hello namashkar vam I hope all of you

are doing well today we are going to be

talking about a very fascinating story
called The Pedestrian written by Ray
Bradbury easily one of the most
fascinating authors who have had the
Good Fortune of reading U CSC for some
reason seems to be quite fond of raid
Bradbury because we had a story called
All Summer in a Day in Treasure Trove
which was for the previous batch of
Class 10 students we also have a story
written by Ray Bradbury in class 12 so
it seems he seems to be quite a favorite
author with the icsc council but before
I get into the line by line word by word
explanation and I'm sure and I I will
make sure it's a guarantee that you will
enjoy the story it's a very fascinating
story I quite enjoyed um reading
researching and preparing for this
particular
video I would want to go through what
exactly he's trying to convey and I
always uh tell the students to go
through this box which is there at the
beginning of the story because it gives
you some kind of a context okay so let
me go through uh my notes which I have
prepared and then we
will go into the story after that one
second okay so um study with sud English
with The Pedestrian what is the story
about the story was first published in
1951 it is set in what is called a
dystopian future now what is dystopian
future I will explain where people have
become isolated from each other and
their surroundings due to technology and
mass media so technology has some kind
of a disruptor and I can perfectly
relate it to the day of today in 20124
while I'm recording this particular
video in the 21st century where
technology it is supposed to bring us
closer social media in particular for
instance you are able to connect with
anyone sitting in any part of the world
with a click of a button isn't that true
but at the same time haven't you seen
that in a gathering people are so
immersed in their mobile phones that
they do not necessarily interact with
each other and that way they get
isolated from each other and their
surroundings when we are going on a trip
instead of admiring the nature of that
place we are too immersed in our mobile
phones and I'm sure each one of you
suffers from that all of us do okay
which is not a good thing at all now
what is the meaning of the word
dystopian now dystopian if I have to
explain it in very simple words it is
the opposite of utopian now utopian is a
word which you may be familiar with
which describes an ideal perfect kind of
a society you know if you were to
imagine Utopia Utopia becomes utopian
Okay so
dystopian refers to the imaginary
society which is undesirable or
frightening that is something negative
happening in that particular society so
there could be elements like
environmental disasters U there could be
collapse of societal orders um it
dystopian themes explore U uh elements
like
authoritarianism uh surveillance loss of
Freedom uh and know the consequences of
unchecked technological advancements
okay uh so if there is too much of techn
and actually let me explain it to you
with the help of this example a fine
example of distopy and this is a book
which I would strongly recommend
students keep asking me at least till
the last batch when I used to do courses
students used to keep asking me what
books would you advise us to read this
is a book I would always strongly
recommend um it is a fine example of
dystopian literature written by George
Orwell who has written many books 1984
and I would show you the cover and from
the cover you will get an idea what
exactly I'm talking about let me just
reduce the size a bit so that it can fit
in now if you see 1984 big brother is
watching you George Orwell and it shows
the eye so big brother is who big
brother is not in the literal sense big
brother is someone who is in a position
of authority and please listen to all
this very carefully I I I you know when
I take a lot of effort to put the
context because much of this you can use
in your answers and there will be this
these elements who would write video
starts at
5:35 that you understand what is the
context of the story okay unlike many
others I don't waste time at all I get
into the story straight away uh so big
brother is watching you if you see the
story that's precisely what is happening
because there is no human to human
interaction the lone human being is
interacting with a machine so similarly
you are under surveillance now things
like CCTV which means someone in the
control room is able to watch what you
are doing on that particular Street or
what you are doing inside the classroom
right uh so there are cctvs surveillance
and you know your technology coming and
you know uh keeping an eye on you for
instance what we talk haven't we seen so
many times that suddenly ads pop up on
Facebook Etc which precisely suggest
what you were talking about right or
someone overhearing your phone
conversations phone tapping all this is
are examples of big brother is watching
you this when people write about that
that is known as dystopian literature I
hope Ive made it clear now what happens
in this story in this story the
protagonist is called Leonard mid mid
mid you can this thing I would prefer to
call him mid um is a writer who enjoys
taking solitary walks in the evening
however in this Society walking very
weirdly enough is considered very odd
and a very suspicious kind of activity
that wouldn't happen in Society but he's
talking about a time when walking itself
is considered a rather strange and a
suspicious kind of activity because
otherwise everyone is actually indoors
glued to their TV screens now because
the story was written uh almost 75 years
ago so he has looked at television as a
major piece of advancement but today I
don't think people watch television
people are more glued to their mobile
phones so one night when Leonard is out
walking he's taught by a robot robotic
police vehicle that questions his
purpose of being outside why are you
outside is what the robotic car ask
there's no human being it's a driverless
car like the Tesla cars that are being
spoken about right
now right and Leonard tries to explain
that he's simply taking a walk but the
police car does not understand that why
would anyone want to walk aimlessly it
thinks it is something very unnatural uh
to do and according to that police car
walking around is a regressive activity
please use this word in your
answers and It ultimately arrests
Leonard and sends him to a psychiatric
care center and it leaves the streets
empty once again no human being is seen
anymore on those street so in fact I've
got this image which gives you an idea
you don't see any human being anywhere
on on the street okay they're all
indoors okay they're all indoors and
there is this kind of a police vehicle
okay which again does not have any human
being there and this guy Leonard meid he
has to interact with him me me me is
probably better okay so the story
basically what does it do is to serve as
a critique of a society that prioritizes
technology and Conformity over
individual ity and human
connection okay it serves as a critique
of a society now that Society is you
know giving more importance to
technology and also that everybody
should behave in the same manner that's
what is meant by the word
Conformity it does not respect the fact
that every individual is different and
every individual has his or her own
individual rights and it also does not
prioritize human connection the story
kind of tells us about the dangers of
isolation and the absence of community
that there is no community at all so
Leonard essentially what did he want he
wanted a simple Human Experience like
walking and observing the world around
him in a world which is absolutely
consumed by technology it's only
consuming technology all the time so
what Bradbury story is doing is that if
there is a society that is overly
consuming technology or overly reliant
on technology and disconnected from
human interaction what can be the
pitfalls of that so someone who is a
natural I mean who is behaving like how
a human being should be he is sent to a
psychiatric care center so you know in a
very
roundabout way in a in in in in in in a
very uh what shall I say a very
sarcastic kind of way he's kind of that
this is the world that could happen if
we continue to consume technology too
much humano human interaction is
extremely important in fact I remember
uh seeing a photograph of a restaurant I
think it was somewhere in Australia
where there was a a box kept and
everyone had to put their mobile phones
in that box while they were at that
restaurant and having food right which
means that you need to talk to each
other interact with each other and not
be obsessed with your mobile phones at
many homes in many homes uh mobile
phones are banned on the dining at the
dining table which is I think a
fantastic
practice so the story tells us that we
should not be self-obsessed or obsessed
with technology in that sense it is a
wakeup call uh a little bit about Ray
Bradberry himself who as I said is a
great author he's one of the most
celebrated American Author known for
writing stories on science fiction
horror mystery and fantasy he has
written close to about 50 books and many
stories have been made into television
series and shows so his stories mix up
human elements in the backdrop of
Science Fiction that's what makes it so
fascinating so now let's get started
with
the text
to enter out into that silence that was
the city at 8:00 of a misty evening in
November so he's telling you what time
of the year what month of the year it is
to put your feet upon that buckling
concrete walk to step over grassy seams
and make your way Hands In Pockets
through the silences that was what Mr
Leonard meet most dearly love to do now
the in opening sentence introduces the
opening paragra introduces the main
character of the story that is Leonard
it also introduces the setting of the
story it conveys that it is a silent
area the word silence is very important
it is an important
keyword that he's stepping into silence
okay you need to use this word in your
answers it is also November and it is
also Misty which means there is you know
a very bit of a not a dense fog but a
bit of a Mist in the evening in the
month of November which means winter is
just about starting in USA okay uh it's
by the second half of November is when
it starts getting a little cold
in cities like New York Washington Etc
his style of walking is conveyed and the
fact that he loved walking buckling
means bending Under Pressure okay please
keep noting down uh these word meanings
buckling means bending down under
pressure bending under pressure and it
is strange that the concrete is bending
which again conveys something which is
not the way it should usually be because
concrete means something which is firm
but this concrete is kind of bending
Under Pressure it's not able to take the
load it's not able to take the weight
it's concrete yet it is not firm so in
that sense buck Ling concrete is a bit
of an oxymoron that is contrasting words
put together to step over grassy seams
and make your way
uh step over now if you see what what
does this grassy seams mean now if you
see the tiles on the road okay on the
foot path like like this okay what
happens is that there is this gap which
is left okay in this Gap you would very
often see grass growing you know that
little strip of grass so he says that he
avoids the grassy seams that's what is
meant by the grassy seams he doesn't
step on that between the slabs and Hands
In Pockets conveys a very relaxed and a
comfortable kind of a an attitude
comfortable
demeanor the
silence and The Emptiness of the city is
rather unusual because it's evening time
but Leonard finds comfort in it he finds
solace in it because he seems to be used
to the silence he seems to be used to
walking in that silence every evening
okay so that was what Mr Lenard mid most
dearly love to do he would stand upon
the corner of an intersection um and
peered down long moonlit Avenues of
sidewalk in four directions deciding
which way to go but it really made no
difference he was alone in this world in
ad
2053 so if we are talking about now as
I'm recording in the year
2024 which means that we are talking
about a time 29 years H yeah 29 years
from now so he was alone he had a lot of
time in this world okay uh it's not
something which he had uh you know it's
not like he had a lot of pressing things
to do and uh he was pretty directionless
he could go in any direction it did not
matter and the year was
2053
now why does he say he was alone in this
world which means that he lived alone
okay we will realize later that he is a
bachelor or as good as alone why does he
say or as good as alone now this again
could be a question now it conveys
please note this down it highlights his
physical isolation Okay it highlights
right his physical isolation that while
there are other people in the city it's
not as though the city is
completely he's
physically isolated so it's not as
though there aren't people in the city
but he does not meet anyone while he's
on his walks so there are empty streets
the dark houses there is lack of
interaction and that shows a world where
people are isolated within their homes
glued to their television screens so
there's also social isolation because
Lenard does not connect with the way
Society functions uh in
2053 that people are glue to their
entertainment screens the TV screens and
walking for pleasure seems like a
suspicious activity so there is lack of
physical companionship and he's also
socially disconnected that's another
important uh phrase that you should use
in your answers he's
socially disconnected so it's a society
as I said in the intro it's a society
that prioritizes technology and passive
entertainment please use this word
passive entertainment active
entertainment is what when you walk you
see different sides you hear different
sounds that's you know you're being
entertained actively passive is
something which is just happening on a
TV screen and you're isolated within
your house you are not seeing anything
else so it also points out one more fact
that Leonard is a
non-conformist he does not conform to
the Notions with the way the rest of the
society seems to behave in that
particular City okay um he's talking to
himself rather than talking to anyone
else and shows that he wants real
communication but he doesn't find that
in that particular City and he knows
know that everyone is only watching
mindless entertainment but he chooses
this path that I will go on my long
evening walks directionless because
that's something which I enjoy doing
okay so a path selected he would stride
off sending patterns of Frosty air
because it's early November so a bit of
the cold so there is that Frosty air
before him like the smoke of a cigar as
you anyone in wi You Know M so that's
what he's refering to
sometimes he would walk for hours and
miles and return only at midnight to his
house so he'll start in the evening but
he would return only at midnight which
means that he would walk a long distance
which would take a lot of time for him
to return home and on his way he would
see the cottages and homes with their
dark windows and it was not unequal
which means it was equal to walking and
now he's making a comparison to
walking through a graveyard which means
in it was
like dead people inside those dark
houses because the windows were dark so
he's conveying the silence he's
comparing the silence to The Silence of
a graveyard because only in a graveyard
you would find absolute silence so
Phantoms is kind
of
refering the word
Phantom okay Phantoms comes here
Phantoms means goes okay where only the
faintest glimmers of
firefly insect light appeared in
flickers behind the windows sudden um
gray Phantoms seemed to manifest upon
inner room walls where a curtain was
still undrawn against the night or there
were whisperings and murmurs where a
window in a to tomb like building was
still open now this paragraph is very
important because you see the number of
times I mean he has already spoken about
a graveyard then he's speaking about
Phantoms and then he's talking talking
about Tom like so he's kind of
reinforcing the feeling of being
absolutely dead there is no life that he
is seeing anywhere out there so tum like
also emphasizes that Phantoms also
reinforces the idea as if it means goost
with entire building is Tomb like
building is almost like it's an aboard
of
the dead people okay uh so the point
that he's making is that the homes that
he passes by leard and the people in
them are described with the language of
death please make a note of this he's
describing them with the language of
death and unlike the individual leard M
you know he's a very individualistic
person that I like to go for walking
long distances and I will walk okay and
he's active and he's also free to do
that right the people in the homes are
described as all of them are the same
they're all like dead people inside
homes with their dark Windows right so
there is no individuality for any of the
people whereas he has individuality he
likes to do what his mind wants him to
do so they are lifeless they are passive
and they are as good as dead and trapped
in their graveyard like homes inside the
Tom like buildings is that clear this is
an important paragraph so that's why I
have explained it in detail so that you
can take down notes and it will help you
uh articulate it in your
answers Mr Lenard mid would pause
his head listen look and March on his
feet making no noise on the lumpy walk
now lumpy means something which is
uneven okay so it's not a smooth kind of
a walk for long ago he had wisely
changed to sneakers when strolling at
night because the dogs in intermittent U
intermittent means beach beach may you
know in between squads you know occas I
mean one Squad will come then after some
time another Squad I mean group of gang
of dogs
okay he had changed into sneakers
because the dogs in intermittent squads
would parallel his journey with barkings
if he W hard heels which would make a
sound while he was walking so now he had
switched to sneakers and he thought it
was a wise decision and lights might
click on and faces appear and entire
Street be started by the passing of a
lone figure and that would also provoke
people to kind of you know put on the
light and see who is walking you know
how strange how is anyone walking okay
and be startled it's an important word
okay please use it this is an important
keyword you know the reaction would be
that of being surprised amazed startled
by the passing of an individual figure
we don't do see things like this like
walking why is this fellow walking by
himself in the early November evening on
this particular evening he began his
journey in a Westerly Direction toward
the hidden sea
okay hidden sea is also I thought an
interesting um element that he has
introduced why is the sea hidden you
know like everyone here is also hidden
the SE is also hidden I found that very
fascinating he doesn't kind of um
explain it further but I found it very
fascinating that even the sea is hidden
maybe because it would be dark and he
would not be able to see the water body
or he wants to make a comparison with
the rest of the
world there was a good Crystal Frost in
the air because it was Winter it cut the
nose you know it when you the wind hits
the nose you know you feel very frosty
and made the lungs Blaze like a
Christmas tree inside you could feel The
Cold Light going on and off all the
branch branches filled with invisible
snow U now
uh this is the description of how the
cold is affecting his body his inside
including his lungs okay so he's saying
that you know the cold was so much it
would feel as though there was a
Christmas tree inside and you could feel
The Cold Light going on and off and all
the branches you know he was it's kind
of giving you a feeling of how he's
feeling inside his body he listened to
the faint push of his soft shoes through
the Autumn Leaves with satisfaction and
whistled A cold quiet whistle between
his teeth which shows a sense of being
relaxed it also shows a sense of being
at peace with himself it also shows that
he's kind of you know very happy with
his himself and his own existence okay
so he seems to enjoy the natur natural
world around him and the kind of you
know the vivid imagery including the
reference to Christmas that he has made
it is kind of significant because the
nature is all very dorant it's the
season of autumn autumn is when the
leaves shed okay the leaves shed
themselves so in that sense uh it's
winter time the sea is hidden and the
leaf is also kind of you know the Autumn
Leaves um and the people are all inside
their home and nature is not at its full
potential it's not the spring season
Autumn is a season the fall is like you
know it's a dull season very gr but at
the same time it's beautiful and
obviously it holds the potential that
everything will come back to life so he
says occasionally he will pick up a leaf
as he passed but look at the leaf the
leaf is described as having a skeletal
pattern which means that it is not a
very healthy looking Leaf right in the
infrequent lamp lights as he went on
smelling it's Rusty smell right of the
smell you know the smell is also
described as Rusty so you see the
elements that he's talking about Rusty
skeletal pattern Autumn Leaves you know
so everything is about not a very
vibrant kind of life but something which
is a little gray and dull at this time
of the year in
November hello in
there hello in there he refer to every
house on every side as he moved what is
up tonight on Channel 4 channel 7
Channel 9 referring to the different
television stations where are the
Cowboys rushing and do I see the United
States Cavalry over the next Hill to the
rescue so he's U talking about these
different kind of shows uh on television
one
minute why is this AC looking so
there's a bit of a difference uh between
uh oh no this fine two instances so he
says he kind of you know asks uh you
know uh who is uh you know what what is
there on television on all these
channels so it's almost like he's
Whispering not that he's going to get an
answer because he knows everybody would
be watching channel 4 channel 7 Channel
9 and he's asking about a specific
um TV show Cavalry means the horses the
street was silent and long and empty
with only his shadow moving like the
shadow of a hawk in midc country right
so he's the lone figure out there if he
closed his eyes and stood very still
frozen he could imagine himself upon the
center of a plane a wintry windless
Arizona desert with no house in a
thousand miles and only Dry River beds
the streets for company so he's
comparing it with the Arizona desert so
in desert also you don't see any kind of
life or vegetation for miles at end he
says it is something which very similar
out here right there is no life that
he's uh able to see what is it now he
asked the houses noticing his wrist
watch 8:30 p.m. time for a dozen
exhorted murders that would be coming on
television or a quiz or a review review
is a variety show which consists of
songs and dances or a comedian falling
off the stage so he's asking you know
what is it that each one of you is
working so he's almost feeling very
amused by his own questions if you
realize right the kind of questions the
kind of tone with which he's asking that
seems to kind of amuse him he's amusing
himself with asking those questions
because he knows all of them would be
doing pretty much the same the only
variety would be that some of them would
be watching a quiz some of them would be
watching some kind of a murder mystery
show or someone would be watching some
kind of a standup com comedy show was
that a murmur of laughter from within a
moon White House so maybe they're
watching the comedy show he hesitated
but went on when nothing more happened
he stumbled over a particularly uneven
section of
sidewalk so he keeps on walking and he
stumbles you know and that's where he
realizes that the cement was Vanishing
under flowers and grass
in 10 years of walking by night or day
for thousands of miles so it is
something which he has been doing for
years at end 10 years in specific terms
from 2043 to be precise he had never met
another person walking not one so just
imagine from 2043 to 2053 Leonard mitt
has never ever met anyone else walking
at any time it seems a little strange
you would obviously wonder where would
all those people will be during the day
wouldn't they be going for work
obviously he's glossing over all those
facts those kind of questions obviously
come to our mind but he's talking about
this particular specific time of night
or even day which seems a little strange
but that's what he's claiming that he
had never seen another person so all of
them seem to be working from home coic
time
time he came to a clover leaf
intersection which stood silent where
two main highways cross the town now
what is Clover Leaf now Clover Leaf is a
specific type of Road interchange where
design of the Rams Rams as in you know
which go and connect with the main uh
Road elevated kind of a road and they
kind of resemble the um leaves of a
fourleaf Arrangement like this okay so
it looks like four leaves you know one
two this side and this side so it looks
like four leaves like
okay so it will look like Leaf number
one leaf number two Leaf number three
leaf number four okay so it's a system
of ramps that allows traffic to move
smoothly between two major highways at
different levels so one Highway will be
like this one Highway will be like this
and both can go past without kind of
getting in each other's way so it kind
of eliminates the need for any kind of
left turns or right turns or traffic
light intersections and allows for
smoother uh traffic flow it also avoid
voids headon
collisions so that's what he's talking
about during the day it was a thunderous
surge surge means increase of cars the
gas stations were open so people would
come but we don't know whether they were
driverless cars a great insect rustling
and a ceaseless jocking for position as
these scrab beetles a faint incense
puttering from their exhaust trimmed
Homeward to the far directions now what
is he talking about now scrap uh Scarab
beetles scarab beetles are stout bed
beetles insects in bright metallic
colors okay in bright metallic colors
and they were believed to be the symbol
of rebirth and regeneration okay and
here it has been used as a metaphor for
cars cars have been described as carab
beetles uh which were um which were
there in bright metallic colors they are
like beetles
some cars are also called as in fact the
first car I had matis deu matis Korean
car um it was called in the shape of a
beetle very nice looking small car so
the car culture that was taking over
different cities in the 1950s when the
story was written U uh has kind of you
know resulted and he still thinks that
would be the case in
2053 has resulted in
dehumanization with people being
compared and likened to Insects you know
they being compared they being spoken of
like insects and in the night the city
does not have any cars so it is very
lifeless and very dorment at that point
in time unlike the case uh the contrast
between day and night is being
highlighted okay uh but now these
highways the roads were like streams in
a dry season that is no water so when
there is no life that's what he
comparing the roads are being compared
to streams in a dry season where there
would be no water now there will be no
vehicles all Stone and bed and moon
radius the Moon is shining on the roads
he turned back on a side street circling
around towards his home so now he
decides that now I will go back home he
was within a block of his destination
that is his residence when the lone car
turned a corner quite suddenly now he's
got surprised that he seen a car coming
and flashed a fierce white Co of light
upon him you know there is a white flash
like a police vehicle it is a police
vehicle and he stood entranced entranced
because he did not expect it because he
did not see any cars till then not
unlike a night moth you know the insect
that kind of shines in the night stunned
by the illumination and then drawn
towards it the insect which is drawn
towards light or candles or any kind of
light so he kind of Compares himself and
that that point in time to a nightm so
one of the questions that you could
possibly be asked is the insect imagery
that Ray Bradbury has used in this story
so please keep making a note of all the
insects Etc that he has mentioned the
scarab beetles the night mods Etc and
what he has compared the scarab beetles
to the cars used that as a metaphor for
the cars now he's using the Knight moth
for U the character Leonard mid um
a metallic voice called to him now this
is important metallic voice it kind of
shows a very eie kind of nature it's not
a human voice it's a metalic kind of a
voice stand still stay where you are
don't move he halted put up your hands
so it's a police vehicle but he said
your hands up or we will shoot the
police of course but what a rare
incredible thing in a city of 3 million
that city has three million people but
it does not see a soul
for the last 10 years it's almost as if
he's living there all by himself there
was only one police car left wasn't that
correct now uh that's an important
element please make a note of it ever
since a year ago that is in
2052 the election year and election was
held at that time the force had been cut
down from three cars to one that was
because the crime had produced obviously
when there is no human human to human
interaction who would commit a crime
there is no need now for the police save
for this one loone car wandering and
wandering the empty streets okay so this
is an important kind of element now the
this is the turning point of the story
when he encounters Leonard encounters
the police vehicle that pins him down
with this rather sharp bright light now
the suddenness of the
encounter and the sharp light the fierce
bream of light it kind of conveys a
sense of forbing it tells you that
something negative is likely to happen
to Leonard now there's a sense of fear
there's a sense of for booing and the
car is actually spelling danger for
Leonard you know that something wrong is
going to happen now so the simile which
kind of
Compares Leonard to a moth shows that
like the other citizens me Lenard me is
also in danger of losing his sense of
humanity at the hands of State Authority
because as I told you he's sent to a
psychiatric care center at the end which
means that he will also now be loged
inside even he will not have the freedom
to walk around on the streets of the
city so he will also have to follow what
everyone else in that city of three
million people do not step out he also
has to the only way this Authority will
ensure that you also have to do the same
thing which is what you know governments
which are authoritarian in nature that
we will decide for you because we think
we know the best for you and in this
case it is best for you to stay home and
watch those meaningless stupid
television shows and that's what you
need to do you need to fall in line hey
you you you dare to walk around the
streets how strange how regressive you
will be sent to a psychiatric care
center that's the messaging the car is
trying to send to him your name said the
police car in a metallic whisper he
couldn't see the men in it for the
bright light in his eyes the light was
too sharp L not mid me speak up lay not
meet business or profession I guess you
would call me a writer no profession set
the police car as if talking to himself
so it's a little funny that they do not
consider writing as a profession
okay uh and I found this quite funny
because in today's day and age of chat
GPT and automation uh I'm sure there
will be many improved much improved
versions of chat GPT by the year 2053 so
this could actually happen that nobody
would actually write original stuff
everything would be so automated so this
is the way creativity is treated that if
he says that I am a writer it means that
he's a creative kind of a person but it
means that if you are a creative kind of
a person it means that's not considered
a profession by the authorities and I
found and that's an important point to
make note of okay these are all
intricate details and that's what makes
literature fascinating if you're able to
dissect it understand it analyze it
because then it will obviously add to
the quality of your answers in the
examination the light held him fixed
like a museum specimen needle thrust
through chest so it is almost like
piercing through him the light the beam
of light is so Fierce so sharp that's
almost like you know a needle which is
kind of going through his chest you
might say that he hadn't written any he
said yeah you could say that no
professional because he had not written
for many years because magazines and
books did not sell anymore no one read
everything went on in the Tom like
houses at night now he thought
continuing his fancy right again
reference to the tomb Like Houses the
tombs ill lit by television light where
the people sat like the Dead the gray or
the multicolored lights touching their
faces but never really touching them
very important and a very deep line one
minute yeah why is he saying that
touching their faces but never touching
them because he's trying to convey that
while they watch it it does not have any
kind of impact on the people who are
watching them it is not kind of touching
them in the sense that it is not making
them emotional it is not you know it is
not moving them in any way they are just
like lifeless people inside those
graveyards like homes inside the tomb
like buildings watching this day and
night right that's what is happening no
profession said the phonograph voice the
thing so you see metallic voice that's
the first key phrase then this one
phonograph voice hissing please make a
note of this phonograph is a record
player it was used it was invented in
1877 and it was used for reproducing
recorded s so that's what phonograph
refers to walking walking just walking
he said simply but his face felt cold
walking just walking walking I mean he's
so surprised but how can anyone just
walk yes sir walking where for what
walking for air walking to see I want to
feel the fresh air and I want to see the
sites of the city your address 11 South
St James Street and there is air in your
air house you have an air conditioner
just imagine in fact I just now before
see I saw a tweet by an environment list
and he was obviously being sarcastic and
he said that let's cut down all the
trees you know and because we are making
smart cities now um he's from Tamil Nadu
Chennai
uh since we are making smart cities
let's have you know air conditioners
fitted around the streets that would
make city is smart I mean this is so
much like that he says don't you have I
mean air do you need to come out to
inhale fresh don't you have an AC at
home so that's what he's refering to yes
and you have a viewing SC screen in your
house to see with they have a television
set uh no no no there was a crackling
quiet that itself was an accusation how
dare you not have a viewing screen so uh
that's what he's trying to convey
and it he considered it he thought it
was very odd that this man did not own a
viewing
screen are you married Mr me no not
married said the police behind the fiery
beam the moon was high and clear Among
the Stars and the houses were gray and
silent so you see every time he's
constantly reinforcing the the greyness
of the
houses okay
um not nobody wanted me you know he just
triying to be funny don't speak unless
you spoken to so that is you know the
the voice the metallic voice is being
assertive is kind of conveying
Authority Lenard mid waited in the cold
night just walking Mr mid Yes again they
repeat but you haven't explained for
what purpose I explained for air and to
see just to walk have you done this
often every night for years you know
I've done this quite often and the
surprise
the police car sat in the center of the
street with its radio throat faintly
humming the third reference metallic
voice phonogram uh phonograph hissing
radio throat faintly humming please
again and again I keep requesting you
okay
phras
answers well Mr me so again conveying a
very mechanical kind of a voice it's not
a human kind of a voice there's no
warmth in the voice it is a very radio
kind of a voice is that all yes here
there was a sigh a pop the back door of
the police car sprang wi get in so the
door opens and the voice says get in
wait a minute I haven't done anything
get in I protest Mr me he walked like a
man suddenly drunk as he passed the
front door you know because he was
obvious obviously taken back by the fact
that the police car was asking him to
get into the police van it is like he
was being detained he was being arrested
as he passed the front window of the car
he looked in as he had expected there
was no one in the front seat no one in
the car at all get in he put his hand to
the door and peered into the back seat
which was like a little cell it was like
he's going to be taken into custody
inside that vehicle itself a little
black jail with B bars so now you see
again the use of the word black darkness
being conveyed with bars so the whole
effect
is very ominous it smelled of riveted
steel so it is in contrast to the air
the fresh air that he like to smell
outside here it is smelling of riveted
steel okay so hard and metallic
emphasize a lack of warmth lack of
comfort um it smelled too clean and hard
and metallic it smelled of harsh
antiseptic now harsh antiseptic uh
conveys an environment that is very
sterile the kind of smell that you get
in hospitals it's not the natural smell
in the air um and it sterile also
conveys a very
emotionless sterile also conveys a very
emotionless state of societ nature of
society and the driverless car again is
a symbol of society which is devoid of
any kind of human connection or
interaction okay so that's what is being
conveyed
um there was nothing soft there again an
important line because it highlights
that there is nothing comfortable inside
that police car it is an emotionally
barren kind of a society which again as
I said in the introduction it
prioritizes isolation that he is going
to be inside that car inside that little
black jail behind bars so again he's
also going to be isolated that this is
the way you have to live life if you
have to be in the city in 2053 so his
love for walking strangely enough is
considered is deemed to be is perceived
to be a threat in this heavily
controlled kind of a society so the car
which is devoid of uh softness it will
obviously it means that he's going to be
potentially imprisoned and his future
again is going to be now from now
onwards is going to be devoid of any
kind of human connection already we know
that he's a bachelor so it's not as if
he interacts with people but now even
more he will not even get to interact
with the natural air and uh walking is
called a regressive kind of a tendency
now if you had a wife to give you an
alibi you know if there is a wife and
the wife could say that you know he was
with me and you know that kind of a
thing that would have been better but
since he does not have a wife even that
option is cut off Alibi is something
like you know somebody says that oh he
was with me at this time so he could not
have committed the murder right so you
know there's no wife to kind of con
confirm all these facts that you have
just stated to us but where are you
taking me the car hesitated and rather
gave a faint Ving clerk you know that
sound kind of a sound as if information
somewhere was dropping card by punch
slotted card under electric eyes so
someone was kind of you know punching it
and information was coming inside to
this police vehicle to the psychiatric
center for research on regressive
Tendencies so walking is called a
regressive tendency and the system the
authorities believe that he needs to be
given psychiatric treatment he got in
and the door shut with a soft thud again
use of an oxymoron because a thud is a
sharp sound is not a soft sound but he
calls it a soft so you know this kind of
a very opposite words being used
so he kind of you know there is
something very romantic with the way
Leonard actually likes to indulge in
walking but now uh that option is
obviously uh not there for him anymore
and uh he is kind of you know the he
does not obviously fit into this
particular society which likes to stay
indoors all the time or they have been
forced to stay indoors all the time
whereas he likes to to indulge in this
favorite pastime of walking
uh the the state power obviously
apprehend him you know it kind of
arrests him sends him to a psychiatric
center and uh you know there is the
imagery of the jail is also very
significant because it now means that
he's now being considered as an actual
criminal someone with the Deviant
Behavior by the authorities and that's
something very dangerous that it will
not allow anyone to have their way and
indulge in something like a regressive
tendency like walking okay so uh the car
is kind of representing the authorities
it is robotic it is inhuman it is
driverless someone is feeding in the
commands and it is actually reading it
out in a metallic voice and it is
operated remotely um and people also
have lost their Humanity it is like
insect like Beatles like by day go G
like by night it's an important phrase
it's an interesting phrase which you can
use insect like insect like by day ghost
like by night okay and uh the machines
are having the power all the power to
make decisions so I hope you enjoyed
this story I hope you understood the
story in great detail uh and I think I
have done Justice to it uh please make
sure that you use all the keywords and
key phrases that I've highlighted and
and the other uh phrases that I've used
in my explanation video so that you can
use them in your answers and make your
answers read that much better okay thank
you very much for watching T bye-bye God
bless you