+ 321 Bridge

3 aspects you enjoyed about the writing:

• Sudden gray phantoms seemed to manifest upon inner room walls where a curtain was still undrawn against the night, or there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomblike building was still open. Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head, listen, look, and march on, his feet making no noise on the lumpy walk.

The protagonist is rather free compared to these ghostlike beings in their homes. Despite being by himself, he is freer than those inside their homes.

• "Not married," said the police voice behind the fiery beam. The moon was high and clear among the stars and the houses were gray and silent. "Nobody wanted me," said Leonard Mead with a smile. "Don't speak unless you're spoken to!" Leonard Mead waited in the cold night.

Mead tries to connect with this robot and fails to do so. He does not conform to the rules he is meant to and tried to rebel the nature of his society, which can be shown through his answers.

• "That's my house," said Leonard Mead. No one answered him. The car moved down the empty river-bed streets and off away, leaving the empty streets with the empty side-walks, and no sound and no motion all the rest of the chill November night.

The cheery and free protagonist we were introduced was no longer free. He was punished for his individuality and inability to conform.

2 things that make this writing unique:

• The car hesitated, or rather gave a faint whirring click, as if information, somewhere, was dropping card by punch-slotted card under electric eyes.

Bradbury’s writing describes his inhumane characters with slight human emotions. These machines not being human make them more terrifying as they are able to participate in human like activities.

• Bradbury begins his short story with pure descriptions of what Mead gets to witness on his midnight walks. This syntax of complex sentences slowly then transitions to dialogue.

1 question you wish you could ask the author:

What had inspired him to write this piece?