There Will Come Soft Rainsby Ray BradburyCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenre(s)Science fiction, post-apocalyptic fictionPublished inCollier's WeeklyPublication typePeriodicalMedia typePrint magazinePublication dateMay 6, 1950 (issue date)Chronology
"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury written as a chronicle about a lone house that stands intact in a California city that has otherwise been obliterated by a nuclear bomb, and then is destroyed in a fire caused by a windstorm. The title is from a 1918 poem of the same name by Sara Teasdale that was published during World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. First published in 1950 about future catastrophes in two different versions in two separate publications, a one-page short story in Collier's magazine and a chapter of the fix-up novel The Martian Chronicles, the author regarded it as "the one story that represents the essence of Ray Bradbury".[1] Bradbury's foresight in recognizing the potential for the complete self-destruction of humans by nuclear war in the work was recognized by the Pulitzer Prize Board in conjunction with awarding a Special Citation in 2007 that noted, "While time has (mostly) quelled the likelihood of total annihilation, Bradbury was a lone voice among his contemporaries in contemplating the potentialities of such horrors."[2] The author considered the short story as the only one in The Martian Chronicles to be a work of science fiction.[3] Publication historyThe short story first appeared in the May 6, 1950 issue of Collier's magazine,[4] and was revised and included as a chapter titled "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains" in Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles that was also first published in May 1950. The official publication dates for the two versions were only two days apart. The 1997 edition of The Martian Chronicles advanced all dates in the 1950 edition by 31 years, changing the title to "August 2057: There Will Come Soft Rains". PlotA nuclear catastrophe leaves the city of Allendale, California entirely desolate. However, within one miraculously preserved house, the daily routine continues – automatic systems within the home prepare breakfast, clean the house, make beds, wash dishes, and address the former residents without any knowledge of their current state as burnt silhouettes on one of the walls, similar to Human Shadow Etched in Stone. In spite of the homeowners' evident deaths, the house's systems zealously uphold its sanctity, frightening off surviving birds by closing the window shutters. One afternoon, a dog is allowed into the house when it is recognized as the family pet, but it dies soon after and is incinerated. That evening, the house recites to the absent hostess her favorite poem, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale. An accidental fire breaks out in the kitchen and spreads throughout the entire house. The house's systems desperately and futilely attempt to salvage the house, but the doomed home burns to the ground in a night. The following dawn, a single voice from the lone surviving wall endlessly repeats the time and date. Adaptations
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The house—an artificially intelligent, automated machine—is the main character of the story. Despite being inhuman, it has a complex personality. The house’s character traits are embodied by the different machines inside it (some of which… read analysis of The House
The dog—the story’s only living character—appears on the house’s doorstep at noon, shivering. The house recognizes it and lets the dog in, which suggests that it was once the family pet. The story goes… read analysis of The Dog
The clock is part of the machinery of the house, but it features so prominently that it is a character in its own right. The clock demonstrates a solicitous attitude—it is afraid no one… read analysis of Clock
These mice, which are part of the house’s machinery, display the house’s dark side. Like the clock, they seem innocent enough at first, and they are quite useful, since they are able to… read analysis of Robot Mice
This is the family that lived in the house before the nuclear explosion (they are dead before the story begins but referenced throughout). The white silhouettes of the McClellan father, mother, son, and daughter appear… read analysis of The McClellan Family
Fire is portrayed as a clever and worthy adversary of the house. Even when snake-like tubes release fire repellant, the flames wrap around the outside of the house and attack the attic (the house’s… read analysis of Fire |