![]() When a tree branch finally falls on the house, causing a fire, the house frantically tries to ward it off, throwing all of its systems into overdrive to fight the fire to no avail. ![]() From the way voices direct the family’s every step, the reader begins to suspect that the house has some kind of obsession with control and order. When the dog dies, the house callously sweeps its remains into an incinerator. It handles the dog brusquely and seems more concerned with cleaning the mud it tracks in than with tending to the dog’s needs. When the dog appears, the reader sees a new, darker side of the house. ![]() ![]() From the description of how the house shoos away animals, the reader even gets the sense that the house is prudish. It also appears to be industrious when it goes through the motions of getting everyone ready. It seems affectionate, since it misses the family. At first the house demonstrates more docile features of its personality. The house’s character traits are embodied by the different machines inside it (some of which feature so prominently that they can be considered characters in their own right, such as the clock, the robot mice, and the voice reading poetry). Despite being inhuman, it has a complex personality. The house-an artificially intelligent, automated machine-is the main character of the story. ![]()
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