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Literary Techniques In Ray Bradbury's 'Calling Mexico'

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Ray Bradbury is known for his provocative and moving work, and his short story “Calling Mexico” is no exception. In this story, an ailing, elderly man in Illinois attempts to capture the nostalgic sights and sounds of Mexico City via a telephone call. In the story, Calling Mexico, the three main techniques that Ray Bradbury included to improve the story is characterization, foreshadowing, and themes to incorporate lifelong lessons. Topic Sentence 1… Ray Bradbury is an outstanding author and this stories is just wonderful. Bradbury, in the story, first tries to characterize the main character, Colonel Freeleigh in many ways that would make anyone pity the Colonel. Colonel Freeleigh, from “Calling Mexico,” is a moribund man who wants to refresh …show more content…

However, Freeleigh just can’t bear living in a confined area for over ten years and wants to feel and sense the beautiful world, that he is missing, especially the bustling and ever-growing, Mexico City. He is very curious about what has happened since his 10-year confinement. Freeleigh is only able to this by a phone, so he calls up his friend in Mexico City. “The old man leaned forward, gripping the receiver tightly to his wrinkled ear that ached with the waiting for the next sound. The raising of a window...The sounds of Mexico City… rose through the open window into the waiting phone,” (Paragraphs 15-18). The Colonel has been waiting for this for the past ten years and when he finally hears it, he can just feel and sense what is going in the city. It is as if he knows and can picture the bustling city in his mind. His ears were aching for this day to come. The reader can understand Colonel Freeleigh’s pain that he must endure mentally and physically. The Colonel has to face the hard facts, he can’t move anymore and has to stay in this confined zone. This is what he faces in the physical world, however, there is also the mental place of which he can’t live his life fully again. Even though …show more content…

Every story, whether it’s about fictional characters or something, always has themes that the author puts in, to teach students and educate them about the world around them. The story “Calling Mexico,” by Ray Bradbury, falls into this category as well. In the story, Ray Bradbury presented the students by three lifelong themes. The first and one of the most major theme that the author writes directly is when the nurse comes in to check on Freeleigh to make sure he is not excited. Freeleigh gets angry at what she says and tells her that, “It doesn’t matter if being so alive kills a man,” (Paragraph 35). This sentence is just one statement, however it has so many hidden meanings, that it can be considered one of the most important statement in the story. Colonel’s statement shows his characteristics, foreshadows things, and even is one of the main themes in this short story. What is the reason to live, if a person can’t live with the things they loved and had pleasant memories with. This statement summarizes the theme of the Colonel’s statement. Ray Bradbury, wants to convey this message to his readers about what happens when someone who loved something has to sacrifice and has to suffer. The Colonel is Bradbury’s model. Colonel Freeleigh is in isolation because of some complex medical reason in which he can’t excite himself. If this happened to anyone, they would just break and probably not even survive through a month. However, the Colonel has been

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