There Will Come Soft Rain Literary Analysis

When Reading Bradbury’s Stories, it is easy to tell that he uses a large amount of tools to get his point across. These range from simple metaphors and similes, to more complex one like characterization, personification, and imagery. Each of these tools help build on to the realism which is present in all of his stories. He shows them in simple, subtle ways like “hints”, but he also sometimes just comes right out and says it. It is through these that we are able to put ourselves in the story, and truly feel the message he is trying to get through to us. Ray Bradbury uses a lot of tools throughout his stories! The stories he used the most obvious amount of tools in were “There Will Come Soft Rains”, “A Sound of Thunder”, and “The Veldt”. The

Characterization is when the author leaves small little “clues” as to the appearance, personality, etc of the character(s). This can be shown through dialogue, word choice describing appearance, the actions the character makes, etc. Characterization can also be used alongside personification to give non-living objects personality! "I've met my match and admit it. This is too much for me" –Eckels (“A Sound of Thunder”). This quote is a piece of Eckel’s, a character from “A Sound of Thunder”, characterization. It shows that he was once brave, but now he is frightened and willing to admit he was wrong. Another example is, “He listened to the faint push of his soft shoes through autumn leaves with satisfaction, and whistled a cold quiet whistle” (“The Pedestrian”) This is showing us something that makes Mr. Leonard Mead happy! He is simply enjoy the sound of his feet pushing through the leaves as he is walking. Even though this is a subtle detail, it plays a large role in Leonard’s characterization, because it is showing us his thought process, which is part of who he is. Here characterization is used with personification, “It quivered at each sound, the house did. If a sparrow brushed a window, the shade snapped up.” (“There Will Come Soft Rains”). This is showing that the house is paranoid. Even though the house is not alive, it has living characteristics, giving it characterization! Every character is in a setting, and this setting is our