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There Will Come Soft Rains Technology

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What Will Happen In 2026 Has Been Told By Ray Bradbury Technology. It is all around and is something that people have developed a strong dependence on, if not an addiction to. The short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” focuses on the last standing house in the world to highlight advanced technology's benefits and destructive outcomes. But what happens to the artificial intelligence once there are no humans? People constantly strive for bigger and better things, but what if that means the end of the human race? Through a social lens, Ray Bradbury's dystopian short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" exposes the socially destructive effects of technological dependence on humans through symbolism and the setting of the short story. Humans carry …show more content…

Blinded by the dependence on technology, Ray Bradbury prophesies that nuclear weapons will leave destruction and dark shadows behind, allowing nature to persevere once again. The automated house that "stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes" after a nuclear attack destroyed everything in its path, the automated house being the main focus of the narrative, is set in Allendale, California (Bradbury, p.1). The automated house is programmed to follow a strict schedule, which it still tries to perform even after the four inhabitants of the house have been killed by the nuclear attack, leaving five shadows on the outside of the automated house. The automated house announces “Today is August 4, 2026” and repeats “the date three times for memory’s sake” but there is no one there who will have to remember the date (Bradbury, p.1). The automated house goes through the day performing chores and announcing the time for no one to hear until something out of the ordinary disrupts the evening routine. A tree fell onto the automated house, sparking a fire. Although "the house tried to save itself," it ultimately met the same end as those nearby (Bradbury, …show more content…

While technology has become technologically advanced, it leaves humans unable to think and do things for themselves independently. In this way, the house is a metaphor for humanity: "The house tried to save itself," but it was too late to prevent its destruction, just as people are powerless to protect themselves from their actions and technology (Bradbury, p.4). Throughout history, fire has been used to purify the corrupt and toxic. The most devastating fire, the first fire, left the city “off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles” leaving only a few birds and foxes (Bradbury, p.1). At the same time, the last fire destroyed the last remnants of humanity, the automated house. Because the extinction of the human species was indeed the result of nature's triumph and the ignorance of technology, Ray Bradbury emphasizes with the use of the poem by Sara Teasdale that “if mankind perished utterly” it would not be noticed (Bradbury, p. 4). The poem symbolizes the cycle of nature’s victory against humankind. Ray Bradbury's dystopian short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" explores the harmful effects of technology's dependence on humans through the use of symbolism and the story's

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