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There Will Come Soft Rains

by Ray Bradbury

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Discussion Topic

Evidence and demonstration of the theme of machines causing human destruction in Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains."

Summary:

In "There Will Come Soft Rains," Bradbury illustrates the theme of machines causing human destruction through the automated house continuing its routine despite the absence of its human occupants, who have been annihilated by a nuclear event. The house's persistence and ultimate destruction by fire underscore the irony and futility of technological advancements without humanity.

Expert Answers

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What evidence supports the theme of humans vs. machines in Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

The relationship between humans and technology lies at the base of Bradbury's short story.  I think that you would want to focus upon how Bradbury brings up the contradictory element of how human beings interact with technology.  On one hand, it is evident that humans and machines can produce some wonderful elements.  The house is an example of this.  It can do just about everything one would want it to do.  It is a modern marvel, designed to make human life much easier.  However, the contradiction lies in that the house is perfect, but it is also representative of how machines can be designed to wipe out all humanity.  There is no sign of human life anywhere in the story, presumably wiped out by a nuclear bomb or attack.  It is here where I think that machines, in the form of technology, is shown to potentially be a disaster for human beings.  In the end, Bradbury's short story reveals how there is a dynamic that exists between human beings and machines, one that reflects the greatest of human achievement and the very worst capabilities of human beings.  The same insight that developed the wondrous house also helped to create the setting where nuclear weapons has succeeded in wiping out all of humanity. In this way, there is significant question as to what it means to be human in an increasingly mechanized world.  Focusing on how the house is an example of human greatness with technology and simultaneously placing emphasis on how there are no humans that can regale in the glory of accomplishment is the precarious situation in which Bradbury places the reader.

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