Conformity In The Pedestrian

Words: 274
Pages: 2

Ray Bradbury’s The Pedestrian is a dystopian short story set in the year 2053, reflecting the socio-economic/political climate of the 1950s when McCarthyism and the Red Scare were prevalent. The story follows Leonard Mead. He does not conform to what individuals do these days and still goes out for walks all alone at night while people are busy watching their TV screens and consuming media mindlessly. When Leonard was walking this time around, an autonomous police car stopped and arrested him before taking him to a mental institution because his behaviour was seen as a threat to their established social order of not walking around at night. The story outlines the fight against political and ideological conformity by those advocating for freedom