“Perhaps of all the creations of man, language is the most astonishing.” (Lytton Strachey) SECOND DRAFT

         Along the centuries, people tried to invent something steadfast in order to make life easier. In such a way they invented language and this is considered to be man’s best and astonishing creation. This invention has a great contribution to the development of the entire society. Language is a communicative tool that people use in the everyday life: while talking, writing or even while dreaming.
         The need to interact with each other made people create a system of communication which would facilitate their life. Language is the main tool and means of transmitting, sharing, informing and accumulating information. It is not only about vocabulary which language consists of. It is more complex. It comprises gestures, mimics and signs through which, people perceive the surrounded world. Language is essential to every aspect in our everyday life. Whatever the situation is, people need and use language. By this fact that people communicate with each other verbal or non-verbal, makes them, as a human race, be unique because none of the other creatures possesses such ability of speaking.
         Due to appearance of language, people started to record some important events, marked dates or interesting facts they could trace. Thus, writing appeared as another way of communication. That is why there are nowadays pieces of information of the ancestors who depicted the movements and changes throughout the centuries. In other words, due to language, one can get closer to the history while analyzing and reading documents. Also, on the strength of this fact, one can record the information for the further generation. In fact, language is the only opened access to the world.
         I strongly believe that without this astonishing creation, human beings wouldn’t have developed so much, they would have remained at the stage of homo sapiens. Language helped the human race to grow and it is still developing in different branches. 

“Perhaps of all the creations of men, language is the most astonishing.” (Lytton Strachey)

         I rather agree with the statement made by Lytton Strachey in the way that language is men’s best and astonishing creation. It is the achievement that put the basis of humanity and its further continuation. This is the essential need for people that drives the everyday life . Everything we do, we unconsciously use language: when we think, listen to somebody or even when we dream.
         The need to interact with each other made people to create a system of communication which would facilitate their needs. Language is the main tool and means of transmitting the information. Somebody will agree with the fact that we can send ideas, thoughts by gestures or signs but still, in order to understand clearer the conveyed message, people created language. Due to this tool people are to communicate with each other using verbal communication, written form and non-verbal one.
         Language is essential to every aspect in our everyday life. Whatever is the situation people need and use language in order to share their feelings, emotions and desires and also to ask questions and discover the surrounded world. While communicating, we use words, symbols, signs, gestures and mimics. Through these, we get acknowledged with the environment, society and culture we are living in. Moreover, it helps other people to understand and get closer to us. This makes us as a human race be unique because none of the other creatures possesses such ability of speaking.
         Due to appearance of language, people started to record some important events, marked dates or interesting facts they could trace. That is why we have nowadays pieces of information of our ancestors who described the movement and changes through centuries. In other words, due to language, we get acquainted with the history and can make researches in any braches of science we want. In fact, language is the only access to surrounding world.
         I strongly believe that without this astonishing creation, human beings wouldn’t develop so much, they would remain at the stage of homo sapiens. Language helped the human race to grow and which still is in the process of broaden the horizons in different directions. 

                  The short story “The Pedestrian” written by Ray Bradbury, is a short piece describing the feelings Mr. Mead has while living in a society where technology replaces the humanity in people. Within the story, the author touches upon such themes like the loss of humanity and lack of communication as a result of the technology development pointing out the regress of the society.

         The author is a science fiction writer and he, in this story describes the future society in which everything is done automatically and people seem to be nonchalant towards the environment and towards their fellows too. In order to show that there was still a hope, R. Bradbury, in his short story tried to embody the “humanity” of mankind in the main character - Leonard Mead. In other words, Leonard Mead was only one representative of a human being in that city with feelings and emotions which were still alive. It was he, whose personality and values weren’t touched by the progress indeed. He was associated with “the light” that symbolizes his soul. If, during his night walks, people are alerted to his presence, "lights ... click on". In essence, the embodiment of “humanity” is about Mr. Mead's house beams "loud yellow illumination”. The author reflected the kindness and humanity in Leonard Mead. He depicted him as a bright, intelligent and well-bread man. As he “could feel the cold light going on and off”, it means his feelings were overwhelming himself. He was feeling every move, rustle and noise that surrendered him while walking. Everything he could notice was “the silent, and long and empty street” as it was usually during his “ten years of walking”. It describes his opened soul that passed through years looking how the society regressed and he couldn’t do anything. When he was asked his profession, he answered doubtfully he was a writer because he “hadn’t written in years”. Yet, “magazines and books didn’t sell anymore”, “everything went on in the tomblike houses”. By telling all these, he intended to reflect the disdain that progress showed for mankind and his position towards it. The progress done was only for the sake of progress and for nothing else. He’s the only representative of “humanity” in that very society who survived. To maintain his idea, the author gives another argument, describing Mead’s shadow as “a shadow of a hawk” that reveals his free spirit.
         In order to show the other side of the society, the author brings as an example the portrait of the police car who is a representative of a senseless machine who could speak. In order to show it had no emotions and feelings, R. Bradbury depicted it as having “a metallic voice”. It also didn’t understand the need of a human being “to walk…to see”. Moreover, when Leonard Mead told his profession, the car didn’t recognize it as a profession at all, saying “no profession” – totally denying the existence of a mankind. As the car was a representative of the “progress” it wasn’t interested in the man’s feelings or to clarify the situation; it just ordered to put him in a “black jail” and drive him to “the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies”..
         Therefore, the author reveals such theme as loss of humanity as a result of technological disaster leading to a lack of communication.  The message resulting from the story and the theme is that technology which was designed for making lives easier, actually becomes a threat of the humanity.
         In order to catch the reader’s attention and to fulfill the meaning, to establish the idea and to create an understanding message, R. Bradbury used a set of stylistic devices for making the text alive and captivating. Among the most used ones, there should be noticed the enumeration, and namely the Asyndeton as in the example “Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head, listen, look, and march on, his feet making no noise” that highlights and emphasize the actions made by Mr. Mead. Another SD that prevails in the text is the frequent use of Simile: the comparison of the cottages and homes to a "graveyard" creates a supernatural, hyperbolical meaning . It is continued throughout this paragraph as "firefly light" that "flickers" is observed, and "sudden grey phantoms" appear as the main character passes. All the Stylistic Devices used by the author, was for the sake of creating a lively atmosphere as while reading, the reader could feel the world lived by Mr. Mead.
         In this short story, R. Bradbury depicts the “light” side and the “dark” one of a society totally seized by the technological progress. By “light” the author reflects the Leonard Mead’s “humanity” and the “dark” side – is a representative of the police car’s “senseless”  progress. By pointing this, R. Bradbury highlights the danger of the technology to the society and humanity. He indirectly depicted how life may change if mankind abandons its humanity for the sake of progress. It would be a terrible thing to see how the next generation grows in a society surrounded by selfish, cold “police cars” rather than in a warm, loving and human “Mr. Mead’s” one.