Analysis of "Soft Rains May Never Come" from Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles"
... house as refuge from the disaster are turned away as the abode shuts itself up to quietly live out the rest of its existence. Now, the reader may infer that the house is simply an entity within itself; however, the reader is shown signs of earlier existence in the house. He stumbles upon the description of silhouettes, belonging to a family playing in their yard, that have been blasted into the paint of the house. They serve as another symbol to the fate of human existence due to the fault of technology. The silhouettes add to the house’s character by showing the reader the people that it housed and illustrate theme by showing the reader a victim of something that was once thought to be a good thing. Although there are no human characters, the anthromorphic house is considered the main character. Productivity, reliability, and good programming characterize the abode, but these features are all for naught since there is no one present to take advantage of them (There 230). The house is personified and shows the reader that it keeps on living even though nobody is left to depend on the house. At this point, the family dog arrives at the front door. It is described as being “once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores” (Bradbury 168). The house recognizes the pet’s pathetic whimper and lets him in. Sadly, his entrance does not produce sympathy from a loving family. Instead, it merely generates computerized mice zipping angrily behind him cleaning up his unpremeditated mess. This occurrence displays the ironic characteristics of the house, as it acts human, but cannot have any emotional feeling (There 230). The dog then goes alone into a room, where it passes away, and computerized “maids” retrieve his body and take it to the incinerator. The author describes the dark furnace as an “evil Baal in a dark corner,” (Bradbury 168) which is an allusion to an evil god mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible (There 229). From here, the reader ventures into the nursery. Many animals of different colors represent color archetypes that symbolize hope for a new beginning, serenity, and peace, which are all associated with infants, the primary users of the nursery. A light voice softly permeates through the study. “’Mrs. McClellan, which poem would you like this evening?’” (Bradbury 169) Since there is no reply, the voice goes on to explain that it will choose a random poem by the resident’s favorite author, Sara Teasdale. Ironically, Sara Teasdale, a well-known American poet, committed suicide in 1933 (There 229). This is one of the most dramatically ironic points in the story; the effect of stress on her life represents the effect of technology on humans. The poem, which ties in the theme of the short story, describes how nature will move on and stay alive, even after the disappearance of humans. Then, the awaiting cigar and chairs are drawn away, the house ready for its next command. The next command, however, never comes. Nature enters the serene technological Shangri-la, bringing a tree branch crashing into the kitchen window. A large fire erupts, which represents the constantly burning battle between technology and humans. The house attempts to save itself, nearly prevailing, but then nature takes the lead and defeats the house, demonstrating theme once again and depicting the archetype of “The Fall.” The incredible house, once a paradise, becomes a flat pile of nothing overnight. These events occur at night, representing d...