"There Will Come Soft Rains" Literary Analysis Assessment

Based on the house's continued functioning, what can be inferred about human dependence on technology?

• Technology has become more reliable than humans

• Humans have become overly dependent on automation

• Technology can fully replace human interaction

• Automation leads to human laziness

What can be inferred about the society depicted in the story from the house's capabilities?

• It values efficiency over human connection

• It has solved all major social problems

• It has eliminated the need for human labor

• It prioritizes environmental conservation

What does the dog's death suggest about the environment outside the house?

• A natural disaster has occurred

• The area is contaminated by radiation

• Wild animals have taken over

• A disease has spread through the city

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

What can be inferred about the family's final moments from the silhouettes on the wall?

• They were caught completely by surprise

• They tried to escape the disaster

• They were engaged in everyday activities

• They were preparing for the catastrophe

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

What does the house's response to the fire suggest about artificial intelligence?

• It lacks true problem-solving abilities

• It's more reliable than human intervention

Which textual detail best supports the theme of technology's limitations?

• The house tried to save itself. Doors sprang tightly shut, but the windows were broken by the heat

• Somewhere, sighing, a pump shrugged to a stop. The quenching rain ceased

• The reserve water supply which had filled baths and washed dishes for many quiet days was gone

• And one voice, with sublime disregard for the situation, read poetry aloud in the fiery study

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

What evidence best indicates the instantaneous nature of the disaster?

• Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers

• The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing

• The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places

• Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one titanic instant

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Which quote best reveals the house's artificial nature?

• Today is August 4, 2026, today is August 4, 2026, today is August 4, 2026

• The dinner dishes manipulated like magic tricks

• Mrs. McClellan, which poem would you like this evening? The house was silent

• Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted

What textual evidence best supports the story's post-apocalyptic setting?

• At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles

• The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes

• Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace

• The dog, once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores

Which quote best demonstrates the house's inability to understand human absence?

• Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o'clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would

• Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-one o'clock, off to school, off to work, run, run, eight-one!

• At eight-thirty the eggs were shrivelled and the toast was like stone

• The beds warmed their hidden circuits, for nights were cool here