Draft #2 – Essay #2, The Objective Analysis of “The Last Night of the World” by Ray Bradbury In 1950, Albert Einstein warned that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction, the Korean War began, Truman sent troops to Vietnam, the Cold War had already begun, the Black Death itself was weaponized in Britain, and Truman approved creation of a hydrogen bomb. This was the context in which Ray Bradbury wrote his short story “The Last Night of the World” short story, originally published in 1951, by in Esquire. This story explores what is and is not real, to produce a surreal experience for the reader. Taken in the context of its time, this surreal feeling parallels what one can imagine was felt to some degree by the general population. Regardless …show more content…
The reader is prompted to wonder if the scene itself is depicting reality or a dream of the characters. While the story is fiction, it at first appears to be based in normal reality, rather than a fantasy or science fiction world. One way the reader is prompted to wonder about the reality of the scene is through the date given within the story of February 30th, 1951. The protagonist even points out explicitly that “…it was never February 30, 1951, ever before in history, and now it is and that's it…” This date is not real. There is no such date except in fictional stories like J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy writings about Hobbits and their calendar of “Shire Reckoning,” where every month has 30 days (Tolkien 1082). These books are clearly based in a fantasy world, not reality, so all aspects of reality, including calendars, can be redefined. The end of the world approached in Tolkien’s story, just as it does in Bradbury’s. Hobbits, very key players in preventing Tolkien’s end to Middle Earth, had to overcome deeply rooted tendencies toward denial. They wanted peace and quiet and had no interest in what went on beyond their borders. Bradbury brings Tolkien’s Hobbits to mind for this reader during the following exchange between the protagonist and his