"There Will Come Soft Rains" Ray Bradbury

page 133 in Prrentice Hall Literature book

Time: August 4, 2026

Place: Allendale, CA, home of the McClellans, could be anytown in America

• The people have all been killed by a nuclear explosion--the "silhouettes i paint" of a man, woman, and children playing are a result of their exposure/getting caught in the explosion, and the testimonial of dangers of the future
• As the poem says, the rest fo the world doesn't' care; the sun is still rising, it will still rain
• Mankind's creations will not care if he is gone: the house continues its routine fo making breakfast, waking people up, and even watering the lawn
  • When the house gets no response for a poetry request, it continues anyway, emphasizing the unconcern for lack of inhabitants
• Only the dog is dependent upon humans (for food) and when it dies, the "cleaning mice" dispose of it as if they were inconvenienced
• Again, this is a picture of a desolate future created by man to be easier--the McClellans have a high standard of living because they can afford so many labor-saving devices
• In a future where machines operate mundane tasks for us, those same machines will not care if the recipients of their labor are alive or not