These readings were interesting, to say the least.
The Veldt is a story about a family who experiences the perils that come with overindulgence. The parents, George and Lydia, and the kids, Peter and Wendy, live in this overly automated house that does everything from cooking their meals to tying their shoes for them. There Will Be Soft Rain is a story about how everything will come to pass.
I think it is interesting that this was written in the 1950s, especially the “There Will be Soft Rains” reading. I think that it’s interesting that Bradbury, in the 1950s, could notice one of the deep underlying issues with our technology and way of life.
I love how the second story, “There will come soft rains,” flows directly from that same theme. I do not know if it is intentionally meant to be an extension of that story or if it is a story in theme with his question about technology, however, I love his use of narrative in order to showcase what life in overly technology-dependent world could look like rather than giving us an analysis based off of his predictions. This idea that Mother Nature still stands whether we are there to witness or not, or that the comforts we think we could not live without could fall in the woods and there was no one to hear it, it would just fall and no longer exist was insightful and weaved so well into this story. I wonder what Bradbury had heard about what life would look like for us in the 2020s that he would write these stories. Are what these systems are willing to take from us so evident from the start that people then could predict what life would be like for us now?
Also, I loved the way Bradbury personified the technology. I million percent think we that today. In There Will Come Soft Rains, Bradbury start with, “In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o ‘clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would.” I think describing the technology built to help us be more productive as anxious is apt in mirroring how a lot of people feel about technology that keeps them on track, if you will, today. In The Veldt, Bradbury speaks to the futility we fear awaits us with, “And suddenly they realized why those other screams bad sounded familiar.” The parents dying could be a metaphor for it being too late by the time you want to change how you live.
The parents only built the house this way because they thought it would make life easier for them. I think then, a question I have from this reading is if the point of life is for it to be easy. Is an easy life an optimal one? In this story, we see how privilege and entitlement rots their family. The kids and the parents are not connected in anyway because they do not have to rely on one another. I often wonder how people choose what they think is best for their kids. The things you need growing up generally are not the things that are prioritized and are generally the things sacrificed for the sake of status. I love my parents to pieces, however, I can think of many times where how well I did in school was more important than how I was feeling. Of course, there is a balance to be struck between focusing on external and internal goals, however, I think that generally the things we are taught are the best have the capacity to rot us from the inside out if we let them. The kids were so entitled and to grow up so entitled, you have no regard for how your actions would effect the people around you and that is a grief these (imaginary) kids will have to wrestle with for the rest of their lives. They would either have to hold on to their entitlement until it killed them or have to let go of it and face the reality of what they have done. This really is not to blame either the kids or the parents because so much of our culture teaches us to sacrifice things we need for the sake of our convenience. However, I digress, it is hard to know when to pivot in life in general so let me not judge.
Overall, these stories were interesting and reflective. I think it showcases the power of storytelling to ask us questions that we forget that we get to find our own answers to.
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