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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens at ten o'clock?

2. What happens at ten-fifteen?

3. On what date does the story begin?

4. During the fire, what does Bradbury compare the house's dialogue to?

5. What does Bradbury compare the chemical fire-fighting foam to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the intended effect of juxtaposing the images of the silhouettes with the description of the house's continued paranoia about intruders?

2. Explain the significance of the nursery decor.

3. How does Bradbury use the dates on which the story takes place as a form of foreshadowing?

4. In what way is the house's "speech" like nursery rhymes, and what is the purpose of this choice?

5. Explain what evidence there is that the house deliberately causes the dog's death.

6. Explain the purpose of the story's allusion to Longfellow's poem "The Children's Hour."

7. Explain the inclusion of the Sara Teasdale poem in this story.

8. What are the poses of the people in their silhouettes on the side of the house, and why are they important to notice?

9. Explain the allusion to Odysseus's dog and how it functions in the story.

10. What is suggested by the fact that the house repeats the date "three times for memory's sake"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The setting of the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" is meant to be a middle-class home in a city near San Francisco, California. Most critics agree that Bradbury intended this to appeal to his audience as a sort of "universal" setting that would bring home to his audience that the devastating effects of nuclear war can happen very suddenly to anyone--not just soldiers, not just people in "other" countries. What is your opinion of this choice? Do you think that it accomplishes its intended purpose? Do you think that this purpose is worthwhile? Be sure to explain your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

In Bradbury's time, nuclear war seemed like the most serious threat to humanity's future. What seems like the most serious threat today? Choose a threat to defend as the most serious, and defend your choice with researched evidence.

Essay Topic 3

Choose a symbol in "There Will Come Soft Rains" and explain how the symbol is employed. That is, how is it developed, what is its significance, and how does this help convey meaning?

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