Technology In There Will Come Soft Rains

Have you ever thought about what life would be like if technology took over? Well in these short stories, they touch on what would happen if it did. In the short story, “There Will Come Soft Rains”, by Ray Bradbury, and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut the theme of Technology will be our downfall is built through the use of mental handicaps and smart houses.

In the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury the shared theme of tech will be our downfall is created by a bomb and a fire. “Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers”(Bradbury 12) this text implies that a bomb went off when this family was outside. “The house gave ground as the fire in ten billion angry sparks moved with flaming ease from room to room and then up the stairs. While scurrying water rats squeaked from the walls, pistolled their water, and ran for more. And the wall sprays let down showers of mechanical rain”(Bradbury 51) This evidence shows that sometimes tech can be helpful but this feature could put many people out of jobs.

“And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.”(Vonnegut 3) This text is relevant because it shows that the government is trying to control everyone even their thoughts. “It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.”(Vonnegut 78) The invention of guns results in many many deaths per