The Fog Horn
In The Fog Horn, the narrator and a man named McDunn work in a stone tower, far out from land, to alert ships passing through the fog of their proximity to land. The tower emitted red and white lights, as well as a "Voice," the deep cry that the Fog Horn sent out into the world. It was lonely work. On the night before it was the narrator's turn to return to land, McDunn tells him a story.
He proceeds to tell him a tale about an animal like a dinosaur who comes every year at that particular time, attracted by the sound of the horn. It comes to meet the producer of the sound, whatever cretarie it may be, because it is lonely and wants company.
This story articulates the basic human need of communicating with others. Remarkably, Bradbury achieves this through a non-human figure, a monster that rises from the sea. Bradbury's tale of the monster traveling for an entire year through the sea just to communicate with the fog horn allows the reader to empathize with the monster, even though it does not resemble a human in the slightest. This empathy allows the reader to realize how central the need of communication is to basic human happiness.
Adapted from Bradburyarchive blog
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