The Pedestrian
by Ray Bradbury
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story
Literary Focus: Setting and
Mood
Reading Skills: Writer’s Purpose
The Pedestrian
by Ray Bradbury
The Pedestrian
Introducing the Story
Technology . . . the knack of so arranging the
world that we don’t have to experience it.
Max Frisch, 1957
The Pedestrian
Introducing the Story
“The Pedestrian” is a
chilling portrayal of a
society in which people
are so isolated in their
homes that a lone
pedestrian is seen as a
threat to the social order.
[End of Section]
The Pedestrian
Literary Focus: Setting and Mood
Setting and Mood
• Setting establishes the
time and place of the
action in the story.
The time is an evening in the
future—November 2053. The
place is a silent city.
The Pedestrian
Literary Focus: Setting and Mood
• Setting can create a mood, or atmosphere—a
subtle emotional overtone that can strongly
affect our feelings.
• What mood does this setting create?
On a dark, cold night in November 2053, the
pedestrian—Leonard Mead—walks alone through the
city. The streets and freeways are deserted. Dark,
tomblike homes line the streets.
[End of Section]
The Pedestrian
Reading Skills: Writer’s Purpose
Note the words Bradbury uses to describe the
main character’s house.
brightly
illumination
square
warm
The words suggest warmth, hope, and solidarity.
This is how Bradbury wants you to see Mead, the
man who lives in the house.
The Pedestrian
Reading Skills: Writer’s Purpose
Take note of how Bradbury uses setting to
express his opinions.
Mead walks through a landscape in which the houses
are compared to dark tombs. The people sit like the
dead. The light from their TVs flickers over the
viewers’ gray and untouchable faces.
Bradbury’s setting suggests a mood of death and
despair. This is the way he wants the reader to see
a future in which people have no interests beyond
their TVs.
[End of Section]
Satire and Dystopia Notes
Satire
Satire—writing that ridicules or makes fun of a
person or institution with the intent to bring about
change. It
• uses humor
• emphasizes irony
• exaggerates situations
• exposes and criticizes stupidity and vices.
Satire is often used in the context of contemporary
politics and other topical and controversial issues.
[End of Section]
Dystopia
Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is
ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws,
customs, and conditions.
Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in
which oppressive control and the illusion of a
perfect society are maintained through strict
control. Dystopias make a criticism about a
current trend, societal norm, or political system.
Characteristics of Dystopian Society
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Propaganda is used to control the citizens.
Information, thought, and freedom are restricted.
A figurehead or concept is worshipped.
Citizens are under constant surveillance.
Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
The natural world is banished and distrusted.
Citizens conform to uniform expectations.
Individuality and dissent are bad.
The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.
Types of Dystopian Controls
Corporate control: One or more large corporations control society
though products, advertising and/or the media. (Minority Report and
The Running Man)
Bureaucratic control: Society is controlled by a mindless
bureaucracy though a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and
incompetent government officials. (Brazil)
Technological control: Society is controlled by technology—
through computers, robots, and/or scientific means. (The Terminator
and I, Robot)
Philosophical/religious control: Society is controlled by
philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a
dictatorship or theocratic government. (The Crucible)
The Dystopian Protagonist
• Often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.
• Questions the existing social and political
systems.
• Believes or feels that something is terribly
wrong with the society in which he or she lives.
• Helps the audience recognize the negative
aspects of the dystopian world through his or
her perspective.
“The Pedestrian”
Dystopian Characteristics
What type of dystopian society
is portrayed?
How is the protagonist trapped?
What existing social and political
systems does the protagonist
question?
What does the protagonist
believe is wrong with the world
in which he lives?
How does the protagonist help
the audience recognize the
negative aspects of the
dystopian world through his or
her perspective?
“The Pedestrian”
Satire
What is “The Pedestrian” satirizing?
People’s willingness to let technology control them
or drive their interactions with others and their
willingness to discover themselves.