The Unreal Dreams in Ray Bradbury’s Short Stories
Ray Bradbury is known for his speculative fiction who turned his childhood dreams and nightmares in modern American literature. He has a very descriptive and colorful writing style where he enriches the perfect combination of mystery, tragedy, and scientific fiction to create a fascinating gripping stories. Fahrenheit 451 is one of the best novels ever written by Ray Bradbury and is well-known for the incredibly descriptive style it employs. By using figurative language throughout the novel Bradbury brings the story to life, adding meaning to the style of writing. “All Summer In A Day” take place on planet Venus where the sun shines once for about two hours for seven years where Margot who comes from earth is accused by her classmates of lying of seeing the sun. “The Last Night of the World” a marry couple are considered to think about what would they do if it would be the last day on earth due to a dream one of them had. In his short stories, “All Summer In A Day” and “The Last Night of the World”, Bradbury uses imagery to provoke the reader’s imagination from reality with a distinct setting depicting other worlds and demonstrates the strong characterization within the short stories to enhance a unique writing style. Bradbury presents a comprehensive vision of imagery that generates a vibrant and graphic presentation to the reader’s imagination. In the story, “All Summer In A Day” imagery is used to describe the setting of the planet Venus and to describe the children’s personality with sight and sound. The author stated, “ But they were running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron; they were taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms”(Bradbury 3). The children are ready to feel the hotness of the sun touching their pale skin strongly looking up at the sky enjoying a special moment in their lives before going back to normal in where it rains for seven years.
The readers can paint a picture in their heads on this special moment for the children. In the other story, “The Last Night of the World” imagery is used to describe the dreams of the husband and to describe the reaction of the people around him due to his dreams. The author stated, “Do you know, I won’t miss anything but you and the girls. I never liked cities or my work or anything except you three. I won’t miss a thing except a change in the weather, and a glass of ice of water when it’s hot, and I might miss sleeping. How can we sit here and talk this way?”(Bradbury 3). The husband in telling if the last night the world is going to happen that he will only miss the special things such as his wife and children.The reader can imagine the conversation the husband is having with his wife, and reader can also paint an image if they were in a same situation like him. Russell Kirk critical analysis Fantasy: The World of Ray Bradbury stated, “Life and technology are what we make of them, and the failure of man to live in harmony with nature is the failure of moral imagination” (3). Ray Bradbury showed the moral imagination within his short stories the capacity to create ideas, images, or metaphors to bring a meaning with his stories. Bradbury writing is come from many fictional elements especially the setting element which provides the backdrop of the story establishing place and context of each short stories he writes. In the short story, “All Summer In A Day” the setting can be described as a distant future set in planet Venus. A planet whose temperature is 864 degrees fahrenheit and is the second biggest planet from the sun. “ It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystals fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands”(Bradbury 1). A place that rains for seven years is an unrealistic form of setting being used my Bradbury to define his scientific form of writing. In the short story, “The Last Night of the World” the setting is set in a dream setting in where a dream is interpreted as a real life situation. Bradbury stated, “A dream I had, I dreamed that it was all going to be over, and a voice said it was; not any kind of voice I can remember, but a voice anyway, and it said things would stop here on Earth”(1). Dreams are a strong powerful form of context for a story to be told due the immense meaning it can create on a story.
Overview stated, “Thus Bradbury believes that the imagination may operate in humble and private places as well as in space, and that it is as important to make familiar things new as to make the new things of the space age familiar” (1). Ray Bradbury wanted the readers to have once in a lifetime experience while reading his stories, he wanted each reader to connect with the setting of each story to feel that they were in the same place as the story to create relation with the characters as well. Characters special personality, attributes, actions, and consequences are elements that develop the theme and plot of stories. In “All Summer In A Day” characterization is well define each character has their own personality, thoughts, events, and situation. Ray Bradbury stated, “She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair”(1). Bradbury is describing the character of becoming weaker and weaker each day, the pigment of her skin is becoming lighter while her mouth is drying up with her hair losing its original color. In the short story, “The Last Night of the World” characters are describe surprised and prepared for a situation such as the last day they are alive. “No, nor do I, really; it’s just a feeling. Sometimes it frightens me; sometimes I’m not frightened at all but at peace” (Bradbury 1). Bradbury give each of characters its own emotions to have a better understanding of characterization. Willis E. McNelly critical analysis Two Views: Ray Bradbury-Past, Present, and Future stated, “To be sure, Bradbury does not lack the artistic vision for large conception or creation. The novel form is simply not his normal medium. Rather he aims to objectify or universalize the particular”(1). Ray Bradbury characterization is the most element he uses on his stories to provide the readers a form of personality within the short stories. A unique form of writing style can define a author’s work. Ray Bradbury has a writing style different from any other author of literature. He has many elements that make his short stories well-known such as imagery let’s the readers have a creative mind, unreal settings which takes place out of the unusual places, and deep description of characterization to have a strong connection with his stories. Ray Bradbury writing style is unique form of writing because are experiences he has encounter throughout the years. Ray Bradbury all time greatest scientific writer in the definition of uniqueness of a writer.
