August 2026: There will Come Soft Rains

August 2026: There will Come Soft Rains “There will Come Soft Rains” is a short science fiction story written in 1950 by Ray Bradbury. The entire story focuses on the setting of a mechanical house winding down its days. The house is a representation of humanity and technology. While technology seems to have replaced humans in the beginning of the story, by the end, Bradbury shows that without humans, technology is doomed. In the beginning, technology has reduced humans to be an unnecessary aspect of routine running of a household. By the end of the story, it was evident that there are limitations to the capabilities of technology, thus emphasizing the significance of humans being in control. Apparently, due to a nuclear blast, “the house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles.” The author uses personification to develop the house as being the main character. He writes that the house “quivered at each sound” leading us to believe that the house is alive. This use of personification can be seen throughout the story as the house runs its daily course. “Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up…” “Seven-nine, breakfast time, seven-nine!” These are examples of the house being independently programmed to not need a human. The house didn’t require humans in order for it to function, as a matter of it, the house didn’t seem to notice that the humans were gone. Furthermore, despite all the capabilities of the house, it was still unable to save the family from the nuclear bomb.
Bradbury portrays how robotic the house is and how efficient. Throughout the story everything was timed. There appeared to be a specific schedule that the house followed and it had an organized “personality”. We get that sense of organization as per the constant reference to the time of day and what should be occurring at that time. Without noticing the absence of