Harrison Lisle

English 101

02/07/15

Professor Phillips                                                         

There Will Come Forced Change

As human beings we have all learned the lesson that things can never permanently stay the same. Some things may last for the life times of many generations but the world is far too chaotic for one routine or idea to be able to stay around without change. This concept is what Ray Bradbury is trying to build off with "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains". Through the story of the robotic house that is stuck doing the same routines day in and out Bradbury is able to show how crazy it actually seems to have something that does not change.  Bradbury uses literary tools such as repetition, imagery, comparison, and the wording to convey his idea that change is something that is bound to happen. By using the example of the technologically advanced house persisting even though society has ended around it Bradbury creates a vivid image in the head of the reader while at the same time tying in his idea.

Repetition is something that Bradbury uses heavily from the very first line of his story to the very last line of his story. He uses repetition to show how doing something without change can be harmful. The house endlessly repeats the time through the story in phrases such as "Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up." This endless repetition of saying the time is important to Bradbury's idea of change due to the fact that at the end of the story when almost everything else has changed the now broken remains of the house clings to repeating the time and date. "Among  ...  August 5, 2026," these last few lines support the previously stated idea above because they show that everything in this house has been forced to change. It has either been burned down or damaged in some way so it no longer properly functions as it once did. Something as simple as the repetition of the time is used by Bradbury to set apart the two different scenarios. One is the image of the house happily repeating the time and date during its normal routine and the other is the image of the lone wall repeating the date after the fire forcibly changed the house. The other section of the story where Bradbury uses repetition to show the need for change is during the fire. The lines "While scurrying ... ..ran for more." shows how the houses repetition and refusal to change ultimately caused its downfall. The house repeatedly did the same non effective thing to the fire until it was forced to use a different method which may have saved the house if it had changed what it was doing earlier. Even though the house was very technologically advanced there was no part of its programming that allowed it to adapt and required some kind of outside influence such as the fire or human instruction to force a change in its routine. This fruitless repetition of these mice is another way that Bradbury shows how important change is. Repetition is something that may seem minor but plays a huge role in pushing Bradbury's idea throughout the story.

Imagery plays a large role in getting the audience to picture the idea Bradbury is trying to convey in a way that they relate to. The imagery actually makes Bradbury's ideas come alive in "There Will Come Soft Rains" as opposed to a story that just presents ideas without any imagery to interest the reader. One of the most vivid lines of the story is "But the fire ... the beams." Bradbury paints the image of the fire as almost a sentient being that is chaotically forcing the change of the house. He makes the fire seem like it is actively fighting against the house and planning different ways to succeed at its goals. This just shows nature's ability to triumph over technology given enough time due to the fact that nature is constantly evolving on its own while technology requires an outside source to adapt. "The crash ... .deep under." The way that 

Bradbury describes the final destruction of the house makes it very easy to paint a mental picture of the house finally submitting to the fire and collapsing. This image of the destroyed house finally collapsing is something so different from the original image of the nearly lone futuristic house standing on its own in the middle of a wasteland that you were introduced to in the beginning of the story. The contrast of these two images just highlights the inevitable change that Bradbury is showing in his story. Bradbury's use of imagery brings readers into the story and goes a long way in empathizing his point through the entirety of the story.

The comparisons that Bradbury uses are relatively subtle but are still present throughout the entirety of his story. The first big comparison that shadows Bradbury's idea for change is "The house was an altar ... .. uselessly." The comparison of the house being like some kind of alter that was abandon by the gods is like a person or idea being left behind by society due to the inability to change. This unchanging technology in the house was made by a society who clearly was not able to change their ways and stop from destroying themselves. As Bradbury shows in his story this inability to change ended in the house being destroyed and would inevitably end up very poorly for a person. At the same time the unchanging person or idea typically doesn't serve much of a purpose to the surrounding environment just like the house. The next significant comparison that Bradbury included in the story was "The fire backed  ... . snake." This line serves to draw a comparison of the fire temporarily being forced to back away to a person temporarily not being forced to change. Sure the fire was pushed back for a bit but inevitably was successful in burning the house back just as inevitably with enough time even the most stubborn of ideas or people will be forced to change elsewise they fade away.  Bradbury has these subtle comparisons that can be made between the situation of the fire and the house with the need for change throughout the end of his story. Near the very end Bradbury includes a comparison that almost serves as a warning "The crash  ... . cluttered mound deep under." He shows the consequences of the house resisting change for such a long time and just staying in its old unproductive routine just as a person who resists change for too long may become a social outcast or worse. All of the comparisons throughout the story serve to strengthen Bradbury's need for change by bringing the examples in the story into more of a realistic point of view.

Finally Bradbury uses the very wording of his story to constantly push the reader towards his idea of change. Bradbury describes the house with phrases like "it had shut ... . a mechanical paranoia." This description of the house being like a scared old maid makes the reader think things like "Why is the house doing that?" and "Can't the house just adapt to its new surroundings?" Sadly the house could not change even though it was very technologically advanced due to the fact that it needed an outside force to cause a change in its routines. The entire way that Bradbury words the actions of the house make its so the reader is almost forced into viewing the house as this timid almost silly thing that just refuses to recognize what's going on around it until its destruction. Bradbury describes many of the pointless rituals of the house such as the cleaning he describes in many instances. One such instance during the start of the story when Bradbury writes "For not a leaf fragment blew under the door  ... . to the burrows." This orderly cleaning is just so out of place and pointless in this post-apocalyptic world and the word choice in Bradbury highlights this. The sensible thing for the house to do would change some part or all of its routine so it better fit into the new world it was in. Throughout the story Bradbury uses a very descriptive style of writing that supports his idea because it allows him to show all of the flaws with something refusing to change such as when he writes about when the dog coming into the house. "The dog  ...  and died." This line shows how the house refusal to change actually hurt another. The house just let the dog in and didn't provide any kind of food or aid to the dog while it suffered. With this Bradbury shows the refusal to change not only harms the person who refuses to change but also can harm those around them.

Through the use of metaphors, comparison, wording, and imagery Bradbury puts together a very strong argument for change in "There Will Come Soft Rains". Showing that something as simple as change can be mutually beneficial to all that are involved. Also Bradbury shows that refusing to change can harm the individual and all those around them. All of this combines to make a very interesting story for the reader that entertains while at the same time conveying the message Bradbury worked into the underlying story.                                         
