"The Pedestrian" analysis – Flashcards
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author
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Ray Bradbury
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Described as a science fiction _____ story, 'The Pedestrian' relies quite heavily on _____
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horror, setting
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A desolate street and constant television ______ surround the strolling character Mr. Leonard Mead. ______ plays a huge role in building the setting with similes relating to _____ recurring constantly.
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broadcasts, imagery, death
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Giving the impression of the ______, decaying, damaged style of life that has taken over the once bright society. America in this ______ A.D. world is cold, empty, and ____
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desolate, 2052, soulless
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The reader reacts with sympathy for _____ _____, relating to his desire for fresh air, to walk instead of watching television._____ also comes in for readers, repulsed and stricken by this skeletal world. Ray Bradbury uses simple _____ to draw up strong images and make an impacting scene in the reader's mind.
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Leonard Mead, Fear, words
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Walking through the empty streets is Leonard Mead, with no physical description beyond the puff of cigar ______ before him; readers make what they wish of the lonesome man on the sidewalk. Our limited _____ of him opens up more opportunities for the audience to relate.
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smoke, knowledge
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Walking alone and talking to houses is considered '______' by today's society, as a result of cultivating the notion of 'normal' within society's need for interaction. But in an empty neighbourhood alive only with _____, talking to houses is quite understandable, especially considering the attitude behind it. "What's up tonight on Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9?" His language is borderline bitter, almost showing _______ for the houses, deprived of human attention. An idea that may seem odd to many readers, but is further explored in another of his short stories, 'There Will Come Soft Rains'.
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weird, electricity, sympathy
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What Bradbury presents readers with, they may find preposterous, a ______ voice from an empty _____ car. Ridiculous as this may seem to modern audiences, it represents a valid point regarding the progress of technology. After a small argument with the police car, Mr. Mead consents to enter the car, his destination is the 'Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies.' This sentence brings to light the severity of this futuristic world of ______, in which society seems to shun the very humanity of ______
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digital, police, technology, humans
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Through lonely, unhappy descriptive language, The Pedestrian leaves readers shocked and reeling with the _______ of the story, however fantastical as it may have seemed when it was written in ______, over sixty years ago, for readers in the twenty first century, Bradbury's message hits home as a firm warning within a beautifully handled story. Everything Bradbury describes is quite possible, thus invoking in readers the need to express their individuality; for fear that they could be a _____ before their television.
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realism, 1951, zombie
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Mr. Leonard Mead wore sneakers instead of hard-healed shoes when he walked to avoid: ____ barking and people being _____ by his passing by
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dogs, startled
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Mr. Mead is walking on a cold ____ night
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November
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Why doesn't Mr. Mead ever meet anyone else on his walks? everyone is watching _____ inside
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television
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Why does the phonograph voice state that Mr. Mead has "no profession"? He is a _____, but no one buys ____ or magazines anymore
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writer, books
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Why doesn't Mr. Mead have a "viewing screen"? He believes that television makes people become "like the ____"
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dead
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Who is driving the police car? ___ ___
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no one
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What literary device is being used in this sentence: "The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest."
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simile
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Why do you think Bradbury chose to compare Mr. Mead to a museum specimen? because his activities would be considered ______ rather than current in his society
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historic
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Why is there virtually no crime in Mr. Mead's society? Because people stay inside to watch _____
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television
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In what year does the story take place?
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2053
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author
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Ray Bradbury
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What is the Pedestrian's profession?
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writer
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In Ray Bradbury's short story "the Pedestrian," what is Leonard Mead arrested for?
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walking on the streets at night
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Mead wears _______ when he walks to avoid making noise that could draw the attention of dogs and homeowners. This evening he decides to walk toward the _____. It is cold as he walks, he can hear his faint footsteps, and he picks up the occasional leaf to examine its "____ _______." He whispers, "Hello, in there," to every house he passes and wonders what television channel and kind of program the people inside are watching. He imagines himself standing in the ______ desert by himself, with nothing around for a thousand miles.
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sneakers, west, skeletal pattern, Arizona
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Mead wears sneakers when he walks to avoid making noise that could draw the attention of _____ and ______
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dogs, homeowners
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What did Mr. Leonard Mead do that made him different? He left the ____ on in his house at night He walked the _____ at night He did not watch _____
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lights, street, TV
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Why did everyone stay inside their houses at night?
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They watched TV every night
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Why did Mr. Leonard Mead wear sneakers when he walked at night? So he wouldn't wake ____ So the ______ wouldn't hear him So his _____ wouldn't hurt
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everyone, dogs, feet
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How many police cars were in the city of three million people?
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one
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Why were the police suspicious of Mr. Leonard Mead?
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he was outside at night
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Where was Mr. Leonard Mead taken?
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to a research center on regressive tendencies
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Protagonist
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Leonard Mead
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technology destroys human thought, individuality, inginuity; sometimes people conform and then judge others who do not
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theme
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How do people react when they see Mr. Mead walking?
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they were startled
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How many years has Mead been walking as he does?
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ten
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How many people live in the city?
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3 million
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What commentary does Bradbury make about television's role in society through this story?
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Bradbury is saying that television negatively affects society and turns into a dull, non-individual society
