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The Theme Of Not Belonging In Ray Bradbury's Short Stories

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The theme is the fundamental reason why authors are motivated to compose stories. It provides the readers with a moral or life lesson that could be essential to know. Have you ever heard of Ray Bradbury? You probably have heard of Ray Bradbury from his flabbergasting stories: “All Summer in a Day”, “The Pedestrian”, and “The Foghorn” all of which share the theme of not belonging. Let’s talk about the first story that explores the theme of not belonging. “All Summer in a Day” is a short story about a group of schoolchildren living on the planet Venus. The children at school eagerly await the predicted appearance of the sun, a brief phenomenon that occurs only once every seven years. The central theme of this story is not belonging. Margot didn’t …show more content…

The students were jealous and treated her unfairly. The author states, “When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows. And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and heat of it and the way it really was” (Bradbury 2). Using these sentences Bradbury exemplifies the fact that Margot was very different from …show more content…

“The Pedestrian” is a dystopian short story that portrays one night in the life of Leonard Mead, a resident of an unnamed city in the year 2053. Mead enjoys strolling the streets alone every night. He passes the dwellings of several people during his walks, who are inside watching television. He has done this for ten years and never encountered another individual, since all the other people stay inside their homes, hypnotized by the recreation programs on their device screens. The primary theme of this story not belonging. Leonard Mead is a person posses a very unique personality for 2053, where people are glued to their TV screens. The author states, “The car hesitated, or rather gave a faint whirring click, as if information, somewhere, was dropping card by punch-slotted card under electric eyes. ‘To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.’ He got in. The door shut with a soft thud. The police car rolled through the night avenues, flashing its dim lights ahead. They passed one house on one street a moment later, one house in an entire city of houses that were dark, but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness. ‘That's my house,’ said Leonard Mead” (2). These few sentences unquestionably state the difference between Leonard and the rest of the people further

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1486 Words | 6 Pages

In addition, Mr. Mead in “The Pedestrian” demonstrates great personal desires to “walk for hours and miles” that clash with what the highly structured television based “city of three million” people that resembles “gray phantoms” that “stay inside the tomb-like buildings” as a requirement Mr. Mead does not follow. A “viewing screen” or better known as a television is a fantastic example of the difference between Mr. Leonard Mead and the gray phantoms. Which is better demonstrated when the “police voice that was behind the fiery beam” questioned the protagonist and also critically judges him due to the fact that Mr. Mead does not own a “viewing screen”. As the viewing screen is a representation of what technology and humanity has come to be.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

In “All Summer in a Day,” the children are thriving to see the sun, they would even be happy to just remember what the sun looks and feels like against their snowflake white skin. Margot, on the other hand does remember the sun and often talks about the bright light bulb that lights their planet once every seven years, to the others. However, there is a turning point when the children become jealous and treat Margot differently because to them she is set apart from them. " Hey, everyone, let’s put her in a closet before the teacher comes ! "

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733 Words | 3 Pages

The society’s conformity leads to a loss of individuality, as Leonard’s unique walking demonstrates. Once again, being unique in a uniform society causes consequences for Mead, as the author writes, “‘Where are you taking me?’ … ‘To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.’” In a uniform society, going outside the usual behavior causes unique people like Leonard Mead to be sent to a Psychiatric Center. Throughout The Pedestrian Bradbury warns against conformity how is causes the complete loss of

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1027 Words | 5 Pages

As demonstrated in The Pedestrian, everyone was inside, watching TV. When Leonard Mead was walking, it was like walking through a graveyard. So dark, so quiet. " And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unlike walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers or firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows. " This is presenting

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355 Words | 2 Pages

In the short story “The Pedestrian”, by Ray Bradbury, the social trends observed by Mr. Mead may cause potential problems like self-isolation and technological advancements in the near future. The year 2053 sounds like an eternity, but it is only 29 years from today, but we might be living in the year 2053 already. Most people nowadays feel comfort in staying inside and isolating themselves. Mr. Mead does not believe in that type of life, he likes going out and connecting with mother nature. His opinion on television and technology will make you think.

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1247 Words | 5 Pages

In The Pedestrian, the narrator uses figurative language to allude to the state the people are in: “The tombs, ill-lit by the television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them” (Bradbury 2). Technology gives people small doses of quick happiness, not allowing them to feel the full rush. Many times people are too absorbed in what is on their television sets than being pumped that the weather is nice enough to take a walk in like Leonard Mead did. What they do not realize though, is that they are being influenced and manipulated by technology. Technology also confuses people causing them to become easy targets.

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481 Words | 2 Pages

His theme is that a society in which technology dominates lives leads to conformity, lack of immigration and individualism. “The Writer” in the story who no longer has an audience, walks in the streets alone,isolated from the houses who are far from him covered in darkness or who may he see the single lights of the television,

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673 Words | 3 Pages

Thus the suppression of individuality is destroyed, leading to the dismantling of unique and original ideas. As Mr. Mead says in the short story, “he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time” (“The Pedestrian” 1). At one point, everyone wanted to be unique but now, conformed to the silent grey homes, people have forgotten how to express

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493 Words | 2 Pages

In “The Pedestrian” is about a man, Mr. Leonard, in the future. He was arrested for walking alone in middle of night and he thinks nothing is wrong with walking alone. Mr. Leonard Mead loves to walk outside in the middle of night and observe each houses. He is curious to find out what is behind the houses.

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1163 Words | 5 Pages

Having just one police car to patrol the neighborhood is more than enough due to the change in society. Leonard Mead is very peculiar in the view of a police car because he is the only person to step out of their house to take a stroll in the neighborhood. Because technology advanced, it took over the occupation of a police officer and is now

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482 Words | 2 Pages

In All Summer in a Day, Ray Bradbury uses vivid description, similes, and symbolism to show the desire to see something you’ve never seen before. The story is about a girl named Margot who comes from Earth, where she saw the sun all the time. Then she moves to planet Venus where the sun comes out every seven years. She tells her school classmates about how she remembers the sun and they start to bully her because they are jealous. The author uses a lot of description, symbolism, and similes to show the desire of the kids to see the sun.

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588 Words | 3 Pages

Often it is thought that in modern society it is fine to not fit in, because the misfits are typically the most successful and inventive. In the short story “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury the opposite is true, the year is 2053 and society is expected to follow the standard set by the government; to never leave your house and spend most of your day watching TV. Leonard Mead is the protagonist, who finds he is always the only one to go for walks. The other 3 million citizens are sitting in their houses watching TV and doing nothing productive. There is only one police unit left, which enforces the harsh rules set by the government.

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487 Words | 2 Pages

This transition is what caused this society to devolve into the cold, bleak state that they’re in. The Pedestrian shows the story of an individual sticking out from society, and how the government removes him so that society can be in conformity again. " "What is it now?" he asked the houses, noticing his wrist watch. "Eight-thirty P.M.?

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471 Words | 2 Pages

Mead walks along the empty streets as the city seems to be silent due to restrictions but only one can guess. Society has also cut many programs like cutting the police program, “the police of course, but what a rare, incredible thing; in a city of three million there was only one car left.” the strong dystopian connection really shows by a oppressive society places many hard restriction and many job cuts as shown by the police force being cut to one car, but this is not the only thing that has been taken by society in this story. Society has also taken away individuality as everyone lives the same social life. Everyone is inside by Eight o’clock, everyone watches tv at the same time, and everyone gets their fresh air from a machine on their front door.

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435 Words | 2 Pages

The science fiction works of “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Pedestrian”, by Ray Bradbury are sarcastic portrayals of futuristic societies that are controlled by authoritative governments that have completely made their communities equal. Each of these stories take a look at the prospect of promoting sameness and conformity among all people, and questions the effects of the forced elimination of citizens’ individuality in order to maintain equality. In “The Pedestrian” Mr. Leonard Mead faces extreme consequences for his nightly stroll in the city. In the year 2053, Mead’s society has become completely taken over by televisions and the media.

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