Perspectives

Literary genre

The short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction text. Some of the typical features of the genre found in the text are: a new and unusual setting (the story is set in the future, in the year 2026); advanced technology (as indicated by the automated home); dystopian elements (humankind has become extinct as a result of a nuclear bomb); and criticism towards human society (humankind caused its own demise by creating and using the bomb).

Historical period

The first version of "There Will Come Soft Rains" was published in 1950. At this time, the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union was in its early stages. Notably, the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear bomb in 1949, meaning that both superpowers now had access to ...