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The Pedestrian By Ray Bradbury

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After examining the short story "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury from a Socioeconomic/ Marxist theory the story portrays a dystopian society where the capitalist class and their superstructure suppress individuality and enforce conformity, demonstrating the effects of classism and the conflict of interests between the working class and the ruling class. The society mead lives in is highly stratified, with the ruling class controlling the means of production and the working class being forced to conform to societal norms. Mead can be seen as a representative of the working class; they are viewed as a threat to the bourgeoisie. The conformist citizens who stay home and watch TV could be seen as the proletariat because they are obedient to the norms imposed by the ruling class. By consuming mass media …show more content…

The bourgeoisie, represented by the highly mechanized police car, holds all the power and controls the working class. Through the use of technology, the bourgeoisie can easily eliminate anyone who deviates from societal norms.
For instance, when Leonard Mead is arrested and taken away by the police car for simply walking alone at night, it demonstrates how the bourgeoisie uses classism to maintain their authority and punish anyone who challenges their power. This conflict between Mead and the society can be seen as a form of class struggle, with Mead representing the interests of the working class and the society representing the interests of the ruling class. On the other hand, the working class, represented by Mead, is marginalized and oppressed, with limited opportunities to improve their social status. The story shows how the working class is powerless compared to the bourgeoisie and how they are unable to change the system on their own. Mr. Mead can also be seen as a Lumpenproletariat because he goes on walks and constantly rebels against the social norms. The superstructure in this case is the television programs and the police are used

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Throughout the story, it follows Leonard Mead and how he stands out from the crowd and his repercussions. “Where are you taking me… To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies,” (Bradbury 4). Mr. Mead differs from the society he lives in and as a consequence of not following the crowd, he is sent to a psychiatric center. He is taken away from his home and getting forcefully sent away because he does not follow the norm.

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The police car stops Mr. Mead because it’s not normal to walk around at night in this city, everyone’s at home watching television or using their electronics. The police car then asks him his business or profession, in which Mead responds with “I’d guess you’d call me a writer.” The police car then says that Mead has no profession, because being a writer in this society is not a profession. “What are you doing out?”, the police car asks. Mead explains he’s just out walking, for air and to see.

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In the Story, it states, ““What are you doing out?”/… ‘Just walking,”” He said simply, but his face felt cold” (Bradbury 1). In the story, Mr. Mead was living his own life, but he wasn't doing what everyone else is doing. This can relate to modern day problems. If someone is just minding their own

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The 1951 original written work by Ray Bradbury (“The Pedestrian”) was, at some point in time, later adapted into a short film. Although both the film and short story shared many of the same elements, there were still several noticeably apparent differences; for one, the film had chosen to introduce an entirely new character into the plot. Serving as a contrasting figure for Mead - a “foil”, of some sorts - Robert “Bob” Stockwell had assisted in providing much more insight in the dystopian world (i.e. experiencing the “outside” world after being inside so long, as was seen in the film). Whereas in the original story, no such insight was provided - Mead was, instead, only just an ordinary individual (unintentionally) caught amidst the confines

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