52 pages 1 hour read

Ray Bradbury

There Will Come Soft Rains

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1950

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.

Essay Topics

1.

“There Will Come Soft Rains” is a story without any human characters. Why do you think Bradbury chose to write a story about the experiences of the house rather than the people who lived in it? What effect does the lack of human characters have on the readers’ understanding of the text?

2.

Who or what is the “main character” of this story? Are there any other characters? Can you identify a protagonist and antagonist (or a hero and a villain)? If so, what makes one a hero and the other a villain?

3.

What is the narrator’s role in the story? Consider the differences between first-person, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient narration. How does the narrator’s perspective affect the reader’s understanding of the events that take place in the story? How would the story be different if, for example, it used a first-person perspective?

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 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