in Bradbury's writings. In "There was an Old Woman," a vigorous old woman is actually able to defeat death and stay alive. He often "reduces death to a palatable symbol, a somewhat theatrical figure in a Halloween costume" (30). He minimizes death to an obstacle that can be defeated. The human spirit ends up prevailing in a fight for its life.Imagination is one of the most valuable things to Bradbury. This is most clearly expressed through "No Particular Night or Morning." Traveling through space, two men debate existence. One man, Hitchcock, says that whatever is not in his presence is presumed dead. After the two men debate for a while, a comet hits the ship they are traveling in. Hitchcock, convinced that God is trying to kill him, goes insane. Hitchcock gets in a spacesuit and exits the ship. As he floats into space and away from the ship, Hitchcock talks to himself. He tells himself "'No more space ship now. Never was any. No peopleNothing. Only space. Only space. Only the gap'" (Bradbury The Stories of Ray Bradbury173). To Bradbury, a living human without an imagination is worse than never being alive (Johnson 54)....
