There Will Come Soft Rains Analysis
The theme of nature’s wrath in Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” is that the course of nature is inevitable and anything humanity or technology does is futile and fails. Throughout his story, Bradbury alludes to the point that nature is always going to win and foreshadows humanities fate. From beginning to end, he sets up conflicts between house/man vs. nature, the setting of the house, and the characterization of both opposing sides of the struggle. Bradbury’s theme that he builds towards throughout the entirety of the story is that regardless of humans or technology, nature will take its course and survive humanity.
Early in the story, Bradbury begins to create a setting around the house as well as foreshadowing the fate of the house.
As most of the beginning of the story shows how humanity has disappeared, Bradbury personifies the house giving it many of the last attributes and responsibilities of humanity. This setting however is a grim and ominous one, Bradbury is proficient in using imagery along with illustrative and descriptive words to provide insight on the future of the house. With the story progressing, you find that the house is lone standing as the rest have already been destroyed by the course of nature, suggesting the fate of the house.
Bradbury also thoughtfully created an eerie and ominous tone throughout the course of his story, this added to the sense of helplessness and highlighted how incapable humanity was to clash with nature. With his ability to personify inanimate beings as well as his ability to create a sense of despair and distress with the use of specific and descriptive words, Bradbury’s tone foretells the outcome of the battle between nature and man. Throughout the entire story, Bradbury builds his most important theme, the constant struggle between the house and nature. As the house represents humanity, the house tries its absolute hardest to carry on with daily life including chores, routines and cooking meals. As the story progresses, these daily routines quickly become harder and harder to do as nature begins to attack and take its impending course. nature quickly becomes too much to handle as the tree crashes into the kitchen and fire begins to consume the house. As the house attempts to use preemptive measures, nature in Bradbury’s eyes was smarter than the house, “But the fire was clever. It had sent flames outside the house, up through the attic to the pumps there. An explosion! The attic brain which directed the pumps was shattered into bronze shrapnel on the beams.” Bradbury’s characterization of the fire as “clever” as well as the description of the house’s brain both add to the personification and conflict of these two inanimate beings. As nature begins to dominantly destroy the house and the last sense of humanity it holds, Abby Werlock’s quote in “There Will Come Soft Rains” sums up the final interaction perfectly, “the end of the story is best understood as an inevitable end to the worst aspects of humanity.” With the final pieces of humanity is destroyed, nature carries on and takes its natural course.
As Bradbury builds is ultimate point throughout his entire short story, his final point is summed up in lines nine and ten of Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Will Come Soft Rain” of the very poem Bradbury used as the namesake to his short story, “Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, if mankind perished utterly.”
Cementing that Bradbury’s ultimate message is that, regardless of what humans do and how they use technology, nature will always be able to prevail and triumph over humans and technology.
Early in the story, Bradbury begins to create a setting around the house as well as foreshadowing the fate of the house.
As most of the beginning of the story shows how humanity has disappeared, Bradbury personifies the house giving it many of the last attributes and responsibilities of humanity. This setting however is a grim and ominous one, Bradbury is proficient in using imagery along with illustrative and descriptive words to provide insight on the future of the house. With the story progressing, you find that the house is lone standing as the rest have already been destroyed by the course of nature, suggesting the fate of the house.
Bradbury also thoughtfully created an eerie and ominous tone throughout the course of his story, this added to the sense of helplessness and highlighted how incapable humanity was to clash with nature. With his ability to personify inanimate beings as well as his ability to create a sense of despair and distress with the use of specific and descriptive words, Bradbury’s tone foretells the outcome of the battle between nature and man. Throughout the entire story, Bradbury builds his most important theme, the constant struggle between the house and nature. As the house represents humanity, the house tries its absolute hardest to carry on with daily life including chores, routines and cooking meals. As the story progresses, these daily routines quickly become harder and harder to do as nature begins to attack and take its impending course. nature quickly becomes too much to handle as the tree crashes into the kitchen and fire begins to consume the house. As the house attempts to use preemptive measures, nature in Bradbury’s eyes was smarter than the house, “But the fire was clever. It had sent flames outside the house, up through the attic to the pumps there. An explosion! The attic brain which directed the pumps was shattered into bronze shrapnel on the beams.” Bradbury’s characterization of the fire as “clever” as well as the description of the house’s brain both add to the personification and conflict of these two inanimate beings. As nature begins to dominantly destroy the house and the last sense of humanity it holds, Abby Werlock’s quote in “There Will Come Soft Rains” sums up the final interaction perfectly, “the end of the story is best understood as an inevitable end to the worst aspects of humanity.” With the final pieces of humanity is destroyed, nature carries on and takes its natural course.
As Bradbury builds is ultimate point throughout his entire short story, his final point is summed up in lines nine and ten of Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Will Come Soft Rain” of the very poem Bradbury used as the namesake to his short story, “Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, if mankind perished utterly.”
Cementing that Bradbury’s ultimate message is that, regardless of what humans do and how they use technology, nature will always be able to prevail and triumph over humans and technology.