The Pedestrian

The point of view of which this story was narrated by is 3rd person omniscient. The narrator describes the thoughts, feelings and actions of all the main characters, the robotic police car and Leonard Mead. Leonard Mead's thoughts and actions are stated throughout the story; "Everything went on in the tomb-like houses at night now, he thought..." (Bradbury 2). Another example, displaying the feelings of the robotic police car, would be when the narrator said "The car hesitated..." (Bradbury 3).

It’s easy to be able to identify the different messages of this story, but would these messages be just as easily identifiable, or even be the same, if the story was narrated by a different perspective? I think not. If the story was shown through the eyes of the robotic police car, 1st person perspective, “The Pedestrian” could've been seen as a completely different story, such as Leonard Mead being the antagonist, rather than him being the protagonist. Leonard Mead’s desire to be in the presence of the outdoor wouldn't have been so openly shared with us; “To enter out into that silence that was the city at eight o'clock of a misty evening in November, to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences, that was what Mr Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do.” (Bradbury 1). I believe many readers would start to reason with the robotic police car since the reasoning behind his suspicion upon Leonard Mead would've been unveiled. The suspicion the robotic police car had upon Leonard Mead can be shown when he says “But you haven't explained for what purpose.'” (Bradbury 3) even after he explains his reasoning. The readers would instead think “why would a man, Leonard Mead, who has access to such advanced technology, resources and entertainment roam around outside without an actual purpose?”.

The people who Leonard Mead lives amongst are all distant from one another. This isolation ends up having an impact on him; " he was alone in this world of 2053 A.D., or as good as alone..." (Bradbury 1). Leonard Mead is lonely, not necessarily by his own actions, but because of the way others choose to spend their lives. His fellow residents are all blinded from the technology that surrounds them. These residents don't enjoy going outside or socializing, unlike Leonard Mead, I say this judging off of what the narrator said; "In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not one in all that time." (Bradbury 1). The people making up our present global population are slowly but surely turning into the residents shown in "The Pedestrian". Advanced technology has seemed to cause people to feel lonelier on a global scale, as a result of increased access to technology. A study conducted in 2017 found that consistent social media users are 3 times more likely to feel lonely compared to a causal user. Loneliness can have immense impacts on ones mental health that can eventually lead to various mental illnesses. These mental illnesses are increasing as the years go on. This is becoming a serious global issue.

The climax arises when the robotic police car orders Leonard Mead to get inside the car. The robotic police car says “'Get in'” (Bradbury 3), indicating that he is arrested now. Before this moment takes place, the police car and Leonard Mead have an intense conversation, which is the rising action; "'Nobody wanted me,' said Leonard Mead with a smile.
'Don't speak unless you're spoken to!'
" (Bradbury 3). His life-changing arrest is the biggest problem he has encountered in this story.

The society shown in "The Pedestrian" is extremely isolated from each other and nature. In this society, never stepping foot outside of your homes to simply appreciate nature is normalized. This is so normalized to the point where an innocent man, Leonard Mead, going on a walk is held under suspicion by the police because his actions are seen as unusual. For an example, when he explains that he went on a walk to see the outside and to breath in the fresh air that comes along with it, the police car said “'And you have a viewing screen in your house to see with?'” ( Bradbury 2), displaying that the police car expects Leonard Mead to own a viewing screen and fulfill his desires by it, as it is a social norm. Leonard Mead does not follow these social norms, causing him problems.

In "The Pedestrian" Leonard Mead is displayed as someone who very different from the people he lives amongst. Leonard Mead would much rather have to make the choice of picking one of the four directions of the sidewalk to walk along, "He would stand upon the corner of an intersection and peer down long moonlit avenues of sidewalk in four directions, deciding which way to go..." (Bradbury 1), rather then picking between "...Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9..." (Bradbury 1). He chooses to live his life differently then how the people around him do. This sets him apart from the rest, making him the odd one out. This uniqueness of his has caught the attention of the wrong eyes, the robotic police cars "eyes". Unfortunately, The police car sees him as unusual and suspicious rather then unique, causing Leonard Mead to face challenges, such as his arrest.

This short story is a great example of dehumanization caused by technology. Us humans are shown to be no longer social, even though by nature, we are. we are shown to have let advanced technology take over in homes, in the streets, and even within the law; "Ever since a year ago, 2052, the election year, the force had been cut down from three cars to one." (Bradbury 2) . In the story humans have developed a strong addiction to such technology.