It is therefore correct to assert that being good according to the gods’ rulebook is impossible, as they later discover. The third god captures goodness with the conclusion that good intentions bring people to the brink of the abyss while good deeds push people over the edge of the cliff. When she sees the carpenter’s child digging in the trash, she vows that she will be good to her son and a tigress to others. Goodness also comes out in the scene 9a when the gods lament on little goodness they have found in the world.ĭespite Shen Te’ staying good, Wong’s role helps to cast doubt on her “good” image. In the play, Shen Te’s perception of goodness changes during pregnancy, further highlighting the theme of goodness. According to the gods, good people find their way to God’s world. In the scene 6a, the gods also enhance the theme of goodness by citing it as strength and declining Wong’s desire to see them intervene in Shen Te’s life. Thus, it’s futile to strive for goodness. In the song, Yang Sun sarcastically mocks at the efforts of human beings to try to be good.Īccording to him, the days when all human beings will be good will never come. What might the author, Ray Bradbury, be commenting on Societys lack of interest in personal interaction Question 2 Q. He acknowledges that the woman is a candidate for a good person, an indirect reference to the gods’ idea of goodness and demand. In scene 6, the theme of goodness comes out clearly through the song of St. There is also one instance of goodness when Shen Te offers the old woman money to pay her rent. The second god says, 'People just arent religious anymore, lets face the fact.

While Wong runs off to find a house that will welcome the gods for the night, the gods confer among themselves about how their mission to find a good person is failing. Finally, the gods are trying to imply that it is difficult for a human to achieve goodness without support from other people. The theme of 'goodness,' which seems so simple in the title, is revealed as multi-faceted right from the beginning of the play. In this scene, there is an attempt by the gods to explain that being good is through the above interaction between Wong and the gods, perhaps a further elaboration of what “living a life that is worthy of a human being” means. Similarly, Bradbury describes nature in a Romantic way with vivid sensory imagery. Nineteenth century Romantic writers portrayed the natural world as vibrant and spiritual, valuing nature as a place for introspection.

According to the gods, a good person is the one who lives a life that is worthy of a human being. In the scene 1a, the theme of goodness comes out when the gods urge Wong to look for Shen Te and show interest in her honesty so that she can reciprocate.Īccording to the gods, goodness cannot survive for long if there is no demand for it. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Pedestrian, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. From the beginning of the play, the theme of goodness comes out starting with the gods’ definition of who a good person is.

The theme of the pedestrian