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There Will Come Soft Rains | Introduction

"There Will Come Soft Rains" is one of Ray Bradbury's most famous stones. Also known as "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains," the story was written and published in Bradbury's highly acclaimed collection of stories, The Martian Chronicles, in 1951. Written in an era in which many people were concerned about the devastating effects of nuclear weapons, the story depicts a world in which human beings have been destroyed by nuclear force. The central irony of the story is the fact that humans have been destroyed rather than saved by their own technology. The atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, were recent memories in 1951, and many readers and critics found Bradbury's images of a desolate planet haunting and cautionary. In a further moral lesson, Bradbury shows how human technology is able to withstand the demise of its maker, yet is ultimately destroyed by nature, a force which prevails over all others. The story, which happens in the future but takes its title from a poem by a nineteenth-century writer, is a prime example of how science fiction literature can encompass moral and philosophical concerns.

There Will Come Soft Rains Summary

The story opens with a clock announcing that it is time to wake up and a hint of premonition that perhaps no one will. In the kitchen, the stove cooks breakfast and a voice from the ceiling announces the setting: Allendale, California, on August 4, 2026.

The automated house prepares itself for the day, but its inhabitants have not responded to several wake up calls, breakfast, the weather box, or the waiting car. The robotic mice finish cleaning the house, and it is revealed that the family who lived in the house—two parents, a daughter and son— have died. They are now "five spots of paint" against a house covered with a "thin charcoal layer." The city is in rubble and the "radioactive glow" emitted in the area indicates... » Complete There Will Come Soft Rains Summary

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1. There Will Come Soft Rains: Introduction
2. There Will Come Soft Rains: Summary
3. There Will Come Soft Rains: Ray Bradbury Biography
4. There Will Come Soft Rains: Characters
5. There Will Come Soft Rains: Themes
6. There Will Come Soft Rains: Style
7. There Will Come Soft Rains: Historical Context
8. There Will Come Soft Rains: Critical Overview
9. There Will Come Soft Rains: Essays and Criticism
   1. Imagery in Bradbury's Story
   2. The Subversion of Nature in Bradbury's Story
   3. The Dangers of Being Earnest-Ray Bradbury and The Martian Chronicles
10. There Will Come Soft Rains: Compare and Contrast
11. There Will Come Soft Rains: Topics for Further Study
12. There Will Come Soft Rains: Media Adaptations
13. There Will Come Soft Rains: What Do I Read Next?
14. There Will Come Soft Rains: Bibliography and Further Reading
15. There Will Come Soft Rains: Pictures
16. Copyright

Related Topics

1. Ray Bradbury

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