Fear In Ray Bradbury's 'The Pedestrian'

rom the dawn of time, man has had many questions. Some he finds answers to, while others he might spend his entire life seeking answers to, one of these being the question of why are humans so vicious to each other? Wise men have spent hours devoted to elaborate explanations, when the root of the answer is quite plain: fear. Fear is perhaps the most powerful motivator; from the seemingly minor fear one might harbor towards mice towards the more complex fear of death, all have something above all that inspires intense fear and loathing, something they would drain seas and level mountains to avoid. When confronted by their fear, some become paralyzed, others fight or flee, but when completely immersed in their fear, unable to escape or ignore,

Such is the case of Mr. Leonard Mead, from Ray Bradbury’s acclaimed short story “The Pedestrian”. Confronted by the universal fear of becoming irrelevant, man becomes bitter, Despite the biting cold, when the story opens Mead is walking along the crumbling sidewalk of a residential neighborhood. As he ambles along, he speaks to the houses on either side of him. “Hello...What’s up tonight on Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9? Where are the cowboys rushing, and do I see the United States Cavalry over the next hill to the rescue?” (1) He receives no response, nor does he expect one; the street is deserted, all the residents tucked safely inside their dark houses, their viewing screens casting flickering shadows across the walls for all to see. Behind the feigned humor, one can detect a note of distaste in his voice. Although Mead obviously holds himself to be better than the inhabitants, they are not who his disdain is directed at- rather, the myriad victims of his criticism are the viewing screens. At first blush, the very idea seems nonsensical, but in fact it parallels the reality not only of today,

One could most certainly characterize the police vehicle as a character- after all, despite its not having a driver in the vehicle itself, there would most certainly be someone back at headquarters controlling the machine. Mead’s discovery by the vehicle is thought by Mead to be “a rare, incredible thing… the force had been cut down from three cars to one... there was no need now for the police”. This last is yet another source of bitterness; although the area in which Mead lives is never outright mentioned, it is mentioned that the city in which they live is home to over 3 million people. It is hard to imagine today a world in which there are 3 police cars in one small section of a city, much less in a city of 3 million. To parse that down even further would be considered unthinkable, yet it is mentioned as a matter of fact. Authors are not the only victims in this world- the police, too, might be bitter. One might expect that one outcast would show kindness towards another, but when human nature is involved strange things happen; namely, someone who is hurting and bitter,rather than helping a fellow refugee from society, might turn on them to feel better about themselves, as if to reassure themselves that yes, they might be considered a dying breed, but at least they aren’t as irrelevant as the other guy. In addition, by villainizing Mead, the operator is able to carve out a