There Will Come Soft Rains And The Veldt, By Ray Bradbury

Everywhere a person may go in life in the 21st Century, there is always some type of new technology. Whether that technology is new cell phones, computers, TVs, and even cars; it is everywhere. In present day, humans are always trying to find ways to improve life and make it easier to accomplish day-to-day tasks. Technology is a blessing and a curse. Technology helps people stay connected to others they may not be able to talk to. A downfall of technology is that it can cause a disconnect of what is real and what is fiction. After reading “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” and “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, he disapproves the quick advancement of technology and by writing both of these short stories, Ray Bradbury is trying to warn society

In “The Veldt”, Wendy and Peter were only ten years old. In the story, they could take the helicopter and do what they want. When the parents told them it was time for dinner, they said they are not hungry because they ate on their trip. Wendy and Peter did not respect the authority of their parents. When asked about Africa in the nursery Peter said, “There’s no Africa in the nursery.” (Bradbury 159) To prove their point Wendy took off towards the nursery to change it before her parents got to the door. Bradbury hinted towards Wendy and Peter having hatred for their parents when David McClean, the psychologist, said, “the usual violences, a tendency toward a slight paranoia here or there, usual in children because they feel persecuted by parents constantly,” (Bradbury 162). In “The Veldt”, the contamination of children’s minds was shown when David said, “the room has become a channel toward-destructive thoughts, instead of a release away from them.” (Bradbury 162) This also shows that parents relied on technology to perform the functions of traditional parents. The advancement of technology spoiled the children and changed how they look at their parents. For example, in “The Veldt”: “I sensed only that you had spoiled

In Robert Dominianni’s article about “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”, he talks about technology does not need humanity to help continue its course. For example, he says, “The machine no longer serves humanity, humanity is subservient to machinery.” (Dominianni 49) This means technology does not serve humans, but human serve technology. The house, in “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”, continues to conduct its daily tasks even though there is no human life inside of it. Technology does not sense when humans have gone extinct, they are programmed to perform the tasks they were designed to do. At the end of the story, the nature continues its course every day, even after the technologically advanced house was destroyed. This was represented by this paragraph, “Dawn showed faintly in the east. Among the ruins, one wall stood alone. Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped rubble and steam: “Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is…”” With this, Ray Bradbury hopes that nature can correct the effects of advancing