The story "Smile" by Bradbury: a brief summary and analysis

When one of the respected New York publications asked this science-fiction writer why humanity has not yet come into contact with other worlds, the answer was harsh and unexpected.

"Yes, because we are idiots!" - replied to the dumbfounded journalist Ray Bradbury. What has led out of patience a person who can rightly be called the first antiglobalist even before the appearance of this political movement in the world? The reason, in the opinion of the classic, is in the detriment of the vector of the modern scientific and technological revolution. The writer addresses all his works to humanity, proving them with plots, that a soulless technocratic society has no future.

In part, however, the story "Smile" by Bradbury answers the question in a figurative sense. The summary of the work, written in the style of symbolism, is the subject of consideration in this article.

A story that characterizes the entire work of the great American

He had something to tell people. Not an exception - and the story "Smile" Bradbury. The summary of this work can not be expressed in one or two sentences, as his classic wrote highly artistic. This story makes readers think ...

The author of the work, whose depth of thoughts many politicians were amazed, carefully studied and listened to all the productions of the scientific and technological revolution and gave such a profound description of their expediency that even scientists were surprised ...

Some connoisseurs of his talent claim that Ray Bradbury is not an accidental guest in this world. His intuition was extraordinary. He was from whom to inherit the gift. According to family legends, his ancestor Mary Bradbury was once burned at the stake.

Perhaps he was given to grasp a lot of mind, and he carried a crown of thorns with a special mission of warning humanity. No exception is the story "Smile" (Bradbury). The brief content immerses the reader in the post-informational, post-war era.

Laconism - a feature of the creative style of Bradbury

The real master of the pen, Bradbury, with a mere phrase, a short fragment accentuates to the reader that which can be stated in paragraphs and pages. The whole of his story is placed on only three pages of the printed text (there is nothing to cut down), and at the same time it carries such a semantic load that would fit the whole story. In an extremely uncomfortable position, this creative manner of those who make up his essays a brief content.

Ray Bradbury, "Smile" ... It is worth to hear it to fans of his work, and they will imagine a completely destroyed urban and industrial infrastructure, people living under the laws of the primitive communal system, subsistence farming. The cowardly police look a little strange in this city.

The despair of human existence

People who voluntarily chose animal life do not care what year they live: in 2061 or 3000. Each of their new days as a twin is similar to the previous one and to the next. With heavy peasant labor they earn daily bread. About them, who voluntarily turned out to be outside of time, feeling themselves in emptiness, in despair, tells readers the "Smile" (Bradbury). The brief content of the story contains an important author's idea: they hate the civilization that was destroyed by the war, which brought them only misfortunes.

In this capacious thesis is hidden the key to explaining all the terrible life. Their clothes are sewn from sacking, their hands are covered with pimples, they work hard, growing their own food in the kitchen gardens.

However, this is just the entourage of the story, a statement of post-apocalyptic reality. Another thing is surprising: civilization is not fundamentally restored by them. On the contrary, we learn from the story that the residents themselves, by their own will, having discovered a factory that "tried to produce airplanes," defeated it. The same fate befell the printing house and the discovered ammunition depot.

Attacking besieged townspeople and surviving cars, crushing and breaking them.

Degradation of people

About this phenomenon, generated by their traumatized civilization destroyed by civilization, says Ray Bradbury ("Smile").

The summary contains short phrases of characters, fragments demonstrating to the reader their emotional, cultural and cognitive impoverishment. Their intellect is purposely and methodically destroyed by someone. Such people will not get to the bottom of the line, they just need to hear somewhere someone who dropped the explanation.

They live as if by inertia, however, some revival in their existence is made by market days and "holidays". They are waiting for them.

Lean market days

About market days in the story, almost nothing says Bradbury ("Smile"). The analysis of the story, however, gives grounds to believe that market trade in a pauper city is also very miserable. The reader comes to this conclusion, based on a description of the street sale of coffee. This is a primitive ersatz, made from some berries. He is cooked at the stake in a rusted saucepan, a boiling brew has a disgusting appearance. However, this drink, judging by the author's remark, "few people can afford". This gives us the opportunity to talk about the fact that the residents are poor enough to trade fully.

Wild Holidays

After examining the market days, let's move on to "holidays", the action of which is described in more detail by R. Bradbury ("Smile"). The summary of the story tells that for the people who survived after the war this word does not mean a familiar restoring force.

"Holidays" in the ruined city are organized in order to stir up all the worst that is in them. People "have fun", burning books, smashing the remaining cars, crushing and breaking everything around. The picture of this Sabbath seems even more embossed, even more ugly from the fact that Ray Bradbury ("Smile") uses a dispassionate, everyday speech for her description. The summary of the story contains descriptions of demoralized, lumpenized people, who forgot how to love the world around them, their city. The original hatred, the object of which was the circumstances that broke their lives, spread to everything around them.

Sparkle of Hope

Most of them just live for today. However, in the conversation of the passer-by, Grigsby and his friend suddenly feel a glimmer of hope. Without her, who later found the subject of its implementation, perhaps the world classics would not become the story "Smile" by Bradbury. The summary of the work, presenting the buildings, destroyed before the war, and mutilated by pavement bombs, acquires a different meaning from the phrase dropped by the nameless interlocutor of the Grigsby mentioned above.

Under the defensive mask of indifference (not to stand out) and vulgarity, this person's soul movement is felt. He really did not lose hope. A man believes in the coming appearance of a genius man who can "patch up" all that is destroyed. But the new civilization, in his opinion, should not repeat the mistakes of the previous civilization. The bearer of her must have a sense of beauty, in order to harmoniously develop the society.

And this man, the future creator of the new civilization, we are really presented with the "Smile", the story of Ray Bradbury. The brief content of the work shows that this long-awaited light is, in essence, a child. But at first it is still unknown even to him.

Salvaged smile - the beginning of a new civilization

A withered little boy Tom woke up in the morning to catch the turn of the holiday. "Fun", given to the crowd, consisted in the execution of the picture. The victim of barbarism was to become the Mona Lisa of the great Leonardo da Vinci. To inflame the crowd, they previously let out a rumor that the picture is false.

The masterpiece was fenced with a rope stretched out on four brass pillars. At first the turn passed by, and everyone spat in the canvas. However, when Tom's turn came, he stopped dead in front of the canvas. "She's beautiful," - only the boy could say. But they pushed him away, and the line went on as usual. Then the mounted policeman announced that the painting would be committed to destruction.

About the demonicness of the crowd rejoiced by this news tells Ray Douglas Bradbury ("Smile"). The summary of the story contains an eerie scene of violence on the canvas. Even the police escaped, frightened by a wave of hatred. Tom felt that the crowd was pushing him right on the frame, and he managed to grab a piece of canvas until the kicks and jerks kicked him away.

Instead of concluding

It was already evening. Holding the piece of the picture in his hand , crying, the boy ran home. He lived in a suburban village, in a ruined farm building near a silo tower. In the darkness, he whisked into the ruined farm building, where his family settled, pushed himself through the narrow door and lay down beside his brother. He jokingly kicked him, because the day before he had worked all day in the garden. Father and mother grumbled and fell asleep. When the moon came up and its light fell on the blanket, Tom unclasped his fist, which he kept holding to his chest, and carefully examined the scrap of cloth. He could see the smile of Gioconda ...

The boy smiled back and hid it. Now his new life was illuminated by a kind, affectionate, eternal and unique smile. And the whole world seemed to be silent around him ... In this tranquil scene, Bradbury's story "Smile" ends. The analysis by its reader and the conclusions are really humanistic and profound. This is real literature.