rain tapped on the empty house, echoing. Outside, the garage chimed and lifted its door to reveal the waiting car. After a long wait the door swung down again. At eight-thirty the eggs were shriveled and the toast was like stone. An aluminum wedge scraped them into the sink, where hot water whirled them down a metal throat which digested and flushed them away to the distant sea. The dirty dishes were dropped into a hot washer and emerged twinkling dry. Nine-fifteen, sang the clock, time to clean. Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted. The rooms were acrawl with the small cleaning animals, all rubber and metal. They thudded against chairs, whirling their mustached runners, kneading the rug nap, sucking gently at hidden dust. Then, like mysterious invaders, they popped into their burrows. Their pink electric eyes faded. The house was clean. Ten o'clock. The sun came out from behind the rain. The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles. Ten-fifteen. The garden sprinklers whirled up in golden founts, filling the soft morning air with scatterings of brightness. The water pelted windowpanes, running down the charred west side where the house had been burned evenly free of its white paint. The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places. Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers. Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one titanic instant, a small boy, hands flung into the air; higher up, the image of a thrown ball, and opposite him a girl, hands raised to catch a ball which never came down. The five spots of paint the man, the woman, the children, the ball remained. The rest was a thin charcoaled layer. The gentle sprinkler rain filled the garden with falling light.
SCASI An approach to assist with first planning. S: setting C: character A: action S: Style I: ideas Try to organise thoughts to cover each element in turn. This way there will always be something to write which will gain AO2 marks.
Setting living room it s a house. Add kitchen and garage to generate an ordinary home at surface level. the morning house lay empty why the adjective? Would the evening house be any different? This might be the first note of unease all is not as it should be. Functions: automated, all is running smoothly: food is prepared and cleared away; the garage opens and closes. Date: August 4 2026 futuristic a highly developed society, but something is wrong. Common Dystopian trope of degeneration of technology. Time : count down from seven-nine, via eight-one (unusual not to work with time a the quarter or half as shown by Ten O clock, Ten fifteen .) Rain turns to sun should be positive, it is not House is now home to the electronic mice in their warrens. Sprinklers kick in as the passage ends soft rain of title? Purification or an atomic fall-out ?
Character No humans All else is given life by personification. Clocks sang ; as if afraid granted emotion Stove hissing sigh sibilance of hissing suggests some form of frustration (is this the mother, frustrated theat no one appreciates her work?) Weather box: sang quietly Rain: tapped as though seeking entry? Garbage, down a metal throat as though the whole house is some form of sentient being Robot mice: darted suggesting speed and need to avoid detection. Their brushes are mustached runners suggesting these too are human males. Like mysterious invaders Pink eyes faded humanoid in form, now shown as dying or seeking sleep. HUMANS at last: silhouette of a man .a ball which never came down - images caught in the moment of death- now only five spots of paint
Action Verbs of movement Ticked on, repeating and repeating time stops for nothing Electronic sounds and actions: relays clicked, memory tapes glided under electric eyes Food is ejected suggesting a forceful emission Stress of non-action: no doors slammed - Garage chimed and lifted its door a sentient action The metal throat digested the food Robot mice: darted suggesting speed and need to avoid detection. Their brushes are mustached runners suggesting these too are human males. Sprinklers are beautiful: golden fonts which will fill the garden with falling light
Style 3rdperson omniscience personification must have a purpose . All inanimate functions are given clear human attributes by verb choice Sparing use of figurative language- toast like stone, suggests miniature bread tomb-markers Use of italics for some of the sounds (not all) (correct) use of speech marks convey a sense of habitation and human interaction A list of events is presented, with little attempt to explain or develop further. An exposition. No emotion is presented. Narration could be by one of the robotic forms in the home.
Ideas Humans are not needed for this world to function normally. The house is a semi-utopia, but event s have turned it into a frightening vision of mechanised order: soulless Time moves on inexorably despite the death of the inhabitants, time continues. At this stage the inevitable lapse back into nature has not taken place and is hindered by the electronic dwellers. What will happen when there is no more bread, eggs and bacon? Some form of nuclear disaster has taken place. Humans have been erased and the planet now belongs to the creatures created by humans.
And then you write. So many ideas. You also need to merge in some AO3 (context), but not too much improved future texts: Brave New World, 1984, We Nuclear disaster texts: The Stand, Riddley Walker, The Road Robots: I Robot, Do robots dream of electric sheep? Surviving the disaster : Oryx and Crake Have fun
