Bradbury's Use Of Personification In There Will Come Soft Rain

Bradbury’s use of personification in “There Will Come Soft Rains” also exemplifies the intricate relationship between humans and technology. For instance, he writes, “At ten o’clock the house began to die” (Bradbury 4). When the house truly starts to die, the readers begin to feel confused because everything it has done has been entirely methodical. The houses aspiration to save itself joint with the dying noises evokes human sorrow and suffering. The demolition of the personified house might convey the readers to sense the deep, penetrating grief of the situation, whereas a clear, detailed portrayal of the death of a human being might merely force readers to recoil in horror. Bradbury’s strong use of personification is effective because it

not only plants fear in the readers’ hearts that takes them beyond the story, it also makes them come to the realization that if they don’t control technology, it will control them.

Another example is William Wordsworth “The World is too Much With Us” because he considerably observes the intricate relationship between humans and the technology they create. In fact, the two concepts appear to unite into one from the beginning of the poem. For example, Wordsworth effortlessly writes “Little we see in Nature that is ours; we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (lines 3-4). The inclusion of such details allows Wordsworth to warn his readers that they are lacking appreciation of what is truly essential in this world, God and nature, a strategy that yields multiple outcomes. Perhaps most importantly, the hearts we have given away to technology become prime factors in the story, ones that tend to be disconnected with reality. Emphasizing how human beings have lost sight of what is truly important disrupts the reader’s expectations, creating a feeling of restlessness and discomfort. This forces the reader to reflect on the degree to which they focus on technology and the extent to which they allow it to isolate them from the world and all its beauty’s. Though we may view technology as a positive advancement that makes our lives easier, the idea of giving our hearts away to it and permitting it to segregate us from the world is almost terrifying. Wordsworth capitalizes on this sensation of fear to achieve two goals-not only does it produce uncertainty that transports the reader throughout the poem, it also distortions the line between human beings and machines in a manner that urges the reader to inspect their own complex relationship with technology.