Who are the antagonists in "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

If the story's protagonist is the house, then the antagonist is going to be anything that seeks to destroy the house. The most concrete answer, then, is that the fire is the antagonist. The house furiously tries to defend itself against the fire, and the battle is portrayed in a way that really makes it seem like two conscious entities pitted against each other in a life-and-death battle. Another possible antagonist is nature. The humans are gone; therefore, nobody is able to keep nature's continual process of succession from happening. Even without the fire, the house would eventually be consumed by weeds and other kinds of growth as nature seeks to rebuild itself back to what it was before humans cleared the land for the house in the first place. A third possible antagonist would be the concept of entropy. Entropy is a measure of disorder, and the house is desperately struggling against disorder and decay. The house does not win that fight, so entropy is the antagonist that wins the fight. A final possibility is that the antagonist is technology in general. The house is loaded with advanced technology; however, it was the technology of the nuclear bomb that caused all of the trouble in the first place.

Who is the antagonist in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and why?

I would classify technology as the antagonist of the story. It's true that the family who once lived in the house is already dead, but we continue to see how easily they could be destroyed by the very technology they embraced so wholeheartedly. If they hadn't already died in a nuclear holocaust—brought on by technology—they might have died in the fire caused by technology in their home anyway. The narrator describes how a tree bough falls and breaks through the window in the kitchen: "Cleaning solvent, bottled, shattered over the stove. The room was ablaze in an instant!" Yes, nature was responsible for the tree falling, but technology was responsible for the giant container of cleaning fluid that actually enabled the fire to begin. Therefore, technology is the story's antagonist.

Who is the antagonist in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and why?

In one sense, the story "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury does not have a standard protagonist or antagonist. This is not itself problematic. While fiction or drama can be structured as a contest between a protagonist and an antagonist with a resolution, such a structure is not essential. There are other types of plot, and it is also possible to have stories that emphasize character or atmosphere rather than plot per se.

Although there are no human characters alive in the story, as they all have died in a nuclear holocaust, the house itself almost functions as a character. It attempts to follow its programming and maintain a sort of order amidst the chaos of a post-apocalyptic world. Many readers sympathize with the house, in a sense, and anthropomorphize its programming as a sort of struggle against disorder and decay. Thus, one could claim that the house functions as a protagonist, and the force of entropy as an antagonist.

Who is the antagonist in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and why?

"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a story which does not feature any human characters at all. However, Bradbury's use of personification is so effective that the house takes on a sorrowful, tragic personality of its own. It is simultaneously heroic and pitiful as it strives to uphold its responsibilities in a world with no humans to attend to. Through personification, Bradbury turns his house into his protagonist. He does likewise to create his antagonist.

This story concludes with the house destroyed by a fire. However, the language Bradbury devotes to this scene is extremely evocative. It is portrayed as a life-and-death struggle, and just as the house is personified, so too are the flames that destroy it. The fire is depicted as a ravenous, destructive force (Bradbury also uses the word "clever" to describe it). Though the house attempts to defend itself, the fire proves overwhelming in the end. Thus, I would suggest that the fire serves as the story's antagonist.

Who is the antagonist in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and why?

It is important to note that the story features no human characters and thus the antagonist in this case is described as a concept.

The house, which is the central figure in the story, remains standing and operational after the world around it is destroyed, possibly by nuclear weapons. The inhabitants are all obliterated except for their dog that dies soon after from hunger and radiation poisoning. The house is a symbol of advanced technology. It continues to perform its duties in spite of the inhabitant’s absence. For instance, the mechanical stove continues to prepare food and the robot in the study continues to read poems. Conflict is introduced when a fire breaks out in the house. Strong winds break a tree branch that crashes through the kitchen window, spilling cleaning solvent on the stove and starting a fire. The house employs all the technology at its disposal to extinguish the fire but fails, supposedly from the lack of human intervention.

Nature emerges victorious against technology. Technology as embodied by the house and the nuclear weapons, succeed in ending man’s existence and forging on but it is forced to yield to nature’s forces. Technology in the story is portrayed as an antagonistic force while nature restores balance.