Background Information
What year was "There Will Come Soft Rains" written in?
1950
2026 in Allendale, California. The reader learns this because an electronic device from the house announces the time/date/city.
What happens to the dog in the story? Explain.
The dog enters the house but eventually dies due to radiation exposure.
"It quivered at each sound, the house did."
Personification
Why is it important to understand that this story was written in 1950?
The Cold War period caused panic and paranoia about nuclear weapons in America. Also explains the futuristic home.
What war was occurring when the author wrote this book?
The Cold War
What is surrounding the automated house?
Rubble, ash, and destruction.
Who/what is still attending to the house after the family passed?
Robotic cleaning mice.
"Delicately sensing decay at last, the regiments of mice hummed out as softly as blown gray leaves in an electrical wind."
Simile
Why is there nothing but a silhouette left of the family? Explain what this detail hints to.
The nuclear bomb went off very close to the family.
The USA dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan.
What details show what has happened to the owners of the house?
The silhouettes/shadows of four people are burned into the side of the house.
How does the automated house "die" in the story?
It catches fire and is unable to put the fire out.
"At four o'clock the tables folded like great butterflies back through the paneled walls."
Simile
Why is the location of Allendale, California relevant to the story?
Briefly explain the Cold War. Who were the two sides? Why were they fighting?
At the beginning of the story, the stove prepares eight pieces of toast, eight eggs, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two glasses of milk. What can you conclude about the family based on this information and other details?
There are at least four family members. 2 of them are children.
How does the house react to the fire? Name at least 3 things that the house does.
Panics and screams for help, tries to spray water, tries to use green chemicals, opens and closes windows/doors, cooking breakfast at a crazy rate, etc.
"The house was an altar with ten thousand attendants, big small, servicing, attending, in choirs."
Metaphor
At the end of the story, why do we feel more bad for the house instead of the family?
The author's use of personification to describe the house's suffering.
Who is the author of TWCSR?
Ray Bradbury
What are BOTH parents specifically doing at the time the nuke went off?
They are working in the garden. Dad is mowing grass and Mom is picking/tending to flowers.
How does the fire that destroys the house start?
A tree branch broke through the window, spilled cleaning solvent onto the stove, and caught fire.
"The house gave ground as the fire in ten billion angry sparks moved with flaming ease from room to room and then up the stairs."
What was the overall meaning of the poem that was read in the story?