August 2026 There Will Come Soft Rains Essay

When man’s reach exceeds his grasp, he will bring about his own destruction. This idea is present in many of Ray Bradbury’s pieces. In one of Bradbury’s works, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”, the author presents the idea that man’s complacency with technology will only cause humanity’s destruction. Bradbury’s short story indirectly warns the readers of the dangers of letting humanity’s scientific achievements run wild. There is danger in complacency. This is one of the many themes that Bradberry is presenting through his two-paged short story.
During the 1940’s, the atomic bomb had been developed. No sooner than a decade later were the bombs thrust into Japan. Technology was advancing at a rapid pace, and the fear of technology replacing

Irony is one of the larger story elements that lends itself to the theme. The narrator states that the house is “an altar with ten thousand attendants, big, small, servicing, attending, in choirs. But the gods had gone away, and the ritual of the religion continued senselessly, uselessly” (Bradbury 2). The house consists of various mechanical servants that were all designed to aid their creators, in an attempt at an easier life. But all the technology in the house could do nothing to help them from the other, far more destructive advancement of technology: the atomic bomb. How ironic, that the house was made to serve “the gods” (2), but was unable to help from the nuclear

This house, with all its mechanical helpers, was able to survive for so long. It was even able to stay standing after the nuclear holocaust. The narrator states, “How well the house had kept its peace. How carefully it had inquired, ‘Who goes there?’ (Bradbury 2).” Because this house was able to keep its peace for so long, it thought it could protect itself against anything, as it survived the nuclear explosion. However the house’s complacency led to it’s destruction. In the story, the house was attacked by a fire. “The wind blew. A failing tree bough crashed through the kitchen window. Cleaning solvent, bottled, shattered over the stove. The room was ablaze in an instant! (3)” The house had even attempted to save itself! The smaller rat robots scurried from their stations and threw water onto the fire. “The wall sprays let down showers of mechanical rain” (3). But the house’s attempts were too late. “Somewhere, sighing, a pump shrugged to a stop. The quenching rain ceased. The reserve water supply which had filled baths and washed dishes… was gone” (3). All the water that was used to wash the dishes, fill the baths, and water the plants; that was supposed to be used to help the humans, was gone. The house was only able to catch fire because it thought it could protect itself from anything, even nature. This is how the house that the humans had created had become