Passing one “tomb-like building,” Mead sees “gray phantoms” through open windows, and he hears “whisperings and murmurs” from the people within. The homes Mead passes are described as housing the dead: “tombs, ill-lit by television light.” The houses, too, are devoid of any signs of liveliness, and people’s pacification in front of their televisions inside these deathly structures indicates that modern technology is the cause. Walking through the “silent and long and empty” streets is like “walking through a graveyard.” This establishes the landscape as one that has been robbed of all vitality by the television, which everyone is inside watching. Through this use of morbid language, Bradbury predicts that one of the most exciting technological advances of his time, the television, will eventually deaden its viewers. Through imagery of death, descriptions of humans in cars as insects, and Mead’s interaction with the robotic police car, “The Pedestrian” expresses the pessimistic view that the technological advances of the 1950s (like televisions, automobiles, and computers) will ultimately rob people of their essential humanity and give undue power to machines.Īs Leonard Mead walks through the city, the streets, homes, and people are all described with imagery of death. Bradbury’s short stories and novels frequently explore the social costs of technological progress. He is ultimately arrested merely for walking freely on the street, an absurd event that reveals Bradbury’s grim view of 21st century: it’s a dystopian world where technology has deadened the populace and enabled state power to enforce conformity. For 10 years, Mead has walked the city streets alone, night after night, past homes of other citizens who sit transfixed by their televisions. The car then drives away with Mead inside.Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Pedestrian” narrates the life of Leonard Mead, a resident of an unnamed city in the year 2053. Upon revealing the depth of Mead’s nonconformity, the car instructs Mead get in and tells him he is being taken to a psychiatric institution to be studied for regressive tendencies. This questioning reveals that Mead is nonconformist in many ways: he doesn’t own a television, he is unmarried and lives alone, and he is a writer in a society that doesn’t value the written word. The car interrogates Mead, trying to discover why he is out by himself. On this night, however, Mead meets a robotic police car-the only one left in the city, since crime is virtually nonexistent. He also talks to himself, addressing the people in the homes, asking under his breath what they are watching on television. The other citizens are described as if they are dead: “gray phantoms” who live in “tombs.” As he walks, Mead enjoys taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the natural world. He has done this for ten years and never encountered another person, since all the other people remain inside their homes, mesmerized by the light entertainment programs on their television screens. As he walks the empty streets, he passes the homes of other citizens, who are inside watching television. Mead enjoys walking the city streets alone every night. “The Pedestrian” is a dystopian short story that describes one night in the life of Leonard Mead, resident of an unnamed city in the year 2053.
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