There Will Come Soft Rain Criticism

“There Will Come Soft Rains” is a short story by Ray Bradbury that was first published in the May 6, 1950 issue of the Collier’s. The story was later published in Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, which was a collection of science fiction short stories. Bradbury enjoyed writing short essays on the arts and culture, however he used his fiction works to explore and criticize culture and society. Bradbury uses the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” to address the uneasy atmosphere left by World War II. By 1950, Americans were afraid of the idea of a nuclear holocaust, and Bradbury uses this in his story to focus on the irony that the technology originally meant to be used to make life more comfortable could also bring about destruction. Ray Bradbury uses symbolism in “There Will Come Soft Rains” to express transcendentalist ideals that connect with the theme of the American Nightmare.

At the heart of the story’s symbolism is the poem selected by the house for Mrs. McClellan, since she is no longer alive to express a preference. The title of the short story itself is taken from the first line of the poem, which states, “There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,” (Bradbury 2). The poem, written by Sara Teasdale, was written as a response to World War I. The poem’s main theme is the idea that nature will always outlast humanity.

Bradbury focuses on technological advancement to symbolize humankinds’ reliance on technology. Also, Bradbury using the poem by Sara Teasdale is symbolic to the story, as it was written as a warning to humans that nature will always survive over humanity. The short story is not hesitant in critiquing machines that take the place of human emotion and thought, which is very common element to many other of Bradbury’s