Thoughts on The Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury
What’s really important?
Ray Bradbury was a master of the short story form. In my view, along with plenty of other readers, his short fiction was better than his novels (which is saying something when he wrote Something Wicked This Way Comes).
All told, The Last Night of the World is a very short, very simple tale, but delivers such a big impact that I felt it was worth talking about.
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A journey through the story
It’s a really small (1,200 word) tale that shows a man and wife preparing for the end of the world. They know it’s coming via a shared dream all adults have had, but there’s no panic about it. Everyone has come to accept it. The man and wife have some coffee, chat, and enjoy the last night of their world, going to bed after taking care of some household chores.
And that’s the tale, pretty much. We watch them in all their niceness as they prepare for the end, taking their time in going to bed.
So, what’s the big deal? There’s not a lot going on. Isn’t this all a bit boring?
The small big
In another writer’s hands, maybe this would be a boring tale. The end of the world is coming, a couple decide not to do anything but talk about it, go to bed, the end. Bradbury was known as something of a nostalgia-inducing writer, but he also knew what moved the soul. His use of small, ordinary details (dishes, water tap, coffee) really parks this story in the everyday moments.
This effect, what I’ve come to term as the Small-Big, is when a writer invokes big emotions from the little things. And we’re talking about the end of the world here, something too big to compute. And so, instead of zooming out and trying to see the world-wide problem, we go into one couple’s home, see how they are preparing for the end. They drink their coffee, talk some, and go to bed.
‘Well,’ he said, getting up, ‘what shall it be? Wash the dishes?’
They washed the dishes and stacked them away with special neatness.
Their normalcy is almost an act of defiance. They are hopeless to stop it from happening, but they make sure they spend the last of their days in grace and love.
This is the way I want to go
Sounds grim, I know, but this is the power this story has on me. When the end of the world comes, whether I know it’s coming or not, I want to go out like this. My family around me, no big hubbub, just small, simple, lovely actions that feel like any other day, magnified.
Am I confident I’d go out with such grace? Hell no, I’d probably be a mess, and if I knew the end of the world was coming, I’d be hugging my kids and not letting go (even if it did scare them). So, this picture is somewhat unattainable, which is where some of its power might lie.
To me, it also speaks about our way of life and what we hold dear. What’s really important? There’s no mention of ‘stuff’ (rather than coffee and dishes). This couple obviously lived a nice, neat, fulfilling life. This is what I’m trying to make sure I do in my own world – fill up my life with fulfilling, sustainable things that bring me joy. Such things are usually right in front of your face all along.
And this Short Story Club is one of those things. It gives me the joy of being able to tuck into a story, reading it deeply, truly savouring it. And I hope you enjoy it, too.
A top ten bonus
Since I’m thinking about Bradbury, I thought I’d jot down my top ten favourite Bradbury stories. Please note, if you ask me again tomorrow this list will probably have changed!
The Rocket
The Lake
Mars is Heaven
No Particular Night or Morning
Rocket Man
The Fog Horn
The Last Night of the World
The Meadow
The Crowd
The Scythe
If you’re a Bradbury fan, what are your fave short stories of his? What did you think of The Last Night of the World?
Thanks. From early in the story, it made sense to me that they were casual since it was happening the very next day and what are you gonna do ? but if it had been a week or a month away, then it would’ve been a different story. It certainly was not action packed, but I didn’t feel labored through it probably because it was so short.