August 2026 Analysis
Star Lint
Mr. Stevens
College Comp II
1/22/15
August 2026: Smart House Scandal? Upon reading the short story “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, readers are left with the image of a remarkable home left smoldering. As readers learn the myriad capabilities of the house, cooking, cleaning, schedualing and much more, a sense of macabre raises. While Ray Bradbury never lived to see the 1999 Disney film Smart House directed by LaVar Burton, both houses in reference share multiple commonalities. Who's to say Burton's film wasn't based from Bradbury's short story? Disparate details separate the two, the most obvious being the house in “August 2026” is left abandoned, yet a family lives in Smart House. The house in Bradbury's story surely is abandoned, as “The house was silent”, “repeating its sounds into the emptiness”, and “The empty chairs faced each other”. A minor difference separating the the two houses are their temperments. Smart House is rather aggressive, while the abode in “August 2026” is quite timid. We see examples of the house's shyness through “quivered at each sound” and “shut up its windows and drawn shades”. Finally, the demise of the houses varies greatly. While the house in Bradbury's “August 2026” ends with the house being set ablaze, Smart House's owners reprogram the house, taking back control of their lives. Besides these simple differences, the houses in question also share multiple commonalities. From the capabilities of the house, to the mice scurrying within the walls, some could argue the houses are the same. Both houses cook, clean, and interact with the residents, or lack of. The mice in each house provide a sense of help. In Smart House, a mouse delivers Sara's message to Ben, and in “August 2026”, the mice clean the house, cleaning up after the dog, eventually carrying his body to the incinerator. Undoubtedly, the houses are alike, so much alike in-fact, they could be the same home. Perhaps the house's
Mr. Stevens
College Comp II
1/22/15
August 2026: Smart House Scandal? Upon reading the short story “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, readers are left with the image of a remarkable home left smoldering. As readers learn the myriad capabilities of the house, cooking, cleaning, schedualing and much more, a sense of macabre raises. While Ray Bradbury never lived to see the 1999 Disney film Smart House directed by LaVar Burton, both houses in reference share multiple commonalities. Who's to say Burton's film wasn't based from Bradbury's short story? Disparate details separate the two, the most obvious being the house in “August 2026” is left abandoned, yet a family lives in Smart House. The house in Bradbury's story surely is abandoned, as “The house was silent”, “repeating its sounds into the emptiness”, and “The empty chairs faced each other”. A minor difference separating the the two houses are their temperments. Smart House is rather aggressive, while the abode in “August 2026” is quite timid. We see examples of the house's shyness through “quivered at each sound” and “shut up its windows and drawn shades”. Finally, the demise of the houses varies greatly. While the house in Bradbury's “August 2026” ends with the house being set ablaze, Smart House's owners reprogram the house, taking back control of their lives. Besides these simple differences, the houses in question also share multiple commonalities. From the capabilities of the house, to the mice scurrying within the walls, some could argue the houses are the same. Both houses cook, clean, and interact with the residents, or lack of. The mice in each house provide a sense of help. In Smart House, a mouse delivers Sara's message to Ben, and in “August 2026”, the mice clean the house, cleaning up after the dog, eventually carrying his body to the incinerator. Undoubtedly, the houses are alike, so much alike in-fact, they could be the same home. Perhaps the house's