Hi Folks,

I was inspired to read some Bradbury this weekend so I randomly chose to read "The Burning Man" from the 100 Greatest Stories collection. Has anyone else ever read this story? Pretty good and creepy. After reading Sam Weller's book, I can picture Ray and his Aunt heading to Lake Michigan on a swealtering summer day.

So were the old guy and the young boy in the white suit both similar beings of evil? Were they really a threat to Neva and young Doug, or was the heat just getting to everyone? This story reminds me of all the reasons why my parents told me not to pick up hitchhikers.

Best wishes.

A great story, and also one of the best pieces of Bradbury to have been put on film.

As I see it, the boy is the old guy re-born. If not literally, then symbolically. Were they real, or was it just the heat? Ah, now there's a question!

Well, you have to wonder if there's such a thing as genetic evil in the world...

Was this story not made into a twilight zone episode or featured on the Ray Bradbury Theater? I think someone mentioned that in another thread.

Nico,

Yup, I think there's obviously great evil in this world. Read the paper. Look at the news. Watch Elementary school children play together at recess...

Are people born evil? I don't think so necessarily. I do think that left to one's own's tendencies, a person will be inclined to become selfish. I believe that kindness is a learned trait, selfishness is natural. I do think that people are responsible and make conscious choices to do good or do evil. I'm sure there's a bunch of Bible references I could dig up, but I guess I don't really want to get in that kind of a discussion. But I think if you watch people (like Bradbury has obviously watched people), you will see that people are not naturally inclined towards kindness. Hopefully, children will experience kindness from their parents and family. In return, hopefully children will practice kindness towards others, their friends, and people they meet. Maybe I'm reading too much F451 lately?

Yeah, there's a reason we have commandments; by implication, these things are not what we'd naturally do. We don't have to be commanded to be selfish, overindulge, demand to have our way, etc.

quote:

there's a reason we have commandments; by implication, these things are not what we'd naturally do

True ... a great misconception about the well-known 'Commandments' you allude to is that they're 'rules' we're meant to follow; in fact, their main purpose is to establish a standard that humanity is unable to achieve - in other words, to shed light on our (humanity's) true nature and limitations.
... but as BH points out, this is not really the right forum for that discussion (other theological threads on this site have become a little heated in the past, and I must confess I contributed to the heat once or twice myself).
Back to the story.... It IS a little gem, with its vivid, evocative atmosphere and characterisation.

Oz,

Yup, I really like this story and I had never heard of it. I can totally imagine a young Ray going for a car ride and trip to the beach at Lake Michigan with his Aunt Neva. Living in the Washington, DC area, we experience the 17 year (or whatever length of time it is) locusts coming out of the ground like an alien invasion. So it would be bizarre if some sub-set of evil beings came along those lines. Ray's imagery and description of the desolate road and sweltering summer heat.... I love it so.