October 1, 2020
If you were to ask me who my favorite short story author was I would undoubtedly say Ray Bradbury, not because his artistic and literary style trumps all others. Because he is the only one I know. This still holds some merit though. In all my years of English classes I’ve obviously read short stories from people other than Ray Bradbury, but for some reason, I can only recall his name. I think this is somewhat significant. The likes of Harrison Bergeron and All Summer in a Day hold a unique place in my mind, so when looking through the list of short stories my eyes dragged to There Will Come Soft Rains—the only story on the list written by Bradbury.
Not to say he is not creative but if you’ve read one of Ray’s pieces then you can make similar assumptions about the rest of them. It isn’t that they all hold similar themes or characters
but that they all take place in some sort of post-modern dystopian societies(There Will Come Soft Rains is not different). This setting is so consistent that after having read multiple short stories by Bradbury, I can’t help but feel like they all somehow take place within the same universe. The dystopian tendencies of each short story are essentially and typically transitive from one another that this idea isn’t so far fetched. However. having such a transferable and versatile setting isn’t simply a fun gimmick. It allows Bradbury to create an environment for his readers to actively participate in and imagine. Ray Bradbury allows the reader to create their own world through connecting his multiple pieces. This sense of worldbuilding is ultimately immersive for the reader and allows for a greater understanding of the characters and themes that the short stories develop.
In specific, There Will Come Soft Rains is another one of Bradbury’s complex and unique short stories that develops specific themes through storytelling. Accordingly, Bradbury creates these themes through the aforementioned dystopian societies. Only through Bradbury’s unique storytelling, the reader is able to understand prevalent themes and lessons about life. It is after comparing the pronounced aspects of the respective dystopian to those of our current one do they shine through. I think ultimately this makes Bradbury’s pieces more enjoyable as well as allowing them to have a greater effect on the reader. While reading There Will Come Soft Rains, it didn’t feel like a chore that needed to be completed, it was a short story, one comparable to the ones I read as a child, one that was captivating and allowed me to build a world within my own mind.
On the list with memorable short stories like Harrison Bergeron, All Summer in a Day, The Marionettes, and I Sing the Body Electric, another piece by Bradbury joins the list: There Will Come Soft Rains.
Works Cited
Elizabeth.wasson. “Washington State University.” Common Errors in English Usage and More Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 and the Dystopian Tradition by Paul Brians Comments, 12 Oct. 2016, brians.wsu.edu/2016/10/12/ray-bradburys-fahrenheit-451-and-the-dystopian-tradition/.
September 30, 2020
I think that most of us aren’t blind of our own flaws, we are just too stubborn to accept them. That’s how I was at least.
“Who’s your best friend?” A question I have been prompted with several times in my life and one that I have always refused to give a single answer to. I was scared of this end all be all idea of having a single so-called “best friend”. So, I’ve always avoided it. As a cop out answer though I would say that I could narrow down my closest friends to two people. One named Freddy, and one named Justin
The two of them are very different people in all aspects but the important similarity they share is that they both know me better than I know myself at times.
Ultimately, my growth as a reader and a person is collectively accredited to them.
I wish these were sweeter stories, ones that I could look back upon and not cringe at every time. Luckily though, they’re still foggy enough in my mind that I don’t remember any of the major details of these two encounters. I do know, however, they were a lot like the many other arguments I’ve gotten in with them in the past: A lot of screaming, a lot of name calling, a lot of anger. It’s embarrassing to look back on, could we have been any more obnoxious.
It was a bizarre case of deja vu, I was having an argument with Freddy that I had just had with Justin one month before. To this day I can’t remember what prompted these arguments, but nonetheless, They were rooted within the same principle: I could never admit when I was wrong. This wasn’t something that I had been told many times before. It wasn’t something that often swept my brain, but still, this accusation cut me deeply both times. For some reason, the incessant yelling and anger didn’t bother me at all compared to when they’d said that to me. In both cases, at the moment those words came out of their mouths, I had lost the argument, but not because I may have truly been wrong, but because somewhere deep within myself, I agreed with them. However, what was truly eye-opening to see that on two separate occasions, I had the same argument with two people, both of whom held the same place to me. Freddy’s reinforcement of Justin’s claim intensely struck a chord with me.
For weeks after these arguments, I went through a deep process of introspection of myself to understand the value of what they had said. This isn’t something I would have normally done but, for a reason I didn’t understand at the time, I couldn’t forget what they said.. My type A personality hated being wrong, so when I was told that I would have to learn to accept it, my whole world turned upside down.
My mother and I have always been so similar. I really was her son. So like me, she also had an issue with admitting when she’s wrong. I was lucky enough to have people around me who helped me grow. Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t given the same good fortune. After over 50 years of living her life like that, she has solidified her principles.
As time went on, I slowly matured. I gained perspective in all facets of life and started to see the value in re-evaluation—what I am writing about today. I remember how I used to be, I was constantly blinded by whatever my preconceived notion was about something, and it limited me. My growth was halted in multiple ways. It wasn’t just for arguments and ideas, my limitations spread to my education as well. I read and wrote with a closed mind, and in doing so, lost connections with what those things meant. It was only after my maturation as a person that I started to see extraordinary benefits to my enjoyment of all things. The problem isn’t just that a closed mind can hurt others, it hurts oneself as well. The ability to morph one’s perspective is rewarding in its own right and it wouldn’t have been possible without re-evaluation of my fundamental beliefs and the continuous re-evaluation that occurred onwards from that.
It wasn’t until I was assigned to read The Book Thief freshman year that I realized that this new perspective is what fostered my love of reading. To that point, I’d been able to skim by on sparknotes, never fully reading a book. This worked for me, I got A’s and I relished in the extra time I had. But for whatever reason, I decided to read the first couple of chapters of The Book Thief before I would go on sparknoting. And then, those first couple turned into the first ten, then the first twenty, and then I was done… I was honestly shocked. I hadn’t truly read a book for school in so long, and I felt good. I realize now that this enjoyment was thanks to my new perspective. It was learning how to think deeply that gave me this enjoyment.
“Who is your best friend”. I don’t know if I will ever be able to give a straight answer to that. My closest friends, however, are the ones that taught me how important constant re-evaluation is in life. So, as a final cop out answer, just as my life, the title of my best friend is under constant re-evaluation as well.
