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.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“The house lay empty.”


(Page 248)

This is the second line of the story, and it adds important detail to the exposition. While the opening line introduces the robotic voices, this line explains that no one is around to hear them. As the story progresses, this line is shown to be ironic: even though the humans are dead, the house is far from “empty.”

Quotation Mark Icon

“‘Today is August 4, 2057,’ said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, ‘In the city of Allendale, California.’”


(Page 248)

This line reveals the setting of the story. Given that the story was released in 1950, the year 2057 would have implied a distant future with unimaginable technologies. The setting of Allendale, California, by contrast, suggests a familiar place or type of place, at least to American readers.

Quotation Mark Icon

“The rooms were acrawl with the small cleaning animals, all rubber and metal.”


(Page 248)

Animal imagery recurs throughout the story. This line shows how even the robotic inhabitants of the house resemble animals, and it adds to the sense of activity that belies the narrator’s earlier description of the house as “empty.”

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