In The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, which of the 'Illustrations' portrayed do you find most thought provoking and why?

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

In The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, which of the ‘Illustrations’ portrayed do you find most thought provoking and why?

Ray Bradbury first introduces us to the Illustrated Man in Wisconsin, on a warm afternoon in early September. The Illustrated Man is shown to be large and well built, ‘but now, for some reason, going to fat’.

His outfit is odd-a woollen shirt buttoned to the top and with cuffs tight. Although this makes him sweat, he pays no attention to it.

However, we are soon to learn why. He is covered from neck to toe with illustrations. And not mere tattoos-these move, tell stories, and predict the future in every minute detail. ‘He was a riot of rockets and fountains and people,’ Bradbury tells us, ‘when his flesh twitched, the tiny mouths flickered, the tiny green-and-gold eyes winked, the tiny pink hands gestured.’

That night, as the pictures begin to move, and to change, the author creates sixteen different stories, sixteen different visions of the future.

Bradbury wrote ‘The Illustrated Man’ in 1952. This was a period in which (with World War Two having ended just seven years before) people’s ideas and views of the world had and still were rapidly changing. Wars have always promoted an advance in technology, and with this one came space rockets. This was the beginning of the Space Race, and the world’s eyes were fixed upon the sky. However, this was also a time of unrest and uncertainty-Russia broke from its alliance with the West, and communism became a ‘non-American activity’. John McCarthy, an American politician, racist and anti-Communist, was at the height of his power, and racism ran riot.

One of the main reasons that Bradbury wrote the Illustrated Man was to try and counter these fears (particularly racism), but to do so through a popular subject-the future.

Each of the Illustrations carries with it a moral standpoint, all of which are important to Bradbury.

The Veld makes a point that is still highly relevant today-Although technology is important, it is not so important that it should get in the way of family life. It is an incredible piece of foresight by the author, as this is possibly the greatest problem that we face socially today. Nearly 75% of households are connected to the Internet, with around 80% possessing computers. This is the root of many problems, especially obesity, as the Internet and computer games are ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Each of the Illustrations carries with it a moral standpoint, all of which are important to Bradbury.

The Veld makes a point that is still highly relevant today-Although technology is important, it is not so important that it should get in the way of family life. It is an incredible piece of foresight by the author, as this is possibly the greatest problem that we face socially today. Nearly 75% of households are connected to the Internet, with around 80% possessing computers. This is the root of many problems, especially obesity, as the Internet and computer games are the primary contributors to unhealthy sedentary lifestyles. Bradbury exaggerates the effects that the technology has for impact, with the parents dying as a result of relying so much on their house’s technological equipment, and not bothering to communicate with other human beings.

In Kaleidoscope, Bradbury explores not only the concept of death, but also his belief that we must make the most of our lives when we have the chance, because at the end, the only things we are left with are our memories. He sets it in open space to illustrate this nothingness and loneliness, but the point that he makes is just as relevant here on Earth. ‘Carpe diem’ is shown in its full relevance in this story, that to have memories, you must have lived life to the full, day by day.

In The Other Foot, Bradbury speculates on the idea of the world of Mars where black/white racism is reversed, hence the title. When a white man arrives on the planet, the inhabitants gather at the rocket, intent on lynching the man as a means of revenge for their kin and race. However, when the man finally leaves his ship and tells them how a Third World War has killed all of mankind save for a few, as well as flattening all the cities and towns on the Earth, poisoning the water and killing the trees ’all the trees-burned’, they realise that black and white people are now equal, and agree to a new start on Mars ‘The time for being fools is over… we can start all over again, on the same level’. I feel that this is the most potent and effective of the Illustrations, as it is able, by this reversal of roles, to show how white people would feel in the same situation of persecution and hate.

Ray Bradbury expresses very strongly numerous other beliefs. His religious beliefs are clearly very important to him, and he shows them to us in The Man, The Long Rain and No Particular Night or Morning. All three are allegories about faith. The Man, although again set in space, is telling how man must have faith in himself and find God there, as he cannot be found in any physical place, as he shows with ‘he’ll go on, planet after planet, seeking and seeking’. He is trying to tell the reader that we may search and search forever, but we will never find him unless you look inside ourselves. This is an idea taken directly from the Bible.

The Long Rain is similar to The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan in that nearly all of the protagonists lose faith in ever reaching their goal, but the one man with faith finally reaches his destination. Bradbury is telling us that only with true faith can we enter into Heaven.

No Particular Night or Morning is yet another allegory about faith. The character’s disbelief in the existence of even the Earth is supposed to represent the atheist, who refuses doggedly to have any faith, while the others can at least cling on to their thoughts of Earth and God. The title shows just how bleak and cold it is in space, where Bradbury’s atheist chooses to walk.

Other issues Bradbury examines include Man’s faults, such as his selfishness, portrayed in The Visitor, where all argue and none receive, and The Playground, where adults mistake children’s games for bullying and violence, which I think is meant to tell us not to interfere too much or be too controlling in children’s lives.

Zero Hour is similar to The Playground in that it focuses on the misconstruing of children’s actions but I feel that it also shows some reflection on the Communist ‘threat’ of that time. I believe that the creatures persuading the children to kill are supposed to represent the Communists supposedly undermining American society. That is why I believe this story is very different from the others. It is, however, possible that the author is being ironic.

Censorship is also dealt with in the book. Bradbury clearly presents his view in Usher II that it is foolish to try and censor people’s ideas or try and shape them into the people you want, with his graphic depiction of the deaths of a censorship board in a replica of the House of Usher (a book by Edgar Allen Poe. Bradbury is telling us that if you censor everything you might as well be Communists!

On the theme of death, The Last Night of the World is an examination by Bradbury of what he believes would be the reaction if the end of the world were nigh. One might say that it is similar to Kaleidoscope, in that it deals with death. However, the attitude presented is a lot more relaxed than Kaleidoscope, and I believe may be comparing the human fear of death to the natural animal calmness and tranquillity about it.

Ray Bradbury does not just comment on the negative aspects of Man’s character. He does, in turn, show some goodness.

For example, in The Rocket a man gives up his life long dream just to give hope to his family.

Bradbury tells us that we must also deal with the problems that we create. For example, in The Fox in the Forest, a husband and wife escape to the past so as not to live in the war torn present, only to be brought back by the government, and shown their duty.

Of them all the Illustration that I find most thought provoking is The Other Foot, as it addresses the important issues about racism which are as relevant as they were in 1952. Bradbury uses clever reversals of apartheid laws and ideas to create this strange world.

‘FOR WHITES: REAR SECTION’ is painted across the back of streetcars, and white people are allocated the worst seats in the theatre.

Bradbury uses especially relevant images such as ‘Cotton fields, burned. Cotton Mills, bombed out-‘ and an old oak tree used for lynching is destroyed. The people that Bradbury addresses were nearly all descendants of slaves, and for over two hundred after the abolition of slavery were still being treated in much the same way. Bradbury was writing this in the same period as Martin Luther King was active and his words were clearly very important.

Its relevance today is still clear. It can apply to any race in any country, and would have much the same effect as it does for black communities.

Although all of the Illustrations that Bradbury wrote have a message, I believe this to be the most thought provoking and important, especially at a time when, in this country, the BNP seems to be rearing its ugly head once more.