How Is Personification Used In Ray Bradbury

As the reader may know, Bradbury uses many literary tools to support the theme of his stories, and to make his stories more descriptive. Bradbury also aims to keep the reader’s attention. One could also infer that Bradbury emphasizes the topic of his stories. Even though, he doesn’t blantly tell the reader where he’s going with his stories, he uses another way. Ray Bradbury uses several tools to create meaning in his stories, including personification, symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing.

One tool Bradbury uses the most is, Personification: Giving human characteristics to non-living things or ideas. The reader can find that tool in any of Bradbury’s stories. Particularly, the house in, (“The Veldt”) is personified. The family’s house consists

of a fully automated home, in which has been programmed to perform advanced tasks. "this house which: clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them" (Bradbury 01). As for Bradbury’s, (“A sound of thunder”), there is a use of personification on page two. "The Machine slowed; its scream fell to a murmur." (Bradbury 02). A machine can’t make such noises, those are human traits (screaming and murmuring). The machine is personified and contrasted to a human’s voice. What other story contains personification? well, Bradbury’s, (“TWCSR”), “the breakfast stove give a hissing sigh.” (Bradbury 01). Stoves can’t sigh, that is what makes the stove personified, it’s a human trait.

Moving on to Bradbury’s (“The pedestrian”), the reader will notice the use of imagery. Imagery creates a mental image in the reader’s head of how the surroundings in the story are. The reader can infer how cold it is in the story. "There was a good crystal frost in the air; it cut the nose and made the lungs blaze like a Christmas tree inside; you could feel the cold light going on and off, all the branches filled with invisible snow" (Bradbury 01).
For Bradbury’s (“A sound of thunder”), the reader will notice imagery on the first page. “Eckels glanced across the vast office at a mass and tangle, a snaking and humming of wires and steel boxes, at an aurora that flickered now orange, now silver, now blue” (Bradbury 01). This makes the reader feel like they're in the story. Finally with, (“The veldt”), “The hot straw smell of lion grass, the cool green smell of the hidden waterhole, the great rusty smell of animals, the smell of dust like a red paprika in the hot air. And now the sounds:the thump of distant antelope feet on grassy sod, the papery rustling of vultures.” (Bradbury 01). This example gives us a mental image of how the veldt in the nursery is like. A hot straw smell of lion grass, the cool green of the hidden water hole, and the smell of rusty animals?

Ray Bradbury also uses the tool Symbolism. For example, the viewing screen in (“The pedestrian”) is a symbol. How? well the government gives all of the citizens a viewing screen, and it has turned everyone into a phantom state except, Leonard Mead. Mead’s house may also be considered a symbol. His house is brightly lit with lots of lights while everyone else's is dark. The reader can infer, that is Mead’s sense of individuality. Leonard is choosing not to live like society expects him. Now for the story, (“TWCSR”), the house could be considered a symbol since it holds a large meaning. The house symbolizes, the people in the house, being that, they’ve have programmed the house to do all of those tasks. The technology in the house also symbolizes, how technology can be either beneficial or dangerous; the nuclear bomb caused the destruction of mankind, though life will continue to go on. For Bradbury’s (“The veldt”), the nursery is the symbol. Bradbury showed how the technology in the nursery tore the Hadley family apart. The veldt had caused alot of damage and tragic circumstances. Lastly with, Bradbury’s, (“A sound of thunder”) the reader can infer the symbol is the time machine, being that, it altered everything. The time machine caused the domino effect because, Eckels wanted to go in past and he accidently ran off the path and stepped on a butterfly.

Concerning, Bradbury’s (“TWCSR”) the reader will notice that, the story is full of personification and, foreshadowing: a hint of what is to come; usually, to warn the reader something bad is going to occur.

“But no doors slammed, no carpets took the soft tread of rubber heels. It was raining outside. The weather box on the front door sang quietly: "Rain, rain, go away; rubbers, raincoats for today…" And the rain tapped on the empty house, echoing.” (Bradbury 01). This gives the reader a fore brooding feeling that, something bad could have occurred. The people whom live in the house aren’t there to answer to the mechanical voice. Lastly, for Bradbury's, ("The pedestrian"), a use of foreshadowing would be on the first page. “He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of sidewalk. The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass. In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not one in all that time" (Bradbury 01). We grasp that, the character has been walking daily for 10 years without ever meeting anyone else walking. We also grasp that the nature of the society is in ruins and not maintained. This makes the reader question, what happened? it would give us the feeling of

suspense.

Foreshadowing in Bradbury’s (“The veldt”)? "George, I wish you'd look at the nursery."
"I don't know... I just want you to look at it, is all, or call a psychologist in to look at it" (Bradbury 01). This gives the reader, a fore brooding feeling that something isn’t right with the nursery. This gives off a sense of upcoming danger/threats.

In conclusion, Bradbury uses those tools that, (as I have previously stated) to create meaning by adding more depth and meaning to theme of his stories. Bradbury uses it to convey his idea. Bradbury wants to capture the reader's attention and induce the reader's emotions. One could also infer that, he wants to connect with the audience.