setting and characterisation essay – Flashcards

Ray Bradbury's 'The Pedestrian' is a science fiction short story in which the writing style greatly impressed me. The story is set in the dystopian society of 2053 and follows the protagonist, Leonard Mead, as he walks through the streets. What is a simple hobby in our society is viewed as a threat by the distant and anonymous authority of the future. During his walk Mead is picked up by a lone police car and taken to a psychiatric centre. What becomes of Mead is not stated but from the rest of the story we can imagine an unpleasant ending for him. Through use of various literary techniques Bradbury conveys the theme of the oppression of creativity and individuality.

Throughout the story Bradbury uses setting effectively to give the reader a better understanding of the central themes of the story. The opening paragraph uses a complex sentence structure to provide interest and draw the reader in. The use of infinitives 'to enter', 'to put' puts emphasis on what Mead likes to do rather than the fact that he does it. This is effective as it puts emphasis on the setting rather than Mead himself and it also puts emphasis on the activities which he likes to do. This links to later in the story when we find out that these activities are forbidden and that Mead is breaking the law. We also receive a list of activities which are pleasurably to Mead in terms of walking; this makes Mead seem more immediate as a character without over powering the setting.

Another technique Bradbury uses is imagery. The imagery in the story creates contrast between the middle and the end. The 'dark windows' of the houses at the beginning of the story contrast with Mead's 'brightly lit' house at the end. This is effective as it portrays Mead as an individual but also describes the streets as dark and sinister so we get a clear visual image of the houses at night. This links to; 'it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows.' Bradbury creates the idea that everything is dark and quite lonely. Bradbury also contrasts the inside of the houses to outside. His use of alliteration in 'firefly light appeared in flickers,' emphasises that there is in fact life behind the houses which is untrue of a graveyard. This is also an unusually poetic way to describe people who are being oppressed by the state. The casual way in which it is described is effective as it shows the true horror of what has been done to these people because they do not know that there is anything beyond their television screens. It also makes the reader consider their own life and the ways in which they are controlled.

In addition, by using metaphor Bradbury creates contrast between night and day and to show the oppression of individuality and creativity. 'During the day it was a thunderous surge of cars, the gas stations open, a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position' Indeed, Bradbury uses metaphor to liken the mass of traffic to a huge but noisy insect and this use of antithesis in 'insect rustling' is unusual as insects are normally quiet but here he implies that all together they are noisy. Also the use of onomatopoeia puts emphasis on the antithesis. This is effective because if we were to look down upon the traffic, the cars would all be as one - all doing the same thing. This links to theme as everyone is doing the same thing and Mead is the only individual. 'Scarab-beetles, a faint incense puttering from their exhausts skimmed homeward to the far directions. But now these highways, too, were like streams in the dry season, all stone and bed and moon - radiance.' The metaphor is continued in 'scarab - beetles' used to describe the cars individually which leads us to believe that they all look the same which also links back to the theme. Also 'incense' and 'scarab-beetles' are both things which we associate with the desert which fits in with Bradbury's description of the night-time setting as deserted and also with his description of the roads at night in which there is also contrast between the beauty of the desert and the sadness that it is deserted

Bradbury has created an impressive structure in his story too as the story comes full circle ending in a 'chill November night.' But what started positively has ended in depressing note by oppressing Mead's individuality and not allowing him to walk on the streets, an activity which is completely harmless. This highlights the dystopian society which Mead lives in that has in the end claimed another innocent victim so that the ending focuses on setting, helping to create the circular structure in Bradbury's story.

Also throughout Bradbury's short story 'The Pedestrian' the writer characterises Leonard Mead, the other inhabitants of the city and the police car skilfully to convey the central themes of the story; the oppression of creativity and individuality. At the beginning of the story Bradbury depicts a man who dearly loves the world around him even though it is slightly neglected, 'He would stride off, sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar.' This gives us a strong visual image of his breath in the air. Also 'stride' gives connotations of his confidence and vitality. This also gives us the impression that he is free to do what he wishes but we find out later that he is trapped in this dystopian society and this is his only escape. This is clear in the measures he has taken to keep his walking a secret from everybody 'he had wisely changed to sneakers when walking at night'. This shows us that Mead knows that what he is doing is against the law and that he could be arrested for walking, highlighting how different Mead is as he not only walks at night he also keeps it to himself and has got away with it for ten years

At the same time Bradbury also emphasises how different Mead is and highlights the theme of the oppression of individuality skilfully by comparing Mead to the inhabitants of the houses: 'lights might click on and faces appear and an entire street be startled by the passing of a lone figure.' This shows Mead is completely different and also that he knows what kind of danger he is in. Throughout the story Bradbury creates contrast between Mead and the other inhabitants of the city through word choice too. He describes the people inside the houses as lifeless and dead with his use of 'sat like he dead' and 'silence' which creates a major contrast with his description of Mead which is of someone who is very alive and in love with the outdoors. However, 'a murmur of laughter' serves as another reminder that the people inside the buildings are still alive although Bradbury suggests that their lives are tightly controlled and this is later confirmed when Bradbury introduces the police car.

Through the introduction of the car Bradbury gives us the turning point in the story too. The writer characterises the car as unnatural and automated through his use of impressive word choice: 'metallic whisper' shows that the car does not have real people in it as they would not be able to make such a sound. This also characterises the car as sinister and not to be trusted which is effective as it foreshadows Meads capture. In addition the commanding instructions from the car, which is an authority figure, lead us to believe that people no longer trust the outdoors: '"walking, just walking, walking?"' This shows that the car cannot process what Mead has said because it is not programed to understand. This is effective as it shows how emotionless the state has made its inhabitants so that they are surprised and confused to see someone walking the streets. Bradbury also creates contrast between the natural and unnatural through his use of dialogue. Bradbury also creates contrast between the natural and the unnatural way of life through his use of dialogue between Mead and the car: '"Business or profession?" "I guess you'd call me a writer."' Bradbury characterises the car as automated and unnatural which is shown through the programmed question. Mead, however, is characterised as natural and human which is shown in his answer which is casual and unworried

Ray Bradbury's 'The Pedestrian' is a short story which follows the main character as he walks the streets of the automated city of the future before being picked up by a lone police car and taken away to an unspecified fate. The setting allows us to get an idea of the world in which Mead lives while the characterisation of the police car, the other inhabitants of the city and Mead himself allow us to better understand the themes of the oppression of creativity and individuality. The writer gives us a harsh view of the dystopian future that awaits us in AD 2053 but also forces us to consider our own society today. This future is symbolised by the lone police car in a city of three million which seems unlikely today but with the author's concerns regarding the government's control over the population we can only guess at what the future holds. Also although the authors view may be a little too pessimistic, his concerns can be justified by taking our own society into account when we think of the rise of technology that may suggest a future not drastically different from the automated world which Mead inhabits.