Ray Bradbury
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Ray Bradbury: one of the
most celebrated ScienceFiction writers.
Best known for Fahrenheit
451 (which you will be
reading)
This short story was
sparked by new
advancements in
technology
There are no human
characters
Huge statement of
IRONY!!! (LOOK FOR IT)
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Texting is eliminating letters and even phone
calls
Personal is being taken away from
communication
WHAT TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCEMENTS DO YOU PREDICT BY
2026?
1.
2.
3.
Does the Point of View
presented in this story fit
with your idea of a future
world?
Compare the house with a
human, what important
qualities of a human is the
house missing?
Do you think the future
described is possible?
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Atomic boom!
Imprints on the walls
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They were burned.
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Cleaning (Mice)
Cooking
Safety
Reading poetry
Music
Lawn care
Schedule keeper
Alarm
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Ray Bradbury incorporates the
poem for two reasons:
First, to imply that the family that
lived there was aware of the war
and hoped for peace.
 Second, to add an ironic element
since the words of the poem came
true.
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What is the theme of the poem?
The theme of the poem is that
even if humanity is not
around, even though it has
drastically affected the world,
nature will never remember
that it existed.
How does the Poem reveal the
Theme of the story?
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The poem is a symbol for what happened:
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First, it implies that humanity has been destroyed in
a war as Sara Teasdale mentions.
Second, it says that nature will not care, and we see
this because all of the natural world has taken
dwelling in the remains of the ruined city as if
nothing happened.
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Man vs. Nature:
First, a fire caused by a falling tree destroys the
house.
 The house is paranoid of animals as shown when it
closes its blinds as a bird approaches the window.
 Lastly, the house refuses to accept that humankind
has ceased to exist and has continued its routine
unlike the natural world.
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Man vs. Fate:
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At the end of the story, the house attempts to fight
the fire and retained its belief in the existence of
humankind even though it did not exist.
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The house in There
Will Come Soft Rains
had a routine, just as a
human would.
The stove gave a
hissing sigh.
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“In the kitchen the
breakfast stove gave a
hissing sigh and ejected
from its warm interior
eight pieces of perfectly
browned toast…”
*SIGH*
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The house quivered at
each sound.
 “It quivered at each
sound, the house did.”
The mice became angry at
the inconvenience of
having to pick up mud
after the dog.
 “Behind it whirred angry
mice, angry at having to
pick up mud, angry at
inconvenience.”
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The setting is the house,
and the house has
human characteristics.
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The house makes breakfast.
 “In the kitchen the
breakfast stove gave a
hissing sigh and ejected
from its warm interior eight
pieces of perfectly browned
toast, eight eggs sunnyside
up, sixteen slices of bacon,
two coffees, and two cool
glasses of milk.”
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The house, compared to a human, is stronger.
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The house lasted longer than the humans did.
 The house had a routine that it went by, and it
continued to go by that routine although the humans
were dead.
 The technology lasted longer
than the humans did.
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1.
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What are some examples from the story?
What are some examples from HG?
What are some real life examples?
Group Assignment
Think of something that could be better, that
could make our lives better.
As a group name your new invention.
Write a sales pitch answering the following
questions:
Description, what void it will fill, how it is
better than what we have.