The Pedestrian: Setting 1 key example

Whether Waukegan, Illinois or not, the city in this story bears little resemblance to American cities in 1950 (when Bradbury wrote the story). For example, the character Mead has taken evening walks in his city for 10 years and has never run into a single other person. This is because, in this speculative setting, everyone is at home, with their curtains closed, watching television. The following passage—which comes near the end of the story after Mead is in the police car—captures this element of the setting:

They passed one house on one street a moment later, one house in an entire city of houses that were dark, but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness.

Cite this Quote

“That's my house,” said Leonard Mead.

The narrator notes how the “entire city” consists “of houses that [are] dark,” all except for Mead’s house, which has “all of its electric lights brightly lit […] warm in the cool darkness.” In addition to helping readers understand the conformity of the community (and their reliance on television), this passage also communicates how Mead refuses to follow the rules. He does not close himself off from the world like the rest of the population, but embraces it, by talking his evening walks and sharing his “warmth” with the cold community.