84 pages 2 hours read

Ray Bradbury

The Illustrated Man

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1951

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Story 15

Story 15 Summary: “The City”

An empty city on a remote planet waits 20 thousand years for an unknown event. A rocket finally lands, and men emerge. Unbeknownst to them, their presence activates the city. It opens “secret nostrils” in its walls, evaluating them. Chemical details scroll on a typewriter and are logged, down to the smell of butter, which “the great Nose broke down into memories of milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, the effluvium of a dairy economy” (223).

At the men’s military chatter, Ears wake up too. After years of listening only to nature, they log the sound of human voices. One man, Smith, is extremely uncomfortable; he feels the city is too familiar. His fears are shot down by his captain, who reminds Smith that theirs is the only light-year rocket in existence. The Ears hear the conversation, and the city wafts the welcoming smell of green grass to the men to calm them: “the countermove had succeeded. The pawns were proceeding forward” (224-25).

The Eyes of the city open in the windows. Smith claims he saw it, but no one believes him. The streets are like tongues, tasting their rubberoid boots. Fully awake, the city continues taking minute measurements of the men and their physiology.

Related Titles

By Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

A Graveyard for Lunatics

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

All Summer In A Day

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Dandelion Wine

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Death is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Marionettes, Inc.

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

The Other Foot

Ray Bradbury

Study Guide

logo

The Pedestrian

Ray Bradbury

The Pedestrian: A Fantasy in One Act

Ray Bradbury

Plot Summary

logo

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury

The Toynbee Convector

Ray Bradbury