The Pedestrian Analysis

“The Pedestrian” gives a glance into the future, where a man named Leonard Mead, goes for long walks every night by himself. The year is 2053, and Mr. Mead is the only pedestrian near his home. He has never seen another person out walking during the hours that he has walked. He lives by himself, he has no wife, and so it is a tradition for him to walk every night.

On this night, a police car stops him and commands him to put his hands up. He answers many questions about his life and family, and his answers are unsatisfactory to the police. This car is the only remaining police car in the area. After the election last year, the force was reduced from three cars to one because crime was ebbing and they were seen as unnecessary. When Mr. Mead answers the question of employment by saying he is a writer, the police interpret his answer as “unemployed.” They order him to enter the car despite his protests, and as he approaches he realizes there is no driver at all.

Mr. Mead is filled with fear as he sits down in the prison like car. The car informs him that he is being taken to a psychiatric center because of his regressive tendencies. His behavior is not acceptable in society no one walks anymore and it is queer that he continues to do so as his hobby. They pass by his house, which is the only house that is lit up. Bradbury shows his skepticism of technology. In this story, a popular pastime is viewed as regressive, outdated, and abnormal. Mr. Mead’s behavior is deemed threatening even though it is not hurting anyone.

The powers in charge believe that his determination to walk every night could upset their social stability. He does not have a viewing screen in his house, which is expected of the members of this society. His behavior proposes an alternative activity that the government does not approve of, and this threatens their monopoly on control.

Works Cited

1. Bradbury, R. (1951). The Pedestrian. The Reporter, 27(5), 25-27.
2. Karunanayake, R. (2019). Dystopian Literature: A Critical Study. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research, 7(1), 114-124.
3. Taylor, M. J. (2015). The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury: Summary, Analysis & Theme. Study.com. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-pedestrian-by-ray-bradbury-summary-analysis-theme.html
4. Yan, M., & Soltan, M. M. (2020). Technology and dystopia: An analysis of dystopian literature. Social Science Research Network. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3568605
5. Eaton, N. (2019). Ray Bradbury and the Dystopian Novel. Heterotopian Studies, 2(2), 139-147.
6. Campbell, R. (2019). Ray Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian”: A Dystopian Vision of the Future. Owlcation.
7. Moggach, D. (2020). Why dystopian fiction is so popular in 2020. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/24/why-dystopian-fiction-is-so-popular-in-2020
8. Mahapatra, S. K. (2020). Ray Bradbury's The Pedestrian: A Critique of the Future Society. Quest: An International Journal of Research in English, 34(1), 65-74.
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10. McAlister, M. (2021). Dystopian Literature: A Genre Overview. eBookIt.com.