“The Pedestrian” Is a short story, written by Ray Bradbury, set in the year of 2053. It features Leanord Mead, a writer who walks the abandoned streets of the future every evening until one evening whilst out walking,
he is met with a robotic police car. The car queries him about why he is out walking, and he replies saying that it is purely out of enjoyment. The robot remains skeptical, since no-one in this future world longer walks
for enjoyment. Instead, they stay inside and watch TV. Eventually, the robot remains against his excuses and decides to arrest him. In this essay, I will discuss how the writer portrays the gloominess, and emptyness
of his futuristic world, and what it symbolises.

Bradbury effectively portrays the melancholy, and isolated atmosphere of the streets in this piece through a combination of word choice, tone and imagery. For example, he describes the streets of his world as “long moonlit avenues”. This gives the impression that the environment is vast, and empty. using the word “moonlit”, This choice of adjective gives the reader the impression of mystery, and darkness. The writer also describes the main character as a “lone figure”, which shows that he is without company. Bradbury contributes towards the mystery and darkness of the poem by describing the night as a “misty evening”. Using the word “misty” Also gives the piece mystery, and darkness, as it implies an inhability to see. The atmposphere of this poem is illustrated through word choice as “cold” Throughout the poem, which adds to the dark, melancholy aura of the story. For example, the writer describes the main character’s breath as “patterns of frosty air”, Which brings to mind the misty clouds of air which are exhaled on a very cold day. The voice of the robotic police car is also described as “metallic”, Which brings to mind the cold touch of metal, and also adds to the characterless robotic nature of the police car.

In this story, the residents inside their homes…