“There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

I. VOCABULARY: Define the following words and understand them when they appear
in the story or class discussion.

1. silhouette:

2. paranoia:

3. quiver:

4. regiment:

5. incinerator:

6. capillaries:

7. oblivious:

8. sublime:

9. psychopathic:

II. LITERARY TERMS: Give examples of the following from the story:

10. An example of a simile:

11. An example of personification:

12. What is the setting of the story (time, place, atmosphere)?

13. An example of symbolism:

14. An example of irony:

15. What genre would this story most likely belong to?

16. Who or what is the protagonist of this story?

17. An example of imagery:

18. An example of suspense:

19. What do you think is the theme of the story?

III. QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions.

20. What unusual qualities and appliances does the house have?

21. What were the five spots of paint of?

22. What happened to the people?

23. What are some things the house has been protecting itself from?

24. Why is the dog very thin and covered in sores?

25. What happens to the dog’s remains?

26. What can you infer the family usually does at 2:35?

27. What did the children usually do at 4:30?

28. What is the name of the family that lived in the house?

29. What are some things the house does to try to save itself?

30. What was the last voice to die saying?

31. The poem the house reads, “All Summer in a Day,” is the reason for the title of this
short story. The poem is below. What is the poem talking about, and why do you
think this poem has a greater meaning in this short story?

"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
if mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone."