Who are the characters in The pedestrian

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Ray Bradbury in “The Pedestrian” uses various literary devices to achieve Mr. Meads character development. Bradbury uses simile, characterization, and imagery to develop the character of Mr. Mead so that the reader can understand his motives for being alone. Bradbury uses simile to develop why Mr. Mead is alone. He first uses simile to show how he is alone. "Only his shadow of a hawk in mid-country." (Paragraph 6) there is not many people out where Mr. Mead lives. Bradbury also uses a simile in paragraph 22. "The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest." Mr. Mead is not used to seeing other people. This simile shows how he looks different than everyone else. Bradbury uses simile to direct Mr. Mead. She also uses Direct Characterization. Bradbury uses simile to direct Mr. Mead. He also uses Characterization. Bradbury uses characterization to develop why Mr. Mead is alone. "He walked like a man suddenly drunk. As he…show more content…
He also uses imagery. Bradbury uses Imagery to develop why Mr. Mead is alone. "Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return at midnight to his house. And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the Windows." (Paragraph 2) No one is out to greet Mr. Mead or talk to him. Another example can be found in paragraph 8 when he thinks someone is trying to talk with him. "Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house? He hesitated, but went on when nothing more happened. He stumbled over an uneven section of pavement." Ray Bradbury in “The Pedestrian” uses various literary devices to achieve Mr. Meads character development. Bradbury uses simile, characterization, and imagery to develop the character of Mr. Mead so that the reader can understand his motives for being alone. Mr. Mead wishes he wasn't so

These notes are not exhaustive and should be used only to compliment the numbered notes you have already made in your jotter.

Characterisation

Leonard Mead

Leonard Mead is established as a man that is different to the others in his society – “he was alone in the world of A.D. 2052, or as good as alone.” “In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not one in all that time.”

His difference is mostly exposed through his ability to think for himself: “with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off,” The word “selected” suggests that this is a decision that Mead has made for himself, while the word “stride” suggests that he is moving with purpose. His difference is highlighted throughout the story “a lone figure himself”

Mead’s characterisation as different is again exposed in his conversation with the police car. He tells it that he is unmarried and that he is a writer. The car’s response to this information suggests that this is abnormal in their society and again shows Mead as an outcast.

Bradbury uses symbolism to further highlight Bradbury’s difference from society:

“But this one house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cook darkness.
‘ That’s my house,’ said Leonard Mead.”

Leonard’s difference from society is symbolically represented by the difference between his house and those around him. The light is symbolic of his ability to think for himself, and suggests his intelligence.

Crucially, Mead is not sad or lonely – he finds humour in his situation, enjoys his aloneness, and is proud of it: “‘Nobody wanted me,’ said Leonard Mead with a smile.”

The Police Car

The Police Car is characterised as devoid of any human characteristics: “It smelled of harsh antiseptic; it smelled too clear and hard and metallic. There was nothing soft there.” It talks in a “metallic whisper” and has a “phonograph voice” that “hisses”.

The police car is also symbolic of the state’s power. As the only police car for an entire city with a reasonably large population, it suggests that the whole population follows the laws laid out by the state. As a result, it shows the power the state hold over its citizens, acting as a symbol of that power.

Themes

The Power of the State

The state’s power is most simply shown through the symbolism of the police car, but it is also exposed through Bradbury’s narration:
“lights might click on and faces appear and an entire street would be startled by the passing of a lone figure himself”

While this quotation shows the difference between Mead and society, it also exposes how the citizens react. It suggests an air of suspicion where neighbours would inform the authorities about other neighbours, enhancing the dystopian setting of the story. This is developed through the “empty streets with the empty sidewalks, and no sound and no motion”. The setting plays a crucial role in showing the stillness of the town and portrays Mead as a disruption to that stillness. The stillness suggests the state’s complete control over its citizens by forcing them to stay indoors.

The state’s power is also shown in Mead’s reaction to the police car:

“a fierce white cone of light” “the light held him fixed like a museum specimen, needle thrust through the chest.” “To the Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies”

Nature

The natural world plays a key role in contrasting the dystopian setting of “The Pedestrian”. “He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of sidewalk. The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass” This shows how nature is reclaiming the city, and suggests hope, that one day, the citizens will be free again.

Bradbury also uses nature imagery to characterise Mr Mead and his reaction to the police car: “not unlike a moth, stunned by the illumination, and the drawn towards it” “like a museum specimen, needle thrust through the chest”. This is in direct contrast to the description of the car as metallic and hard and therefore shows Mead’s closeness to nature, and his difference from the society he inhabits.

Notable techniques

Symbolism
Used with the Police Car and Mead’s home.

Imagery
Normally involves nature and related to descriptions of Mead or the setting.

Sentence Structure
Descriptions of the setting are long, run-on sentences which directly contrast with the police car and its short, direct statements and questions.

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Mead passes the homes of these characters on his nightly walks. These characters are undifferentiated and dehumanized. They are not given individual identities; rather, they are described in general terms and associated with death: they are like ghosts and “gray phantoms,” their neighborhoods are likened to graveyards, and their homes are “tomb-like.” They whisper and murmur in their dimly lit homes as they watch light entertainment shows. During the day, they drive around the city in automobiles that are described as if they were insects. The portrayal of the other citizens shows how technological progress and social conformity can cause people to lose their individuality and even their humanity.

Mead, the only named character in the story, is an adult male living in an unnamed city in the middle of the 21st century. He is unique among city dwellers; he lives alone, doesn’t own… read analysis of Leonard Mead

Mead passes the homes of these characters on his nightly walks. These characters are undifferentiated and dehumanized. They are not given individual identities; rather, they are described in general terms and associated with death: they… read analysis of Other Citizens

The only other character besides Mead who speaks, it is revealed that the car is robotic and operated remotely. Its “iron voice” speaks to Mead in a harsh, accusatory tone as it interrogates him. The… read analysis of Robotic Police Car