Throughout the book “The Last Night of the World” by Ray Bradbury, there are a lot of vague generalizations that are left unanswered. Ray Bradbury is known for his descriptive literature and vast amounts of emotion and mystery; most of which is never completely understood by the reader. Ray Bradbury is well known for his articulate literature as he often portrays thorough coherency throughout his stories. Modern day literature is straight to the point and easy to understand but Bradbury is not only able to connect his stories to real world events but he also engages the reader by personally connecting his literature in a way the reader never would truly understand. I plan to summarize and analyze Ray Bradbury’s, “The Last Night of the World” to help readers better comprehend his style of literature; a style that directly relates to the real world and to his readers
While reading “The Last Night of the World” by Ray Bradbury, there was an evident pattern throughout that tells the story of what it may be like during the end of the world. But, throughout the book, the story portrayed is a story completely different from what most readers would expect. In the beginning, Ray Bradbury starts the story off by asking two questions. The reader is then more engaged in the reading as asking a question allows the reader to think and helps boost the reader’s interest in the story; helps make the reader want to read on. Ray Bradbury then proceeds onward as if the main character was answering the question that was asked in the beginning. If an author asks a question, it is usually rhetorical and not meant to be answered; this is interesting as most stories do not start off the way it has started off. Through the beginning of the story, “The Last Night of the World”, two characters whose names are never disclosed (which is another interesting part of the story) are talking about what they would do if it were the last night of the world. Well, in the story, it is the last night of the world and is an interesting topic to write about as the end of the world has always intrigued others and has always had people wondering, what would it be like if it were the end of the world?
Ray Bradbury continues his writing by asking rhetorical questions such as: “how would the world end” or “why the world would end” but those questions are never actually answered. Rather than answering the questions, Bradbury expands on the thoughts and brings out details that most people would not bother thinking about. He also writes as if the story were an onion, peeling back the layers one by one and slowing getting to the middle rather than cutting right into the onion [story] and answering all of the questions at once. Towards the middle of the story, the characters sit down to have a cup of coffee to discuss how the world would end and after they continue to live as if they normally would; as if they have forever to live. The characters (who are often portrayed as a couple) go about their evening cooking dinner, washing the dishes and then, at the end of the story, tucking themselves into bed and shutting the lights out as if they will wake up tomorrow and everything will be okay. But, Ray Bradbury never explains why he wrote the way he did or exactly why the characters went about their lives as if it was not the end of the world. Most skeptics would believe the ‘end of the world’ would be hectic and crazy. Not only that but it would be emotional with everyone running around like crazed people and doing things that some would never imagine themselves doing.
So, the real question is why he wrote the way he did and the reasons behind his writing. The next paragraphs will analyze the reasons behind his writing. Ray Bradbury, growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, probably faced financial struggles through not only the great depression but as well as the three famous Wall Street stock market crashes and other worldwide financial market failures. Although finances doesn’t directly correlate with the end of the world but it connects in a way some may not understand. Losing money drives people crazy which are similar to the end of the world; whereas people would be going crazy to get things done and to do things they need to do before they pass. Not only this but most people will come to think about the end of the world and most people will just believe the end of the world will be hectic and crazy; as is the story by Ray Bradbury.
Now, why would Ray Bradbury write the way he did. Although Ray Bradbury had passed in mid-2012, he is no longer alive to tell the stories himself, leaving his legacy close by him and pressuring those close to him to pass on the stories of his life. In today’s world, most people are obsessed with perfection and most people get more bored than they did 50 years ago. But, Ray Bradbury still writes as you would find a book in the General Store, back in the 1940s. Most authors nowadays get straight to the point and if they don’t, they often find a way to keep the reader entertained with adventurous or mysterious details. But, instead, Bradbury finds a way to engage the reader by asking questions, throwing interesting twists into his stories and telling stories most authors would never even think about writing. Literature is all about creativity as William Shakespeare never earned the “world’s greatest writer” ego by writing about a tomato and peach or about a farmer on a farm. In order to be successful, your writing has to be unique from all the rest and without the uniqueness; the reader would never be engaged.
If a reader reads something they have read before, it would be more boring to them then it would if they were reading it for the first time. Originality is always what the reader is looking forward to and sometimes, an author has to put him or herself in the reader’s shoes (to think about what the reader truly wants to read and what they would not) and that is exactly what Bradbury did. That is what made Ray Bradbury such a legend, his uniqueness and relativity in his literature, not the originality and common practice. Creativity is what everyone looks for and what readers continue to look for, whether they are reading a book from 1920, 2013 or even 30 years from now; it is what will make a legend. As the great Babe Ruth would put it, “there’s Heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”
As you can now tell, Ray Bradbury’s writing is legendary. Not only that but he writes with such creativity and innovation. Ray Bradbury directly correlates his writing with the real world through personal events and issues; through personal thoughts and imagination. Although Ray Bradbury was able to connect to the reader and to his or her mind, his writing is known to be the most creative and innovative than any other author. Ray Bradbury had passed on in 2012 but through his life, his stories and how he portrays his real life experiences, his literature and his soul will live on forever.
