In the short story, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, the author warns against the dangers of a society that lost uniqueness and real human connection in its goal for similarity in behavior, and also the dehumanizing impacts of unchecked technological advancements.
            A big issue in the book is how technology has such a negative impact on society. Bradbury describes Meads walks as “not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows.”(Bradbury, 1). Here, Ray Bradbury paints a picture of how people are cut off from the rest of the world and stuck to their televisions. He shows a society that has lost touch with the outside world, human interaction, and just the simple pleasures of life.These are some of the negative outcomes of unchecked technological advancements.
            Another issue is the consequences of unquestioned conformity. Mr. Mead is on a walk and is stopped by a police car and the officer asks, “‘What’re you doing out?’ ‘Walking,’ said Leonard Mead.” (Bradbury, 5). The officer seems very suspicious that Leonard is out of his house for no reason. Eventually the officer takes him away to the Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies. This supports my claim because in this society, being isolated to your TV all the time is the norm, and isn’t seen as a bad thing. Mr. Leonard Mead is seen as the odd one out due to the fact that he goes for walks outside of the house and doesn’t even own a television, and he becomes noticed by police that see his actions as not normal. Meads refusal to be like the rest of society is punished, and it can be connected to my claim of how the society lost its human-like behavior to the goal of conformity.