A Society Dominated by Technology

In what ways is society prone to the consumption of technology and its power? Technology is one of the most reliable resources available to man kind. Technological activities create a faster means of getting a job done with ease. As the future approaches, technology is rapidly increasing, allowing people to achieve more activities in short amount of time. Through Ray Bradbury's thought-provoking tale of "The Pedestrian", Bradbury advocates the pessimism he feels towards technology. He predicts a world where humans spend most of their time watching television, or passively accepting whatever the media tells us. Real human contact and friendships are becoming things of the past. Daring to behave differently from what everyone thinks should be normal starts to become not just different, but suspicious and criminal. The predominant concept that readers can absorb from this story is that rather than posing as a force of good, technology will play as the key element in leading civilization into isolation, which is portrayed in the mindlessness and lifelessness of the civilians within the story as well as the loss of humanity due to the advancements of technology.

Unlike most of Leonard Mead's fellow mindless and lifeless civilians, Leonard is a free spirit unconfined by television or modern technology. Therefore, his favorite hobby is walking. Leonard is out on one of his several nightly strolls when he passes by

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several houses and examines them closely. From Leonard Mead's perspective, "Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now" (50). The houses within the

story are described as tomblike, which refers to death. A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by living human beings, whereas a tomb is a repository for the dead, that is, creatures who are no longer alive. This line provokes feelings of sympathy towards the lifeless people in the houses. As Leonard Mead closely observes the people occupying the house, he takes note of how they are "ill-lit by television light, where [they] sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them" (50). Here, Bradbury compares the people within the houses to the dead, as they are indicated to be quite inanimate. This particular line is quite clever, for it demonstrates an uncompromisingly direct and honest simile. Furthermore, this line also gives an impression that they, the people within the story, cannot connect with the television on an emotional or intimate level. Although it is arguable that the people within Bradbury's story are physically alive--living and breathing human beings--their hearts and minds are as cold and dead as the tombs their bodies rot in.

If mankind advances to the point where society loses its humanity, then mankind may as well cease to