The following statements are possible themes for the short story. Select one or create a statement on your own and use textual evidence to support the statement as the theme. Loneliness and unrequited love can lead to feelings of anger and destruction. The past and present are not always compatible. Answers will vary. A student who explores loneliness might cite the following textual evidence: The setting depicts an eerie mood of loneliness and isolation. Phrases such as, “out there in the cold water, far from land,” and “feeling like two birds in the gray sky” in the first paragraph immediately set the mood. The author continues in paragraph six with phrases such as “a cold November evening,” and “the high throat of the tower.” In addition …show more content…
What effect does this incident have on the outcome of the story? Answers will vary. The technology Bradbury explores in the Fog Horn is the lighthouse and the Fog Horn itself. In the story, the lighthouse and Fog Horn are destroyed by the sea creature. It is interesting to note this occurs when the sea creature (the past) is finally about to meet up the lighthouse (the present). McDunn decides to “switch the Fog Horn off” (page 449). This emphasizes the belief that the present and past are not compatible and challenges us to think if the present is better than the past (modern technology). This is echoed in the incident of the text when McDunn states, “It’s us and the land that’ve changed, become impossible. Us!” (page 447). Other possible responses might include a reference to the monster’s eyes: “As the light hit them, the monster’s eyes were fire and ice, fire and ice” (which brings life/elemental qualities to the artificial lights of the lighthouse), or “One of the monster eyes caught and held and flashed back our immense light, red, white, red, white, like a disk held high and sending a message in primeval code”(referencing the existence of language/communication before technology) – or even a reference to the personification of the Fog Horn when it