The Pedestrian Theme Essay

Words: 594
Pages: 3
Open Document
The interesting quality ¬found in many dystopias is that they strive for sameness and shame the unique. They go so far to eradicate it when they can. In Ray Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian” something that would appear normal to our modern 21st century American culture, is a criminal offense. It could simply be a story about our dependency on technology and rejecting the simplicity of a walk. However, “The Pedestrian” tackles a more complicated societal struggle: our society’s tendency to hate what’s different, weird, or out of the ordinary. The two themes also go hand in hand, our dependency on technology leeches away our humanity. We rely on our tiny screens for comfort and shun anything that goes against it. The theme of technology is prevalent …show more content…
“…where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their expressionless faces but never really touching them” (193). From our modern perspective this isn’t a foreign concept. We are constantly glued to our personal screens without barely a glance up here and there. We are so obsessed with the world our screens create for us, we have let our own world pass us by and fade away. Our society like the one presented in “The Pedestrian” has drained the human element out of their society. “…it smelled too clean and hard and metallic. There was nothing soft there” (194). By eliminating what’s different and unique and subjugated ourselves to the screens a dystopian society is created. The commentary that prefaces this story discusses how dystopias are supposed to be reflections on our own society. They shed light on our world (191). The scary thing about this fictional world is that it could be in our very real future. And part of the warning this story gives is that being different shouldn’t be a bad thing. When the unusual is taken away, what is left? The soulless faces staring at screens that will continue to stream even after we walk away. We become
Show More

Related Documents: The Pedestrian Theme Essay

Individuality In 'Harrison Bergeron And The Pedestrian'

Theme essay In our current day society people are obsessed with fitting in and making sure everybody likes them, but to what cost? Is having everybody like someone worth not being oneself. Everybody has their own set of characteristics but sometimes those characteristics can be lost or destroyed because of others. Authors create a dystopian world where societies individuality is restricted or is fully banned. Veronica Roth, Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. show how society will “shun” or…

Words 1365 - Pages 6

Essay on Analysis of Speculative Fiction Poems 'in the New Landscape'-Bruce Dawe and 'Your Attention Please'-Peter Porter

Speculative Fiction Essay Poems: In the new landscape- Bruce Dawe Your attention please- Peter Porter Word count: 863 Both “In the new landscape” by Bruce Dawe and “Your Attention Please” by Peter Porter are fine examples of Speculative Fiction worthy of being in a Year Nine anthology for 2012. The poems are in-depth hypotheses of what society will eventuate too, allowing the reader to ponder…

Words 872 - Pages 4

Wordsmith 5e Ch10 Essay

CHAPTER 10 Writing an Essay Chapter Goal: Write a clear, organized essay that includes an engaging introduction, supportive body paragraphs, and an effective conclusion.           T I C K E T This ticket entitles those who have mastered the essay to move freely within the academic world, to express themselves in a way that professors will respect, and to modify the essay format to fit any type of academic writing.           Y 172 172 172 Wordsmith: A Guide to…

Words 8784 - Pages 36

from you Essay

evolved ... --The Unabomber There's a little bit of the unabomber in most of us. We may not share his approach to airing a grievance, but the grievance itself feels familiar. In the recently released excerpts of his still unpublished 35,000-word essay, the serial bomber complains that the modern world, for all its technological marvels, can be an uncomfortable, "unfulfilling" place to live. It makes us behave in ways "remote from the natural pattern of human behavior." Amen. VCRs and microwave ovens…

Words 4446 - Pages 18

College: Intensive French Language Essay

University of Grenoble Choose from French Language and Culture Program and Intensive French Language Program Grenoble Business School option also available academic year, fall or spring semester business economics fine arts French language history literature political science sociology Eligibility Open to college sophomores, juniors and seniors minimum 2.5 GPA 18 years or older one recent year of college French required for the French Language and Culture Program additional requirements…

Words 6766 - Pages 28