ISC Long Answer Questions :
Question : Comment on the ending of the story.
Answer: The ending of the story “There Will Come Soft Rains” is the climax of the story when a huge fire engulf the house in the night. All the automated devices and advanced technology, that the house was equipped with, were failed against the elements of nature in the form of wind and fire. The house is nearly dead and it is compared to a pile of skeletons as all the machines pile up “like skeletons thrown in a cluttered mound deep under”.
Even though the house had human like traits, it did not show any human like compassion in its routine, it was always preoccupied with governing schedule. Even when the house caught fire, its automated devices hurriedly tries to make breakfast, cutting the lawn by remote control mower, or setting an umbrella frantically out and in, slamming and opening front door and announcing the time etc. It is tragically disconnected from reality.
As the sun rises the house is reduced to a heap of “rubble and steam”. It is an irony that the automatic device and gadgets are themselves impotent and ineffective in preventing large scale destruction by the elemental forces like the fire or the wind.
All these events explores the theme of technology remains always inferior to life.
This is evident in only a lone wall surviving the fire, that still keeps on repeating what it had been doing prior to this. It announces, endlessly, without any purpose “Today is August 5, 2026, today is …..” just like the technology had continued to function for no inhabitants.
This ending signifies nature’s supremacy over advanced technology developed by human. Here the author successfully conveys the message that nature will regain its primacy and important role as a healing power.
Question : Why are there no human characters ? Describe some personified characters in the story.
Answer: The story is set in the locale of an only intact house that has survived the nuclear catastrophe. After this explosion which has annihilated everything, no human character left alive in this story.
The house itself and its various automated devices like cleaning mice, alarm clock, speaking voices etc. are personified as characters of the story.
The house is computer controlled futuristic house which is made alive with the voice repeating routine activity supposed to be performed daily. It announces the time and date, reminds birthdays and anniversaries important to the inhabitants. All the gadgets fitted in it, continue to discharge their activities of preparing food, washing dishes and clothes, making beds, cleaning, sprinkling water on plants etc. oblivious of the fact that there is no one to be served.
Apart from the house, the tiny robotic mice for cleaning are also personified as the character in the story. They always appear at the hint of any “offending dust, hair or paper” which they grab in their jaws and take back to the burrows. When the family dog tracks mud in the house, these robot mice give the dog a cruel welcome they seemed to be “angry at the inconvenience”. Even though the dog has sores on its body and hardly any flesh in its bones, the house does not express sympathy instead the mice are irritated at having to clean up.
The clock may also be considered as one of the characters. Like a modern clock it announces time for each activity scheduled to be performed by the family although there is none left to listen.
All these devices are meant for serving humans despite there being no humans left alive for whom these activities are done. It is an irony that technology pointlessly serving no real purpose though seeming alive.
Question : Discuss the literary devices used in the story.
Answer: The author, Ray Bradbury has used literary devices like similies, metaphors, allusions, symbols etc. to effectively highlight man’s destruction at his own hands and nature’s all – pervasive continuity mocking at man’s advancement.
The author uses a number of simile and metaphors which describe the house as a human body of sorts. The house seems to have a “paranoia” which is old maidenly in its nature and refers to the “nerves”, “veins” and “capillaries” of the house, as if it were a vast living organism itself.
There is personification in the description of the robot mice: “Behind it whirred angry mice, upset at needing to get mud, upset at hassle”. Robot machines are just machines, but the author has given them the human quality of being angry.
Besides there is allusion to Baal, the evil king in hell. Describing the furnace, it is said, “It was dropped into the sighing vent of the incinerators which sat like evil Baal in a dark corner”.
Author also uses warm family imagery to create a home as “The garden sprinklers whirled up in golden faunts, filling the soft morning air with scatterings of brightness.”
Another example of metaphor can be found when the author talks about the uneaten food which is washed away: “hot water whirled them down a metal throat which digested and flushed them away”. Here the sink drain pipes are compared with a metal throat, using metaphor because there are no humans alive to eat the food that the automatic system has prepared.
This way all these literary devices put together to create a unique style of creativity of the author.
Question: What is the relevance of the poem with the same title in the story ? How does it help to deal with the theme more effectively ?
Answer: In one of the activities done by the house, for the entertainment of the inmates, the automatic sound device recites a poem ” There will come soft rains” by Sara Teasdale. Bradbury includes the poem to emphasise his theme of humankind’s over – reliance on technology leading to its destruction. The poem is an optimistic poem which describes a beautiful scene in post – apocalyptic world where mankind no longer exists. The poem highlights the idea that nature will outlast humanity and continue to thrive even after the destruction of human civilisation.
Bradbury uses this poem to reinforce his message that humans should exercise more care and humility with technology. It doesn’t matter how much advanced the science and technology have become, ultimately nature will outlast humanity and continue to thrive.
The story depicts the last day in the life of a house which is a marvel of automation and technology. This futuristic house is equipped with the automatic devices to serve human but ironically at the same time, the technology is developed to such an extent that it has killed the human civilisation by means of nuclear bomb. Here the theme of over – reliance on technology leading to its destruction is explored.
Bradbury is deeply concerned with how various kinds of technology, dehumanises human life or replacing people.
It looks quite amusing when advanced technology leads to the destruction of humankind, and automated sound system of the house recites the poem about, how happy nature will become when human has destroyed himself. When radiation hangs in the city, the automated house still continue to survive which shows the power of technology over human. But all it takes is a gust of wind to start a fire and the house is completely destroyed in fire. The elemental forces of nature like fire overwhelm man’s proud inventions and discoveries and technological developments.
Bradbury includes the poem in his story to foreshadow the story’s conclusion which is that nature will continue and heal itself even after the house is destroyed by the fire.
Bradbury use this poem to remind us that we are not really that important – life on the Earth will continue without us, if we are so stupid as to make ourselves extinct. We would not be missed by anyone, not by the birds or the frogs and nor the things we have made for our convenience and comfort.