THE PEDESTRIAN

Context Questions

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

Extract 1
To enter out into that silence that was the city at eight o'clock of a misty evening in
November, to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams
and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences, that was what Mr. Leonard
Mead most dearly loved to do. He would stand upon the corner of an intersection and
peer down long moonlit avenues of sidewalks in four directions, deciding which way to
go, but it really made no difference; he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good
as alone, and with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off, sending
patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar.

(i) Why was there complete silence on the city streets at eight o'clock in the evening?
Who was the lone traveller, who entered into 'that silence’? Why was he there at that
time?
There was complete silence on the city streets because no one except the
protagonist, Leonard Mead was out on the streets at eight o’clock in the evening. All the
other citizens were inside their homes, glued to their television sets and did not venture
out. They were watching different types of programmes on their televisions. They were
numbed into complacency by their television sets.
The lone traveller was Leonard Mead, the protagonist of the story. He was an
adult male living in an unnamed city in the middle of the twenty-first century, i.e. 2053.
He is the only named character in the story.
Leonard Mead had gone out for a night walk, in the year 2053. It was his routine
and he had been going out for night walks in the streets for the last ten years.

(ii) What did the protagonist love dearly? What does it suggest about him?
The protagonist, Leonard Mead, loved walking in the city streets at night. He
was out at eight o'clock on a misty evening in November. He put his feet upon the
buckling concrete walk, stepped over the grassy seams and made his way, hands in
pockets, through the silences in the city. He also loved and appreciated Nature and took
in the sights, sounds and smells on his walks.
Leonard Mead's enjoyment of nature and his reveries show that he had
developed a Romantic sensibility that helped him to preserve his individuality in the
face of pervasive social conformity. He seemed to be happy with his isolation and
enjoyed his solitude. He is active and free. He is also a nonconformist as his behaviour
is quite different from the other citizens of the city. While the other city dwellers preferred
to stay indoors and watch television, he would be out on his nights walks, amidst nature.

(iii) What is meant by ‘it really made no difference’? What is suggested about Leonard
Mead by this sentence?
Leonard Mead would stand upon the corner of an intersection and peer down
long moonlit avenues of sidewalk in four directions, deciding which way to go, but it
really made no difference because he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good
as alone. There was nobody apart from him, on the streets of the city at night. Neither
was there any human in sight nor was there any traffic. Hence, whichever way he took,
everything would remain the same and it hardly would matter.
This suggests that Leonard Mead had become so used to living alone and
taking the lonely walk at night for the last ten years that it did not bother him whether
there was any person or any traffic on the streets. He seemed to be happy with his
isolation and in fact, enjoyed his solitude. He was used to taking his own decisions.

(iv) Why is he described as ‘alone in this world of A.D. 2053’?

Leonard Mead is described as ‘alone in the world of A.D. 2053’ because he
was the only one who would be out at night. He had been going out for his night walks
for the past ten years. There was no sign of any other human being except him, on the
streets. The streets were absolutely devoid of human beings and traffic. The other
citizens remained indoors, glued to their television sets, watching their favourite
programmes. For ten years on these nightly walks, Mead had passed the homes of the
other citizens and never met another person.

(v) What is suggested by the phrase ‘final decision made’ and ‘path selected’? What do
these phrases say about Leonard Mead?
The phrases ‘final decision made’ and ‘path selected’ indicate that Leonard
Mead had made his own decision and selected a path on which he would stride off,
sending patterns of frosty air before him, on a November evening. His path is quite in
contrast to the other citizens who do not come outside their houses and remain glued to
their television sets. They do not walk around alone for pleasure.
Leonard Mead’s decision about selecting his own path shows that he was at
ease with himself. He was alone, walking in the direction he felt like going. He was a
nonconformist who found happiness amongst Nature rather than a television set. He
was decisive and individualistic. His decision aptly conveys his individual empowerment.

Extract 2
Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head, listen, look, and march
on, his feet making no noise on the lumpy walk. For long ago he had wisely changed to
sneakers when strolling at night, because the dogs in intermittent squads would parallel
his journey with barkings if he wore hard heels, and lights might click on and faces
appear and an entire street be startled by the passing of a lone figure, himself, in the
early November evening.

(i) Why does Mead make a deliberate attempt not to produce any sound while walking?
Mead makes a deliberate attempt not to produce any sound while walking
because he knew that he was defying the norms of the society by being on the road
when everybody else was indoors and so he wanted to protect himself from being
discovered. He wanted to keep his night walks a secret.

(ii) Why does Leonard Mead start wearing sneakers instead of hard heels while strolling
at night? What is suggested by his act of wearing sneakers?
Leonard Mead had long ago wisely changed to sneakers when strolling at
night, because the dogs in intermittent squads would parallel his journey with barkings if
he wore hard heels, and lights might click on and faces appear and an entire street be
startled by the passing of a lone figure, in the early November evening. He also wanted
to prevent himself from being discovered by the authorities and punished for being a
nonconformist.
Mead's act of wearing sneakers suggests that he wanted to keep his night walk
a secret. He wanted to protect himself from the dogs. He also did not want the other
citizens to get startled by his lonesome walks. Mead being decisive, individualistic and
nonconformist did not follow the rules which everyone else was following in the society.

(iii) Why is he described as a ‘lone figure’? Who would get startled by his walk at night?
Why?
Leonard Mead is described as a lone figure because he was the only person
on the street at night. He did not have any companions. There was no sign of any other
person or any traffic on the road. The streets were absolutely empty.
The other people of the city would get startled by his walk at night. They would
get startled because they all would be indoors, watching television at night. They would
not venture out. The sudden sight of a lone person out at night would amaze them.

(iv) Explain briefly the characteristic traits of Leonard Mead as reflected in this extract.
Leonard Mead is portrayed as a unique person among the people who live in
the city. He lives alone. He is unmarried and does not own a television set like the other
city dwellers. His favourite activity is to walk the streets alone at night. For ten years on
these nightly walks, Mead has passed the homes of the other citizens and never met
another person. He seems to be happy with his isolation and enjoys his solitude. He
appreciates Nature and takes in the sights, sounds and smells on his walks. He is a
nonconformist and preserves his individuality in the face of pervasive social conformity.
He wants to keep his night walks a secret, hence wears sneakers to avoid being
discovered. He is decisive, active and free and his ways are quite different from that of
the others in the society.

(v) How has the imagery of death been used to describe the other city dwellers in the
story?
The other city dwellers are portrayed as transfixed to their television sets.
Neither do they interact with one another nor with anybody else. While walking through
the ‘silent, long and empty streets’ Leonard Mead feels as if he was 'walking through a
graveyard.' This portrays that the landscape has been made barren by the television,
which everyone is watching inside their homes. The houses, too, seem to be devoid of
any signs of life and vitality. Passing by one 'tomb-like building,' Mead sees 'gray
phantoms' through an open window, and hears 'whisperings and murmurs' from the
people within. The imagery of death has been used to describe people as Mead looks
around the houses and their inhabitants while walking through the lonely streets of the
city. He feels that the people inside their homes are not only motionless but also
emotionless as they are metaphorically dead: the people sat like the dead, the gray or
multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.'

Extract 3
Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house? He hesitated, but went
on when nothing more happened. He stumbled over a particular section of sidewalk.
The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass. In ten years of walking by night or
day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all
that time.

(i) What does Mead think about the murmur of laughter? What does it suggest about his
connection with other people?
Mead heard a murmur of laughter and was surprised. He got curious to know if
it was coming from within a house. This was because on his way home, at midnight, he
generally would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows. He felt as if he
was walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light
appeared in flickers behind the dark windows. He considered the people as ‘gray
phantoms’ lacking emotions and being consumed by technology. The only sound
sometimes heard from these ‘tomb-like’ dimly lit homes, through a window which was
still open, was that of whispering and murmuring.
It shows that Mead was cut off from the society and was not at all welcome in
the society where he lived. He feels alienated from those around him and as such feels
that nature is his best companion. He appears as a threat for the conformists as he is
fundamentally different from everyone else. His activities were different from that of the
other people in the society. While the other people sat in their houses, watching
television, he found pleasure in his night walks. Unlike other people, he preferred to
spend his time Amidst Nature rather than being glued to a television screen. Mead
described the other people in a metaphorical language associated with death. He feels
that the people are like ‘gray phantoms’ and the neighbourhoods are like graveyards.
The homes are represented as ‘tomb-like’.

(ii) Why does he stumble while walking? What does ‘cement was vanishing’ suggest?
He stumbled while walking because there was an uneven section of concrete
which was vanishing because of the growth of plants and grass through the cracks in
the concrete.
The vanishing of the cement shows that the sidewalks were no longer
maintained because there were no walkers except Mead. The growth of plants and
grass suggests that Nature was gradually trying to reclaim the place due to less human
activity.

(iii) Why had he not encountered another person on the road in ten years of his solitary
walks? What does it suggest about the other people?
Mead had not encountered another person on the road in ten years of his
solitary walks because the other citizens would remain indoors, watching television.
It suggests that the other citizens were alienated and dehumanized because of
their conformity to a dystopian status quo. They were undifferentiated and dehumanized
by the impact of technology. They follow the same prefixed societal norms and have no
individual identities. They are described in general terms in a metaphorical language
associated with death. They are said to be like ‘gray phantoms’ and their
neighbourhoods are like graveyards. Their homes are represented as ‘tomb-like’.
Sometimes there is a whispering or a murmuring sound heard from their dimly lit
homes. They do not go out for walks by night or day. They seem to be using technology
for all their work and have probably lost their thinking and intellectual faculties and have
turned into zombies.

(iv) How does the extract reveal the dormant potential of nature?
The dormant potential of nature is revealed in the extract where Mead
stumbled over an uneven section of the sidewalk and saw concrete vanishing under
flowers and grass. Here the cement had vanished and plants and grass had emerged
from underground. This suggests that nature was dormant in winter and would
rejuvenate later under favourable conditions. Nature is not at its full potential but Mead
finds it beautiful and full of the promise of coming back to life. It also shows that where
there is less human activity, nature tries to once again reclaim its place. The natural
world represents the dormant possibilities of life in the dehumanized society.

(v) Explain the simile : “made the lungs blaze like a Christmas tree inside”.
Since the story takes place in winter, nature is depicted as dormant. But the
chill winter air makes Mead's lungs 'blaze like a Christmas tree. The simile comparing
Mead's lungs to a Christmas tree is used to provide Mead's lonesome walks amidst
nature a spiritual connection by associating the simple act of breathing cold air with a
festival. For Mead, walking outdoors is not just a hobby that he loves, it is a reverent
act, similar to that of worship, which rejuvenates and energizes him. Mead enjoys his
lonesome walks amidst natural surroundings and this is depicted by the way he walks,
whistles, hears the sounds and smells the 'rusty smell. For Mead this sensory
connection with nature provides a sense of 'satisfaction' and contentment, quite in
contrast to the people in the houses Mead passes on his walks.

(vi) Why is Mead's shadow compared to the shadow of a hawk?

As Mead walks the "silent and long and empty" street, his only company is his
shadow, described as "moving like the shadow of a hawk in midcountry." Comparing
Mead’s shadow to a hawk suggests that he belongs to the natural world and that his
solitary walks are as natural as a hawk's flight. Not allowing Mead to move about freely
in the world, as is depicted at the end of the story, is akin to clipping a bird’s wings.

(vii) Explain briefly the theme of ‘nonconformity’ as presented in the story.

Leonard Mead's nonconformity is his most important characteristic trait. It is
seen through his enjoyment of solitary walks quite in contrast to the other citizens in the
city, who do not walk around alone for pleasure. The author has described Mead's
lonesome walks alone with words that aptly convey individual empowerment like 'stride,'
'march on,' and 'his journey. Furthermore, it is suggested that Mead's pleasure in
walking at night is not only unusual, but also perhaps dangerous. Mead tries to be
secretive about his walking, and tries to protect himself from being discovered by
wearing sneakers, which make less noise. Mead seems to be quite aware of the fact
that he is defying the norms of the society, and his effort to prevent himself from being
discovered indicates that he is not welcome in the society where he lives.
When the police car stops Mead on one of his walks at night, the narrator
reveals the extent of Mead's nonconformity. When the police car asks Mead his
'business or profession,' Mead replies that he is a writer, which is taken by the car as 'no
profession’. This is because in the age of technology-controlled life, as is depicted by
the author in 2053, no one reads magazines or books anymore, and even Mead 'had
not written for so many years. This places Mead at odds with his society.
 On further interrogation Mead acknowledges the fact that he does not own
a television-a nonconformity so significant that the car simply responds with 'crackling
quiet that in itself was an accusation.' Instead of watching television, he actively pursues
his hobbies such as walking or writing. Furthermore, when Mead tells the robotic car
that he is unmarried, this seems to annoy the police car to such an extent that it tells
him not to speak unless he is asked to.
Being unmarried is another defiance of the social system followed by
everyone else. The police car, which is meant to enforce mandatory conformity under
the State, makes clear to Mead that his individualism and nonconformity will not be
tolerated.
At the end of the story, Mead is punished for his nonconformity in terms of
following an outdated profession, not using modern technology, taking lonesome walks,
and remaining unmarried. Consequently, the car takes him to "the Psychiatric Center for
Research on Regressive Tendencies." The word 'regressive' is generally used in the
negative sense, implying movement back to an earlier, less advanced stage. Ironically,
Mead is regarded as primitive and backward for protecting his individuality by not
following the prefixed societal norms that have dehumanized the other citizens with
technological progress.
The author suggests that it is better to live fully by following one's passions
and desires and be punished for it, rather than living the half-life that the dehumanized
citizens of this future world lead. This is portrayed through the story's loner protagonist,
Mead as leading a contented and happy life in his isolation. The citizens of ‘The
Pedestrian' are alienated and dehumanized precisely because of their conformity to a
dystopian status quo, so the nonconformist and unrepentant Mead is the only one who
experiences happiness.

(viii) How is the scenario of the city of 2053 different during the day from the night? How
does Mead's house appear different from the other houses at night?
During the day, the city of 2053 is described as a hive of activity with a
thunderous surge of cars. The gas stations remain open for refueling of the vehicles.
Numerous vehicles moving in one direction is compared to a great insect rustling and
there is a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarab-beetles. A faint incense seems
to be puttering from the exhaust pipes of the vehicles, skimmed homeward to the far
directions.
But at night, these highways were like streams in a dry season, all stone and
bed and moon radiance. The streets were silent, long and empty, with every
householder remaining indoors, numbed into complacency by his/her television set.
At night all the other houses in the city are dark but Mead’s house had all of its
electric lights brightly lit. Every window had a loud yellow illumination. They appeared
square and warm in the cool darkness.
Extract 4
He turned back on a side street, circling around towards his home. He was within a
block of his destination when the lone car turned a corner quite suddenly and flashed a
fierce white cone of light upon him. He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth,
stunned by the illumination, and then drawn toward it.
A metallic voice called to him:
"Stand still. Stay where you are! Don't move!"

(i) Where was Mead when he saw a lone car? What was the 'lone car' in actuality?
Mead was outside on the road for his usual night walk. He turned back on a
side street, circling around towards his home. He was within a block of his destination
(his house) when he saw a lone car.
The ‘lone car’ was a robotic police car that represented the unrelenting,
authoritative State power used to enforce social conformity. It is the only other character
besides Mead, which speaks, and is operated remotely by a computer. It is the only
police car patrolling the streets.

(ii) State two figures of speech used in the line given below: He was within a block of his
destination when the lone car turned a corner quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white
cone of light upon him.
The two figures of speech are :
Alliteration : He was within a block of his destination when the lone car turned a corner
quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white cone of light upon him. (‘w’ and ‘f’ sounds are
repeated.)
Personification : ‘the lone car turned a corner quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white
cone of light upon him’. (The lone car has been personified here.)

(iii) How did Mead react to the light flashed on him by the car? What is suggested by
Mead's comparison with a moth?
Mead was filled with wonder on seeing a lone car at night because a police car
was a rare sight. He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the
illumination, and then drawn towards it.
Mead was as helpless as a moth. Like a moth, he was attracted towards the
bright light and could not move away from it. Mead, the only pedestrian in the city, is not
immune to the dehumanising effects of the automobiles. The moment he comes in
contact with the robotic police car, he is portrayed as a helpless insect, '[standing]
entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination, and then drawn toward
it.' Mead's personality and individuality seem to vanish the moment he is forced to
interact with the robotic authority of the police car.
(iv) How does this story convey the feeling of fear and foreboding?
The atmosphere in the story is dark and foreboding. This is depicted through
the description of the houses and the householders inside. Unlike the individualistic
Mead, who is outdoors, active and free, the people in their homes are described as
lifeless, passive and trapped in their grave-like homes and are as good as dead. The
people are said to be ‘gray phantoms’, their houses are ‘tomb-like’ and the surroundings
are like a graveyard.
While being interrogated by the voice from the police car, Mead is described
as a bug on display: The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust
through chest.' The ‘needle thrust through chest’ suggests that Mead is physically
restrained by the police car. This description of Mead as an insect to be killed for
research and experimentation, foreshadows Mead's likely end, when he loses his
freedom and is taken away to a Psychiatric Institution, and thereby fully robbed of his
individuality and humanity.

Extract 5
Ever since a year ago, 2052, the election year, the force had been cut down from three
cars to one. Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police, save for this one
lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets.
"Your name?" said the police car in a metallic whisper. He couldn't see the men in it for
the bright light in his eyes.
"Leonard Mead," he said.
"Speak up!"
"Leonard Mead!"
"Business or profession?"
"I guess you'd call me a writer."
"No profession," said the police car, as if talking to itself. The light held him fixed, like a
museum specimen, needle thrust through chest.
"You might say that," said Mr. Mead. He hadn't written in years.

(i) Why did the voice from the police car speak in a metallic whisper? Why could not
Mead see the men in the car? Why was there only one car? What did it suggest about
the people of the city?
The voice from the police car spoke in a metallic whisper because it was a
computerized and non-human voice from a robotic police car, which did not have any
human being in it. It represented the unrelenting, authoritative State power to enforce
social conformity. It possessed absolute power. It was authoritative, harsh and inhuman
as it ordered Mead to freeze and raise his hands as if he were a criminal.
 Mead could not see men in the car because it was a robotic police car, devoid
of human beings, driven by technology.
There was only one car because the crime rate had reduced to such an extent
that there was little need for the police car to enforce law and order.
The presence of only one police car suggests that the people had become
absolute conformist and docile, Subject to strict State control. They are undifferentiated
and dehumanizing by the impact of technology. All of them follow the same prefixed
societal norms and have no individual identities.

(ii) What was Mead's profession? Why did the police car describe it as 'No profession’?
Mead was a writer by profession.
The police car described it as ‘no profession’ because it was considered as an
outdated profession in the age of technology driven life. People no longer used to read
books and magazines. These people seemed to be using technology for all their work
and had probably lost their thinking and intellectual faculties and had turned into
zombies.

(iii) Explain briefly the simile in this extract.

The simile in this extract is : “The light held him fixed like a museum specimen,
needle thrust through chest.”
The moment Mead comes in contact with the robotic police car, he is portrayed
as a helpless insect, standing entranced, like a night moth, stunned by the illumination,
and then drawn towards it. His personality and individuality seem to vanish the moment
he is forced to interact with the robotic authority of the police car.
Mead is viewed as something extraordinary by the society that is to be started
at and examined as a museum specimen because he was quite different from other
citizens. The ‘needle thrust through chest’ suggests that Mead is physically restrained
by the police car. This description of Mead as an insect to be killed for research and
experimentation, foreshadows Mead's likely end, when he loses his freedom and is
taken away to a Psychiatric Institution, and thereby fully robbed of his individuality and
humanity.

(iv) Why had Mead not written anything for years? Which characteristic trait of Mead is
revealed in this extract.
Mead had not written anything for years because there was no work for him as
magazines and books did not sell because people had stopped reading them. In the
age of technology controlled life, as depicted by the author in 2053, people had lost their
thinking and intellectual faculties and had turned into zombies, hence, reading books,
magazinesor any kind of written material was not an option for them.
 Mead described his profession as that of being a writer. It shows that although he
had not written anything for years, he still considered himself to be a writer. It shows he
was unwilling to give up his vocation and identity in order to become a conformist.

(v) Why was Mead arrested? Where did the robotic police car take Mead? Why?
Leonard Mead is taken into custody merely for walking freely on the streets at
night, which is considered as a deviance of societal norms. The robotic police car
identified Mead as a regressive nonconformist. It took him to the ‘Psychiatric Centre for
Research on Regressive Tendencies’ to cure him of his independent, unorthodox
thinking so that he can fall in line with the rest of the population of the city. The
Psychiatric Centre would also perhaps undertake research on how to curb such
tendencies, if any, in future as well.

(vi) Explain the relevance of the story in the present day world.
The setting in the story that the author has created in which Leonard Mead, a
nonconformist, is walking appears to be a believable world for the present day readers.
This is because of the present digital world where everyone seems to be engrossed in
using one or other technological gadgets like televisions, computers, tablets, internet,
webchats, whatsapp and many more. The author has warned through this story that if
we continue making such advances in technology without thinking about their humane
consequences, we will be producing listless, spiritless, unthinking zombies. Nowadays
people are seen more concerned with the fictional, sensationalized arena of the virtual
world. They are becoming more and more emotionless and appear to be superficially
touched by what they are watching which actually has no meaningful impact upon them.
The author has clearly warned the readers against the dangers of relying on machines
to such a degree that they would control humans rather than the other way round. He
predicted that technology would be harnessed to enforce obedience to the social status
quo. This is true as we seem to be heading towards a world where technological
developments are dehumanizing and disempowering the populace.