1. What Question Would You Like to Ask Bradbury?

“The Pedestrian”

1. What question would you like to ask Bradbury? 2. What do you think Bradbury’s purpose was in writing this story? Cite details from the story to support your opinion. 3. Bradbury doesn’t tell us directly what has happened to cause the strange situation in this story. What do you guess has caused this severe limitation on individual freedom? 4. Which of today’s problems seem to have been eliminated from Leonard Mead’s society? What does Leonard miss that we still enjoy today? 5. How is technology used to control Leonard’s world? What point about technology and its power do you think Bradbury is making? What key words or phrases or events in the story support your interpretation? 6. If you lived in the same time and place as Leonard, do you think you would go walking outside at night or stay inside as Leonard’s neighbors do? Do you go walking on the streets at night where you live? Why or why not? 7. In 1951, when “The Pedestrian” was published, it was read as a prediction of the future. Now that we are closer to 2053, compare Bradbury’s vision of the future with today’s reality. In what ways was he wrong or right? 8. Do you think Bradbury is too pessimistic about technology? Support your opinion with details from the text and from the real world. 9. What did Mr. Leonard Mead most love to do? 10. What year is the story set? 11. Why did Mr. Leonard Mead change to sneakers? 12. How do people react when they see Mr. Leonard Mead walking? 13. Who does Leonard Mead ask, “What’s up on channel 4, channel 7, channel 9?” 14. What is Mr. Leonard Mead’s attitude toward the shows on television? Provide support for your answer. 15. How many years has Leonard Mead been walking as he does? 16. How many people live in the city? 17. How many police cars are there? 18. Where was Mead on his way to when he was stopped by the police car? 19. What is Mead’s profession? 20. Why does the voice from the police car respond “No profession”? 21. What does Mead’s profession reveal about his character and his place in society? 22. What is significant about the following simile? How does it add to the mood and/or theme? The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest. 23. What does Mead realize about the car? 24. Where is Mr. Mead going to be brought? 25. What crime did Mr. Mead commit? 26. What commentary does Bradbury make about television’s role in society throughout this story?