Annotated Bibliography

Adams, Mark. “Atomic Bomb: August 6, 1945.” Truman Library,  National Archives and
Records Administration, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/lesson-plans/atomic-bomb-august-6-1945. 9 December 2022

This website was created as a lesson plan for high school students, providing short summaries of some of the events that helped end WWII. It also provides quotes from presidents and political leaders during the time to emphasize key details that helped Americans during the Cold War.

“A Summary and Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’.” Interesting Literature, 12 Feb. 2022.

This source, an article summarizing and analyzing Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” offers a really nice selection of facts, analysis points, and general information about the short fictional story. It offers a general, yet somewhat specific plot summary, as well as some basic history about the Cold War and nuclear warfare in the 1950’s. Understanding this history is crucial to being able to really connect with this short story. The entire premise revolves around a house that seemingly “lives on” after the inhabitants of it all die because of a nuclear explosion.

Boyer, Paul. “American Intellectuals and Nuclear Weapons.” Revue Française d’études Américaines, no. 29, 1986, pp. 291–307. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20873421. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022.

“American Intellectuals and Nuclear Weapons” describes the different stances that leaders, or rather intellectuals, in the World War II era and their stances and morals regarding the use of nuclear weaponry. For example, discussions on the moral costs of victory, perceived justifications on the use of nuclear weaponry, and the politics involved in the decision making. However, this article does not solely focus on the discussion on nuclear warfare in the early 1900’s but also how the use of nuclear weapons affected the works of science fiction poets and authors, and how they made their opinions known to the world. “There Will come Soft Rains” is centered on the theme of nuclear warfare, specifically the aftermath, making this article a valuable resource and reference to many different points of view on the short story.

C.N., Aswathy. “Nature versus Culture: Mapping Imperialistic Alternatives in the Martian Chronicles and Avatar.” Language in India, vol. 18, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. p33-43, web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=fa888d87-788f-46fb-8bb2-dfe3de6637b1%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ufh&AN=137936889. Accessed 1 May 2023.

Aswathy C.N. takes a look at Ray Bradbury’s work and his fears of the future in her article “Nature versus Culture: Mapping Imperialistic Alternatives in the Martian Chronicles and Avatar”. Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” is only a part of The Martian Chronicles collection, the whole of which, as discussed by C.N. explores Bradbury’s fears and predictions of the future. C.N. summarizes the chronicles and details how they paint a picture of a future made destitute by humanities never ending pursuit of advancement. This is most obvious in “There Will Come Soft Rains” where Bradbury’s fears are most clearly projected in the subject matter. Reading of a home devoid of life that still carries out the tasks assigned to it by the humans now long dead, readers are given a glimpse into the future that Bradbury worries is to come. The emptiness creates a clear sense of isolation that comes at the cost of the destructive colonialism and ambition that C.N. talks of in their article.

Dominianni, Robert. “Ray Bradbury’s 2026: A Year with Current Value.” The English Journal, vol. 73, no. 7, 1984, pp. 49–51. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/817806.

This journal focuses on the technological advancements in connection to science fiction writing. Dominianni directly discusses how the work of Ray Bradbury’s work is pertinent to real-world problems, rather than fiction. He goes on to argue that the short story “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” is important for students because it allows the appreciation of dramatized writing. Dominianni noted that students may feel indifferent towards this story, making assumptions that Bradbury had a negative view of technology. This journal points out the importance of understanding technology in relation to human aspects of life, not just technology itself. Metaphors are prevalent throughout the story, arguing how different aspects took on the roles of human aspects of life. This journal can be useful to use as a reader, because it leads to deeper meaning of the text and its connection to real world problems and potential outcomes. It is informative, providing author information and historical context.

Forrester, Kent. “The Dangers of Being Earnest: Ray Bradbury and The Martian Chronicles.” The Journal of General Education, vol. 28, no. 1, 1976, pp. 50–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27796552. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Ray Bradbury is a popular author who has drawn a lot of attention to his work because of his genre and unique writings, sparking discussions that cause scholars and critics to review his work, reference him, and take opportunities to contrast his work with others. This article compares Bradbury with some other authors and even voices the opinions that other scholars have on him and his work. The voices that are highlighted show different views on authors like Ray Bradbury and Hal Clement. Some speak highly of these authors and others express a different point of view. The versatility of this article is valuable because of the wide variety of opinions that are accumulated into one comprehensive piece, showing all readers all sides of an argument.

Galeyev, Bulat. “Open Letter to Ray Bradbury.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 1, 2001, pp. p25-26, https://doi.org/10.1162/002409401300052451. Accessed 1 May 2023.

Bulat Galeyev’s “Open Letter to Ray Bradbury” offers interesting insight on the impact that Ray Bradbury had as an author, and even more interesting, some of the biases that he himself is victim of. In this article, Galeyev, a Russian citizen, writes about how Bradbury’s works managed to transcend the cultural divide, and touched upon so many of the thoughts and concerns of a Russian citizen such as himself. It provides interesting insight going into reading Bradbury’s work, knowing that people the world over can see the messages and relate to the fears Bradbury expressed. Beyond that, Galeyev notes that Bradbury in his writing seemed to fail to acknowledge Earth as anything beyond America in his futures. This itself is a very interesting thing to note, as Bradbury’s story “There Will Come Soft Rains” explores a future where humans are gone and forgotten, leaving only machines behind. Knowing that Bradbury himself can forget people outside of his own worldview brings a unique lens to read his work and shines a light on the fact that even one such as he can forget the individuality of people.

Harlow, Morgan. “Martian Legacy: Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.” War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of Humanities, vol. 11, no. 1/2, pp. 311-314. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19134428&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Morgan Harlow’s commentary “Martian Legacy: Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles” covers Bradbury’s science fiction fix-up novel that “There Will Come Soft Rains” was published under during the 1950s. Harlow’s article does not summarize the entirety of The Martian Chronicles, but it does an adequate job of filling in contextual gaps for readers that are only knowledgeable of “There Will Come Soft Rains”. Harlow’s commentary covers much of the extraterrestrial side to The Martian Chronicles, but does break down the importance of Bradbury’s science fiction as a whole in a concise and informative short commentary focusing on a historical context. Harlow mentions moments throughout history such as nuclear war, human greed, and colonization and explains how these events acted as backdrops and parallels in shaping Bradbury’s anthology. At the end of the commentary, Harlow also mentions the Vietnam War, where Harlow believes Bradbury’s cautionary tale has been prophetic. Instead of focusing solely on the future and the stars, Harlow points out that The Martian Chronicles begs readers to look at themselves and work towards the future they wish to prevent.

“Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings.” The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, https://www.icanw.org/hiroshima_and_nagasaki_bombings. Accessed 9 December 2022

“Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings” gives insights into both the long and short-term effects of these nuclear bombings. It also shows how the Japanese people dealt with the problem and how Americans became intimidated by the destruction they had caused. It provides context for how the Japanese people are stronger due to the hardships they faced.

Mambrol, Nasrullah. “Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains.” Literary Theory and Criticism (2022). 28 November 2022. <https://literariness.org/2022/01/17/analysis-of-ray-bradburys-there-will-come-soft-rains/>.

This article is a short and brief summary and explanation of the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury. The article begins by providing simple context of the time that the short story was written by talking about the genre and original inspiration the author used like the type of home the house in the story was modeled after. The article also expounds on the true significance of what some of the images in the story represent or entail, such as how the silhouettes of a family implies what happened prior to the scene. Because of the more analytical approach of this article, it proves to be a valuable resource for the further analysis and interpretation of Ray Bradbury’s short story.

May, Elaine Tyler. “War and Peace: Fanning the Home Fires.” Homeward Bound : American Families in the Cold War Era. 20th ed., Basic Books, 2008, pp. 58-88.

The third chapter “War and Peace: Fanning the Home Fires” of Elaine Tyler May’s book Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era recounts the history of household dynamics in the aftermath of World War II through a feminist lens. May gives readers ample sources, statistics, and pop culture references to help form a vision of what 1950’s America would have been like for the average family and woman. While May doesn’t directly comment on Bradbury’s work, the information distilled about birth-booms, increased patriotism, and fears of nuclear Armageddon all act as a historical backdrop to Bradbury’s “Soft Rains”. Focusing on women, the third chapter of May’s Homeward Bound showcases the way an image of domesticity triumphed over the independent Wonder Woman of World War II. May’s work is an excellent backdrop for a feminist analysis of Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”.

McLaughlin, Pat. “ A Literary Analysis of There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury.” Elon University Digication EPortfolio, Digication, 2013, https://elon.digication.com/a_literary_analysis_of_there_will_come_soft_rains/A_Literary_Analysis_of_There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains.

This journal is an analysis written by a college student and addresses the nature of Bradbury’s work and its connection to real world problems. Specifically, this journal discusses how Bradbury used descriptive literary techniques to tell the story of how technology overtakes humanity, but that nothing can win against nature. McLaughlin provides lots of author information, relating the story ideas to his other works. He displays the connection between the house, and our fate as a species. Many images are also discussed to relate to this idea, such as the charred side of the house and the silhouettes of the family. The use of imagery, descriptive language, and themes helps guide the reader to understand why Bradbury wrote the story in the way he did. This can be very useful to understand different wording within the story and linking it to an overall theme and motive of the work.

Oakes, Guy. “The Cold War Conception of Nuclear Reality: Mobilizing the American Imagination for Nuclear War in the 1950’s.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society (1993): 339-363.

This article talks about the nuclear threat looming over Americans in the 1950’s. The author, Guy Oakes, begins the article by outlining the actions the government planned to take if the threat grew too large, including what kind of persona the country wanted to uphold, even while in the midst of a nuclear war. He also shows how some of the views of the people differed from the government’s, including what the priorities should be. Following the historical details, Oakes shows some of the different events and procedures the country took to maintain the safety of its citizens.

Patai, Daphne. “Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought.” Society, vol. 50, no. 1, Feb. 2013, p. p41, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-012-9617-x. Accessed 1 May 2023.

Daphne Patai discusses at length in her article “Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought” Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 and with that some of his political views, specifically a strong belief in free speech. Bradbury very openly supported freedom of speech and freedom of expression, something seen quite heavily in his writing. This article discusses the importance of that belief, and how Bradbury’s advocacy for it was something to be proud of and to encourage, especially in a world that constantly tries to quell and silence those who speak up. By defending freedom of expression, Bradbury fights for the existence of the individual, the ego. Understanding the importance that Bradbury placed on the individual, the human being as someone that should express themselves and fight for their existence, offers an almost bleak frame of reference for the distinct lack of ego in his story “There Will Come Soft Rains”.

“Ray Bradbury’s “August 2026” Short Story Analysis.” IvyPanda, 16 Dec. 2021,
https://ivypanda.com/essays/ray-bradburys-august-2026-short-story-analysis/.

This article was written by the authors of the IvyPanda website and includes a short analysis of “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”. This analysis addresses the movement all throughout the house, displaying that the house for waiting for its human occupants. This analysis also points out the liveliness of the house, with examples of the energy and movement it holds. It is addressed that this short story has two completely different worlds: the previous one with the dog and family and the world that exists afterwards. The conclusion of the analysis points to the idea that this story is not purely pessimistic, due to the house remaining the same no matter if it had inhabitants or not. This analysis can be useful to a reader because it showcases the idea of two different worlds, the house living in the future world that didn’t inhabit humans while the routine and atmosphere stayed the same.

Seed, David. “Out of the Science Fiction Ghetto.” Ray Bradbury (Modern Masters of Science Fiction). University of Illinois, 2015, pp. 1-45.

David Seed’s biography Ray Bradbury (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) covers Bradbury’s lifelong writing career. While the entire book offers insight to the different eras of Bradbury’s work, the first chapter “Out of the Science Fiction Ghetto” is particularly useful as a long and detailed summary of Bradbury’s work and life. This chapter of Seed’s biography goes all the way back to the start of Bradbury’s career and his interest in the Los Angeles Science Fiction Fantasy Society in the 30s and then explores the author’s early struggles, his notable colleagues, and innovation against what he perceived as constraining stereotypes littering the early days of the science fiction genre. Readers of “There Will Come Soft Rains” can use Seed’s biography as a resource to better understand Bradbury’s greater feelings towards his work in the sci-fi genre as well as gain context for how his work in The Martian Chronicles was as impactful as it was to science fiction.

Sleman, Sokar Musleh, and Ismail Muhammad Fahmi. “The Destiny of Humanity in the Future Cities of Ray Bradbury.” Zanco Journal of Humanity Sciences 24.1 (2020): 278-288.

This article addresses many short stories by Ray Bradbury. The authors focus on how his work still plays a role today, even though it has been many years since they were written. Through detailed research and assertions, they explain themes in Bradbury’s work, including things that do not line up with what Bradbury claimed to believe. They showed how his work brought peace to readers, although that was not Bradbury’s intention with the things that he wrote. They also wrote a short summary of Bradbury’s life that shed light on the reasoning behind the stories he wrote.

Sustana, Catherine. “Analysis of ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’ by Ray Bradbury.” ThoughtCo, 8 Aug. 2019.

This article is highly informative and covers many different aspects relating to “There Will Come Soft Rains.” It covers many different perspectives and comparisons that offer a good selection of information. Author Catherine Sustana explains the comparisons and the contrasts with Sara Teasdale’s poem and goes into extensive detail about the history of both authors, as well as the history and impact of the short story. It’s a very well-written article, and the details that Sustana goes into are very thorough.

Teasdale, Sara. “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Poets, Beacon Rains, 2003, https://poets.org/poem/there-will-come-soft-rains?mbd=1

This website contains Sara Teasdale’s poem, “There Will Come Soft Rains.”

“There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale.” Poem Analysis, An Elite Cafemedia Publisher, 2022, https://poemanalysis.com/sarah-teasdale/there-will-come-soft-rains/

This article analyzes Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Her poem is split into two sections. The first half outlines a scene of peace in nature. The second half addresses the fact that the natural order of the world would not notice if humans were at war; the seasons would still change. Following this, the article shows how themes and symbols hidden throughout the poem solidify the picture of independence that nature has regardless of human actions. This analysis gives greater clarity to Ray Bradbury’s short story because his technologically advanced house continued to function even though the human race had wiped each other out.

“There Will Come Soft Rains.” Encyclopedia.com, An Elite Cafemedia Publisher, 2019, https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/there-will-come-soft-rains#F

This article analyzes Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” using many different critical lenses to provide a deeper understanding of the story. It begins by summarizing the short story, then moves to details about Bradbury’s life, the story’s characters and themes, writing techniques and styles that play a role, historical context, critical overview, and a short criticism of the story. The depth of the article results in readers thinking for themselves and applying parts of Bradbury’s story into their own lives, even though many of the threats of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s have dissipated significantly.

“There Will Come Soft Rains Summary and Analysis: LitPriest.” Lit Priest.

This source covers a character analysis for every character in the short story. Understanding characters in stories, as well as their purpose and what they represent, is very important when trying to understand a story. This source does seem credible, but there isn’t a lot of information on the author or when it was published, so that kind of worries me a bit. All in all, this article covers a lot of good information!