A scene from 'I See You Never' from Ray Bradbury's collection of short stories from 'The Golden Apples of the Sun'. Mr. Ramirez bids fairwell to Mrs. O'Bryan.
Monday, October 5, 2009
I See You Never
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Golden Apples of the Sun
A scene from 'I See You Never' from Ray Bradbury's collection of short stories from 'The Golden Apples of the Sun'. Mr. Ramirez bids fairwell to Mrs. O'Bryan.
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3 comments:
I think this may be one of the shortest short stories written by Ray Bradbury and I have a hard time figuring out if he has some deeper meaning. I need to be careful not to read too much into these tales and invent themes
or morals that Bradbury never intended.
In the meantime, here are some guesses:
- Mr. Ramirez not only loved America but loved Mrs. O'Brian as well?
- Mr. Ramirez worked in an airplane factory to support the war effort. Mrs. O'Brian's husband died in the war?
- Ramirez and O'Brian are both immigrants to America, both contributors to defending America?
- America embraces its immigration heritage from two generations ago but rejects the new generation
- Mrs. O'Bryan realizes too late that she too will miss Mr. Ramirez. Does Mrs. O'Brian symbolize America?
I think your final conclusion if the closest one. The story is packed with meaning: a man who has contributed to the society is to be excised from it because he has not strictly followed the rules to be there. His contributions mean nothing, his character means nothing. All that matters to the state is that he has not followed the rules.
And while Mrs. O’Brien has a sense of loss, at last, her family does not. For so long as the bread and circuses are maintained, the people will not rise up.
Perhaps I stumble into another interpretation as well: Mr. Ramirez as the Jew in Nazi Germany. The contributing, hard working member of society who becomes the scapegoat of a government unable to address the real root of its problems.
The question is poised: if no one will speak up when Mr. Ramirez is “disappeared,” who will speak up when Mrs. O’Brien disappears too?
I particulalry like that none of the individuals have defined faces. They could be any of us... and anyone.
The more I consider the title of the story, "I See You Never," the more I like my Nazi interpertation of the story. For who is to say that Mr. Ramirez will ever make it back to his "homeland"? Gone is gone.
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