Nonconformity Theme Analysis

In “The Pedestrian,” the citizens of the future city are described as being all the same, scurrying around like insects during the day or mesmerized by their televisions at night. Leonard Mead is different from everyone else, yet he does not feel lonely or alienated. Instead, he asserts his individuality in a society that expects conformity, and he lives a fulfilling life by doing what he enjoys rather than following social norms. Though Mead is ultimately punished for his nonconformity, he is the only character in the story who seems happy or fulfilled. Therefore, Bradbury suggests that in a society that is corrupt or broken, nonconformity is necessary to maintain one’s humanity.

Mead’s nonconformity is most apparent in his enjoyment of solitary walks. While others in the city do not walk around alone for pleasure, this is precisely “what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do.” Bradbury describes Mead’s long walks alone with words that convey individual empowerment: “stride,” “march on,” “his journey.” The only description of other people in this conformist society shows them to be lifeless and disconnected, so the sense of purpose and true pleasure that Mead experiences through his nonconformist actions seems even more important and unique. Furthermore, Bradbury suggests that Mead’s pleasure in walking is not simply unusual in his society, but also perhaps dangerous. Mead feels that he must be secretive about his walking, and he “wisely” protects himself from being discovered by wearing sneakers, which make less noise. Mead knows that he is deliberately defying the norms of the city, and his effort to prevent being found out indicates that his society is unwelcoming to nonconformists, and also maybe punitive towards them. This shows how strong Mead’s sense of self is: in order to be fulfilled and find happiness, he is willing to put himself at risk.

When a police car stops Mead on one of his walks, Bradbury reveals the extent of Mead’s nonconformity, which goes far beyond his solitary walks. As the police car interrogates Mead, it first asks for his “business or profession.” Mead replies that he is a writer, which the car notes as “no profession.” The car marks “no profession” because, with television dominant, no one reads magazines or books anymore, and Mead “hadn’t written in years.” This is another nod towards this society’s erasure of a person’s sense of self: Mead cannot possibly have an occupation that he alone would appreciate, so writing—as far as the police are concerned—does not exist. This once again places Mead at odds with his society, since writing is clearly important enough to his identity that he says it’s what he does, and yet those around him consider writing to be so irrelevant as to not exist.

In addition to revealing Mead’s writing, the car’s interrogation leads Mead to acknowledge that he doesn’t own a television—a nonconformity so significant that the car simply responds with “crackling quiet that in itself was an accusation.” In this society, everyone has a television and it seems to be their sole source of entertainment. For Mead to not participate shows the extent of his alienation from others, and also gestures to a facet of Mead’s humanity-saving individualism. While passive television consumption seems correlated with the members of this society lacking any individuality and failing to derive any real fulfillment from their lives, Mead’s commitment to actively pursuing his personal hobbies—such as walking or writing—rather than passively watching the same thing as everyone else seems to have preserved his happiness and sense of self. Furthermore, on learning that Mead is unmarried, the robotic car seems angry, addressing him from behind a “fiery beam” of light and shouting, “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to!” Everyone else, it seems, is married—it’s a way of being tied to this society that Mead has rejected. The police car, a direct enforcer of mandatory conformity under the state, makes it clear that Mead’s individualism and nonconformity will not be tolerated.

At the story’s end, Mead is punished for his nonconformity. Upon discovering his outdated profession, failure to use modern technology, purposeless walks, and bachelor status, the car takes him to “the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.” The word “regressive” usually has a negative connotation, implying movement back to an earlier, less advanced state. Ironically, Mead is seen as primitive and backward because he has preserved his individuality by not conforming to a society that has dehumanized the population with technological “progress.” Bradbury doesn’t reveal what happens to Mead at the “Psychiatric Center,” but it is presumably something sinister. Considering the detached brutality of the police car, the state’s strict control of the populace, and the fact that there are no witnesses to his arrest, something terrible could easily happen to Mead. Despite these presumably severe consequences, Bradbury’s earlier positive descriptions of Mead—particularly his enduring humanity within an entirely dehumanized society—suggest that his nonconformity is, in the end, worth it. It is better to live fully and be punished for it, the story suggests, than to live the kind of half-life that the sedated citizens of this future world lead.

Many writers from the 20th century explore the theme of alienation, showing how different aspects of modern life – city life, new technologies, and social changes – can lead people to feel estranged from others or even from themselves. By contrast, “The Pedestrian” shows its loner protagonist as relatively contented and happy in his isolation. The citizens of “The Pedestrian” are alienated and dehumanized precisely because of their conformity to a dystopian status quo, so the nonconformist Mead is the only one capable of experiencing happiness. Ultimately, Bradbury’s story warns about societies that punish differences so severely, while also showing how in such a society, nonconformity is the only way to stay truly human.