“I don't try to describe the future. I try to prevent it,” Ray Bradbury informed when people asked him the reason behind his writings. Bradbury is a well-known author of dystopia stories set in the future and characterized by an unpleasant and dehumanizing society. A dystopia is the illusion of a perfect society controlled through philosophical, bureaucratic, corporate, and/or technological control. In the 1950s Ray Bradbury wrote two powerful stories, The Veldt and August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains, to raise awareness of technology. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Veldt tells of a family of four struggling to adapt to advances in technology and living in their fully automated Happylife home. The parents, George and Lydia, are frightened by the image of their children viewing the African Veldt through their bedroom, so they decide to close it. Their children, Peter and Wendy, are very upset as daycare is all they live for and kill their parents. In the story, August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains, a technologically advanced house attempts to survive the aftermath of a nuclear explosion without the family that previously lived there. Unaware that an atomic bomb has destroyed the rest of the city, the smart house continues its daily functions of cooking, cleaning, and announcing times and events for the family. Later in the night, a tree branch falls on the house, causing it to go up in flames. Ray Bradbury uses his stories to warn readers of the negative effects of technology through themes, conflicts, and symbolism. First, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through themes within the stories, The Veldt and August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. Both stories inform readers that technology destroys people mentally. Within the story, The Veldt, readers learn that technology ends human relationships and causes the destruction of family values. Throughout the story, readers notice the constant struggle between parents and their children's relationship due to the use of technology. At first, Lydia feels like she no longer belongs since she cannot perform maternal roles as efficiently as the technologically advanced home can. Likewise, George doesn't know what to do with his time, so he drinks and smokes more every day. The main problem that readers notice is that children do not consider their parents as parental figures since the technology is superior to them. George called David McClean, a psychologist, to examine the nursery and see what was wrong. He breaks the news to George that something is very bad by telling him “You have let this room and this house replace you and your wife in the affections of your children. This room represents their mother and father, who are much more important in their lives than their real parents.” Wendy and Peter no longer had to depend on their parents when Happylife Home came into their lives. They had become obsessed with nursery and always fixated on the African Veldt. Having this technology to clean, feed and entertain them meant they no longer needed their parents. The nursery became the parental figure that the children looked up to, and when George and Lydia wanted to take that figure away from them, they killed their parents. The technology was so powerful and influential that Lydia and George could not compete with it. Overall, The Veldt uses the theme that technology ends human relationships and causes the destruction offamily values. Similarly, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through themes within the story August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. Just like The Veldt, August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains teaches readers that technology destroys people mentally. Within the first sentence of the story, readers learn that the house is automated by the robotic voice that tells the family to wake up. Later, it is evident that the house prepares meals, cleans, and reminds the family about paying bills and special events. Technology takes care of the family's every need to create the ideal environment. To make the family's life easier, the house reads its daily message which reads “'Today is August 4, 2026,' said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, 'in the city of Allendale, California. ' He repeated the date three times for memory's sake. 'Today is Mr Featherstone's birthday. Today is Talita's wedding anniversary. Insurance to be paid, as well as water, gas and electricity bills. '”This means that simple human capabilities have been replaced by technology. The self-sufficient home decreases man's mental ability to remember and complete simple daily tasks. Instead, people become attached to this technology and will always depend on it to educate them or do it for them. The constant repetition of time and what to do puts people in a dehumanized state. The automated home meets every imaginable need of families by making them rely on it, giving control of the technology. Secondly, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through conflicts within the stories, The Veldt and August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. Readers identify the conflict between man and technology within the Veldt. In the story, man is destroyed by technology in two ways, Lydia and George are overwhelmed by the technology of the nursery as well as the humanity of the children is destroyed. It is proven that whoever controls the car will have the power in the house. When George tried to control the nursery he had no authority, so he remained as Veldt. This is demonstrated when George said, “'Let us take Aladdin and his lamp,' he snapped. The Veldtland remained; the lions remained. “Come on, room!” I demand Alladin!' he said. Nothing happened. George's inability to control the bedroom walls tells readers that the situation he finds himself in is spiraling out of his control. The constant battle between George and the nursery shows readers that technology has more power over George and dominates the house. Not only does technology overwhelm George and Lydia throughout the story, but it also destroys the children's humanity. It is noted that at the end of the story the children have lost all their humanity during a picnic after killing their parents. The act of murder did not affect Wendy and is shown when she says "'A cup of tea?' Wendy asked silently. “The new generation of ferocity, selfishness and emotionlessness began when children kill their parents. They feel no remorse or guilt when their parents died, and it is clear that they have become emotionless and discouraged like the machinery that controls the nursery. Using the conflict between man and technology shows readers that technology can take control and that it dehumanizes people. Similarly, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through the conflict within the story, August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. Readers note the constant battle between technology and nature throughout the story Bradbury suggests that nature is more powerful than anything man creates.In August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains, the automated home satisfies every possible need, making it the perfect environment for humans. The automated home relies on the natural world, for its materials and inspiration for its automated features. Yet, the house continues to fight against nature, even if its functionality benefits. It would go off when a fox or cat approached or if a bird grazed the house. Defensive acts would come into play when nature would threaten him. For example, when a fallen tree branch hit the cleaning solvent, which shattered on top of the stove, it caused the house to collapse. flames. The house defended itself by describing itself as: “From the attic trap doors, blind robot faces peered down with faucet mouths gushing green chemicals. The fire has calmed down. . . But the fire was smart. It had sent the flames out of the house, through the attic to the pumps. An explosion! The attic brain that directed the pump was shattered into bronze shards on the rafters. ”As you can see, technology seems weak compared to nature. The use of the word “intelligent” to describe fire shows that nature was wiser than technology. Technology is known for its innovative and advanced features, but when put to the test with nature it fails to dominate. Nature cannot be overcome by technology as it is self-sufficient and has the ultimate authority over man's creations. August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains shows readers that nature will always prevail when a conflict with technology arises. Finally, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through symbolism within the stories, The Veldt and August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. The Happylife Home symbolizes the negative effects of human needs and desires that are immediately satisfied through technological advances. Happylife Home is an automated home that meets all the needs and desires of the Hadley family. With this technology the Hadleys don't have to think or do anything because the house does it for them. Many simple human functions are performed by the home. The Happylife House performs many tasks that make this technology human-like, such as “This house that clothed them, fed them, rocked them to sleep, played and sang and was good to them.” This tells us that the house is more human than the human beings who live in it. Having these technological features made the family dehumanized and senseless. Peter has become familiar with the automated house doing everything for him, so when his father said he was going to lock up the house he said, “'I don't want to do anything but look and listen and smell: what else is there to see? " Do?'". It is important to realize that Peter feels there is no purpose in his life without the Happylife Home. Overuse of the Happylife Home and nursery meant that Peter only cared about looking, listening and smelling instead of thinking, loving or sharing. This tells the readers that he only wants to interact with technology as it gives him satisfaction and not with humans. Later in the story, readers realize that the Happylife Home was the initial reason for the dehumanization of the children and the murder of George and Lydia. The Happylife Home symbolizes the negative effects of human needs and desires that are immediately satisfied through technological advances. Similarly, Ray Bradbury warns readers of the negative effects of technology through symbolism within the story, August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. The house symbolizes that the technological advances made by man will outlast man's existence. Similar to the Happylife Home in the story The Veldt, the?