In the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains,” Ray
Bradbury urges readers to consider the ways in which life would continue if
humans were to disappear. Through comparing the fictional universe presented in
the story with the world depicted in Sara Teasdale’s poem, Bradbury concludes
that if humans were to vanish, nature would begin to wither away while
technology would continue on as if nothing had happened.
In
the post-apocalyptic city of ruins know as Allendale, California, the only
sources of “life” that are able to withstand the radioactive environment and
carry on are a robotic house and the small mechanical animals that live within
its walls (222). Completely oblivious to the fact that its owners are long
gone, the house continues to cook, clean, fill bathtubs, play music, and read
poetry aloud. The irony in this story presents itself in the scene where the
house randomly decides to read a poem written by Sara Teasdale, which focuses
on the ways in which nature would be able to flourish if humans were to destroy
themselves in a war (225). The rather hopeful message of the poem stands in
stark contrast with the reality of the short story. In the story, when the
humans destroy themselves (most likely through a nuclear war), they leave
nature to wither and die. This point is underscored in the passage where the
cadaverous, “sore-infested” dog enters the robotic house in search of food (223).
Having no humans to care for it and no small animals to hunt, the starving
innocent beast of nature spins into a “frenzy and dies” (224).
Even
though a large portion of the house later goes up in flames, the small
mechanical animals and automated calendar system both survive even though there
is no longer anyone around to utilize either of them. In the end, it is the “ignorant”
technology that humans once held in such high regards that survives, not mother
nature. In reality, it is plausible that technology would outlive nature if
humans were to disappear? Or would nature be able to move on without humanity
and technology?
"Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
ReplyDeleteIf mankind perished utterly."
The irony of this line from Sara Teasdale's poem, in the context of the story, is, of course, completely lost on the house. The house and all the functioning pieces of technology within continue to run as scheduled despite the total absence of its human occupants. The house also happens to be the last standing structure in the ruins of Allendale, yet it continues to push on until it meets its fiery end. As you said, the house is "completely oblivious" to the environment that we encounter it in. Without human beings, the technology is useless. Any capacity it was made to serve in is now irrelevant.
With respect to your question, Kyle, I think that the story is suggestive of the idea that nature will outlive humans and all that they create. In Bradbury's story, the humans, at least in Allendale, have already died off, leaving behind only their technological legacy, but even that did not last for very long, despite the house's self-preservative mode and the best efforts of the mechanical mice. In the end, both the humans and the technology they created lose this battle. The inclusion of Teasdale's poem reinforces this theme.