There Will Come Soft Rains
What is the date at the beginning of the story
August 4, 2026
In the very beginning of the story, how can you tell that four people live in the house?
Think about breakfast.
Breakfast is divisible by four. Eight pieces of toast, sixteen pieces of bacon. Two cups of coffee, two glasses of milk.
What are two clues that the author leaves in the early part of the story that something has happened to the family that lived in the house?
No doors slam in the morning, when everyone is supposed to be leaving for school or work
The breakfast is left out, the toast hardens and the bacon shrivels
The garage door opens and closes, but the car doesn't leave
The house is empty and quiet
The following passage uses what literary device?
The eggs were shriveled and the toast was like stone.
Simile
They played bridge, drank martinis, ate egg sandwiches.
What does the city look like? Describe it.
Ash and rubble. The city is in ruins. It gives off a radioactive glow at night.
Describe the dog that enters the house and what happens to it.
It's dirty, starving and covered in sores from radiation sickness. It dies and the house throws it in the incinerator.
Any one idea deserves credit.
What are the five silhouettes or shapes burned into the charred wall of the house?
A father, mother, son, daughter and ball.
meaning of attending
being present, taking care of things
Meaning of manipulated
managed or controlled through clever moves
What does the house do when local animals approach?
It asks for a password
It shutters up and draws the shades
What causes the fire that destroys the house?
A dying tree collapses through the kitchen window, knocking over cleaning solvent that shatters over the stove
What is the only part of the house left standing in the conclusion of the story?
A single wall with a computerized voice repeating the words, "Today is August 5, 2026."
meaning of tremulous
fearful, timid, trembling
What is a silhouette?
Hint: Remember that there are five of them burned into one side of the house.
A shape or outline, typically one shade of color contrasted against a differently colored background.
What the theme of "There Will Come Soft Rains"?
Technology is programmed to operate mechanically on a loop indefinitely. It has no meaning without human engagement.
Why can't the house stop the fire from spreading?
The water reserves are gone because it spent them cooking, cleaning and filling the bath tub over and over again.
How do some of the automated devices behave in their final moments, when the fire has almost completely engulfed the house?
They perform their regular tasks, cooking and cleaning and showing images of animals and reading poems, because they are limited by their programming.
What literary device is the following passage an example of?
The fire was clever . . .
personification
Early on in the story, the narrator states:
"Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace."
Several hours later, the house is destroyed in a fire. So, what literary device could this sentence be an example of?
Foreshadowing
What clues or evidence is there that the family is rich? Don't just say that the house is technologically advanced. There is something specific in the story that points to this.
What does the family own that reveals their wealth?
Paintings by Pablo Picasso and Matisse.
The original poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" was written during WWI. What was the theme?
Think about the final lines: "Not one would mind, neither bird nor free, if mankind perished utterly; And spring herself, when she woke at dawn would scarcely know that we were gone."
The theme was that if mankind disappeared entirely from the Earth that nature would carry on without even noticing. It would have no adverse effect on nature if we disappeared.
Name three examples of automated devices in the house and what tasks they perform.
Alarm clock - Sings the time
Ceiling - Reads poems
Kitchen Stove - Cooks food on its own
Robotic mice - Clean the house
Nursery Walls - Show images of meadow filled with animals
Parlor - Unfurls tables, playing cards, martinis
Garage Door - Opens and closes
Front Door - Asks for password
What literary device is Bradbury using with the following:
The house was an altar with ten thousand attendants, big, small, servicing in attending choirs. But the gods had gone away, and the ritual of the religion continued senselessly, uselessly.
Extended metaphor.
Why does the author compare the house to an altar and the owners to gods? What does this demonstrate, after it becomes apparent that the people are dead?
That the house has lost its purpose because its gods have abandoned it. The house was meant to serve the people, as servants worship their god. But once the people are gone, the house's daily rituals are useless and meaningless.