Name: ________________________________________________________
Due Date: _________________
Directions: Read the short story, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” and then answer the following questions in
complete sentences in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper. The final question should be answered
using the standard PARCC paragraph format.
1. Why do you think, “the house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes… [and] This was the one house left
standing”? _____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Identify & describe the imagery in the paragraph beginning with, “Ten-fifteen,” on page one. What are the
silhouettes? What can we learn about the family that lived in the house as a result of this paragraph? ______
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Reread the paragraph that begins with the words, “Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace.”
What is ironic about the fact that the house, “inquired, “Who goes there? What’s the password?” and,
getting no answer from lonely foxes and whining cats, it had shut up its windows and drawn shades in an
old-maidenly preoccupation with self-protection which bordered on mechanical paranoia”? _____________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Is there a difference between the water that comes from the rain and the water that comes from the sprinklers
in this story? Circle all of the instances where Bradbury references real, natural rain. Underline all of the
examples of water coming from sprinklers, or any other mention of “mechanical rain.” Compare & contrast
the two and then explain what natural rain might signify vs. what mechanical rain might signify. _________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is being described on page two in the paragraph that begins, “Animals took shape”? Symbolically, what
is significant about the way this place is decorated? _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. On page two, the poem by Sara Teasdale, also called “There Will Come Soft Rains,” is what the house reads
aloud at 9:00 PM. What is the theme of the poem? Why do you think Bradbury included it in this narrative
and made it the title of the story? ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
7. The story begins with the line, “In the living room, the voice clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get
up, time to get up, seven o’clock! As if it were afraid that nobody would.” What literary device is Bradbury
using? What is the effect of the author’s use of this literary device? Provide evidence from the text to
support your response. ____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Reread paragraph eleven on page one that begins, “It quivered at each sound…” and focus on the lines that
explain that, “the house was an altar with ten thousand attendants, big, small, servicing, attending, in choirs.
But the gods had gone away, and the ritual of the religion continued senselessly, uselessly.” What literary
device is Bradbury using here and how does it contribute to the message he is conveying? Provide evidence
from the text to support your response. _______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Explain what destroys the house. How do you know? ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
10. PARCC Paragraph Response: Develop a thesis statement which briefly answers the question. Then use the
standard PARCC paragraph format to develop one body paragraph as if it were part of a whole essay.
Question: There are many answers to the question, “what message was Ray Bradbury trying to convey to the
reader in this story?” Below, you will find a list of three statements that could potentially reflect the author’s
overall message in “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Using your analysis of the story as a reference point as well
as your own personal experience or global knowledge, select one option from the list that you feel BEST
illustrates Bradbury’s message. As part of your pre-writing, determine which statement has the strongest text
support for your theory, then write your thesis.
Options:
 Technology can be just as dangerous as it can be helpful.
 No matter how evolved technology becomes, it will never be a match for nature.
 Even technology can’t save us from ourselves.
Thesis Statement: __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Body Paragraph #1:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________