The Pedestrian, By Ray Bradbury

INTRO
Authors convey various issues and ideas to encourage readers to reflect on their values, beliefs and experiences. ’The Pedestrian’, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian short story set in a society where everyone stays at home and watches television. Leonard Mead, a curious old man, is the only person who takes outdoor walks but ends up being arrested by the police because of his unconventional behaviour. On the other hand, ‘People in Need’ is an advert for a non-profit organisation that provides humanitarian aid. The advert encourages individuals to consider the extent of consumerism. The author of ‘The Pedestrian’ highlights the issue and idea of a totalitarian government and police and how they restrict freedom and individuality,

A connected idea to this issue is that this controlling government and police discourage individuality and restrict freedom, which can be seen in the fate of Leonard Mead. To portray this idea, Bradbury uses a chronological whole-text structure. From beginning to end, Leonard Mead is depicted as a peaceful, innocent aged man who interacts with nature and appreciates the outdoors. Accordingly, by using this chronological structure, the author positions the audience to see that Leonard Mead is not involved in any criminal behaviour and is a ‘regular’ individual. However, Leonard still ends up being taken in custody, as he is seen as a danger and oddity due to his nonconformity. In the current society where people are encouraged to be individualistic and have their say, the text challenges these views. Consequently, the audience is positioned to despise the police as they prevent Mr Leonard from expressing his individuality. Moreover, the encouragement of conformity in this story can somewhat be seen in modern society, as there are many societal expectations that different demographics are expected to follow. For example, expectations for different genders. Readers are encouraged to think carefully about these expectations and not blindly follow

The story is dystopian, where most individuals choose to stay indoors and be glued to the television instead of appreciating nature and human connection. To present this issue and idea, figurative language is employed to describe the individuals who are confined in their homes watching television. It is described that passing the houses was like “walking through a graveyard” and how the houses were “tomb-like building(s)”. Moreover, the people watching television are described as “like the dead” with “grey or multicoloured lights touching their faces”. These descriptions paint an image of the people being lifeless, with no humanity and no human interactions. As a result, the value of human connection is challenged, because it is made evident that in the story, the majority of the population would rather ‘interact’ with technology (television) instead of fellow humans. The audience is also prompted to reflect on their balance of using technology with human connection and interaction, and if they are starting to replace human communication with