Choose a Short Story in Which a Conflict Between Two of the Main Characters Is Central

Choose a short story in which a conflict between two of the main characters is central to the story.

Explain how the conflict arises and go on to discuss in detail how the writer uses it to explore an important theme.

“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury is a short story in which conflict between two of the main characters is central to the story. In this short story, the main character, Leonard Mead likes to walk the streets alone. Unfortunately for him, one night he is stopped by the police and his walking is not tolerated because he should be at home like everyone else in society. The writer skilfully makes use of characterisation, key incident and imagery to explore the theme of the rights of the individual versus the authority of an oppressive regime.

At the beginning of the short story, the writer cleverly creates a character who is different from everyone else in society. The reader quickly sees that no one else is out walking at night, except Leonard Mead. He is ‘alone in this world of 2053AD, or as good as alone’. His character is isolated from all others in the society in which he lives.He is not like everyone else and does not feel connected to anyone. Mr Mead likes to walk, a pursuit that would not be considered to be at all unusual by the reader. We are told that: ‘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 successfully emphasises the fact that no matter when Mr Mead chose to walk, or where, for a surprisingly long time and over large distances, he had never ever met a solitary soul. How unexpected in an urban environment? This sets up the conflict right from the beginning as we can see that since he does not conform like everyone else, there will be issues.

This idea of isolation is continued when the reader learns that everybody else is inside their homes at night, watching television. Mead compares other people to ‘gray phantoms’ suggesting that to him, they are like ghosts, living vicariously through the programmes they watch on their televisions. As he is walking, he observes the inhabitants in their ‘tomb-like’ homes, continuing the idea that the people are not really living. Mead extends this image by later referring to: ‘The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multi-coloured lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.’ The idea that Mead is alienated from his society is clearly supported by his opinion that they are not really living their lives to the full. We wonder if the inhabitants are there by choice, or by force. He so clearly has other ideas that we can assume that everyone else has bought into the regime and the fact that Mead has not, alerts us to the conflict.

This idea is continued with an statement which illuminates the nature of the government’s control over the population. It is because of this control that there is no need of police (except for one car) and crime is at a minimal. “Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police.” This quotation is important as it highlights the nature of the brainwashing which has taken place in this society. The people know what they can and cannot do and therefore there is little crime happening. It is humorous how a man walking the streets at night would be enough to draw the attention of a police car but this just shows how this behaviour is completely different to the behaviour of all the other citizens of this world. It is through this quotation that we see how Mead’s actions will have a direct impact on the end of the short story and we will see the extent of the conflict.

The theme of the short story is illuminated by a key incident to illustrate the impact of the conflict. It seems inevitable that Mead will finally clash with the government after years of walking without being caught. When stopped his initial reaction is to freeze:‘He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination, and then drawn towards it.’ This simile cleverly conveys the idea that Mr Mead is almost hypnotised by the lights of the car and acts on instinct, just as a moth cannot help itself - it is inexorably drawn to a flame even if it means destruction. And so we begin to understand that this encounter might result in conflict.

The notion of conflict is continued through the use of a further simile to describe the impact of the conflict: ‘The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest.’ Just as a butterfly is pinned to a board and put in a frame to be examined, so also is Mr Mead pinned to the spot by the beam of light emitting from the police car. Furthermore, just as a ‘museum specimen’ is an antiquated item of curiosity, so also is Mr Mead in this society. His profession - a writer - is not recognised by the police car as being valid because it is now obsolete in this world: ‘Magazines and books didn’t sell any more.’ It is obvious from these quotations how strict the government control is over the people who live in this society and it is no wonder that Mead wants to rebel leaving him in conflict with everyone else.

Unfortunately for Mead, he does not survive the conflict and the government control squanders his individual desires. The car is unconvinced by Mr Mead’s reasons for walking: ‘Walking for air. Walking to see.’ His answers do not make sense to the police car which counters with the arguments that he has air in his home and he could have a viewing screen with which to see. The fact that Mr Mead does not have a television set is something that just does not compute with the car. Mr Mead is not married and he admits that he has been walking ‘Every night for years’. It would seem that, as far as the police car is concerned, Mr Mead damns himself further with every word he speaks and so it arrests him. A decision is made by the car that Mr Mead should be taken to ‘thePsychiatricCenter for Research on Regressive Tendencies’. The conflict is resolved when Mr Mead is taken away to be brainwashed - there is no reasoning with the car. In this conflict, Mr Mead has been the loser.

To conclude Bradbury has created a short story that effectively makes us think about technology and its place in our society. In ‘The Pedestrian’, the protagonist is a clear loser in the conflict between himself and his society. Bradbury was correct in his vision, showing us a worrying future where people are zombie-like and glued to their televisions. He achieved this through his use of setting, characterisation, key incident and theme.