Work on understanding the

structure to a narrative
Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action
The story’s climax
Answer the following questions AFTER you have reread the second part of ´The Pedestrian´ from ´He turned back on a side street´ to the end.
Another literary convention in terms of the structure of a novel or short story is the climax. The climax in this story comes with the police car which stops Leonard on his walk. How
does Bradbury create tension at this point for the reader?

Prompts:
1. Look at the simile ´He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination,
and then drawn towards it´. What is Leonard being compared to? What are the connotations of
this image? How does it create tension? Another simile is used later: ´The light held him fixed,
like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest´. What is Leonard being compared to?
What are the connotations of this image? How does it create tension?
2. The car is personified and described as having a ´metallic voice´ and speaking in a ´metallic
whisper´. What does the diction ´metallic´ suggest to you about what or who might be in the car?
How does this depict the dystopian world? How does this create tension?
3. There is only one police car left and it is described in the text that crime is ebbing. What does this
suggest about the government? How does this raise tension?
Spot the difference? What is the second student doing that makes
this a better reply. Can we learn from this? Write yourself some
tips…
• Model answers
• Good:
• The use of the simile ´He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination,
and then drawn towards it´ conveys that Leonard was stunned by the police car because
´entranced´ makes us think of someone being captivated by something.

• Excellent:
• The use of the simile ´He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination,
and then drawn towards it´ compares the way Leonard is standing looking at the police car, to
the way a moth is attracted by light. The connotations of this image are that Leonard is
completed captivated by the police car, however it creates tension because we know that often
moths become trapped by light and find it difficult to escape. Using this simile implies therefore,
that Leonard will find it hard to escape the police car, and therefore we feel nervous for him.
The story’s climax
• books didn´t sell anymore´. Instead, houses are described as ´tomb-like… ill lit by television light… where people sat like the dead´. What
images do these create in your mind? What do books and magazines symbolise? How does the lack of them suggest that people are
repressed? How does it show that the government oppresses them?
•
• 5. What kind of sentences does the voice in the car use with Leonard? How do they create tension?
•
• 6. Bradbury uses stichomythia in the exchange between Leonard and the police car. Are the sentences long or short? Do you think they
create a slow or fast pace? Which words are being repeated? In what way then, does this technique create tension?
•
• 7. Why does the police car view Leonard with such suspicion? What does this tell you about the governments of this dystopian world in the
story?
•
• 8. Why is Leonard fatalistic about getting in the police car? What does this tell you about the government of the dystopian world in the
story?
•
• 9. How does Bradbury use repetition in the form of anaphora in the paragraph beginning, ´He put his hand…´ to show how Leonard feels
about getting in the car? Which word is being repeated? What does it emphasise? How does this create tension?
Falling action/ denouement: independent
writing
The falling action in this story is quite short and happens at the
end of the story where Leonard is taken to Psychiatric Centre.
How does the ending depict the dystopian world?
Prompts:
1. What are ´Regressive Tendencies´? What does this suggest
life was like in the past?
2. How does the imagery describing Leonard´s house
symbolise his rebellion? How does the description of his house
juxtapose with the description of the other houses on the
street?
3. Look at the last two lines of the story. What image do they
connote in your mind? Why might Bradbury have chosen to
end his story this way?
Review
Complete the gap fill with words from the word bank.
1. The setting in the story is ___________ as it is set in 2053 A.D.
2. It is clear that the government are ___________ as the police car does not
allow Leonard to continue walking at night on his own.
3. Leonard engages in an act of __________ against the government as he
defies
________________ to go out walking on his own.
4. There is an ___________ mood in the air in the city at night as Leonard is alone
while
everyone else seems to be in a trance watching their TVs indoors.
5. It is described in the text that crime was __________ and that is why there is
only one
police car left on the streets.
6. Leonard is __________ when he gets into the police car near the end of the
story.

fatalistic oppressive societal norms totalitarian futuristic rebellion ebbing