# William Lantry — Short Fiction character guide

> William Lantry in Short Fiction by Ray Bradbury.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Lantry, Mr. Lantry

**First appearance:** 0001-the-pendulum

## Snapshot

A pale, sleepless stranger in a world that burns its dead, moving through the Incinerator with wrong answers and a knife in his pocket.

## Who they are

Lantry is an outsider in a society where everyone sleeps on command, children tour the Incinerator to learn the clean fire death, and no one is pale. He gives himself away at every turn — claiming he has never been here, admitting he cannot sleep — while the Attendant sniffs the air and remembers a cow dead two days in the sun. His mounting terror and his quick violence make him the story's central unease.

## Relationships

### [McClure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/mcclure)

_rivalry_

McClure and Lantry are antagonists locked in a bitter conflict, possibly over power or ideology.

### [Berman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/berman)

_professional_

Berman and Lantry are associates in a business or criminal network, cooperating for mutual gain.

### [McClure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/mcclure)

_rivalry_

McClure and Lantry are antagonists locked in a bitter conflict, possibly over power or ideology.

### [Berman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/berman)

_professional_

Berman and Lantry are associates in a business or criminal network, cooperating for mutual gain.

### [Berman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/berman)

_professional_

Berman and Lantry are associates in a business or criminal network, cooperating for mutual gain.

## In the story

### [Pillar of Fire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/pillar-of-fire)

The protagonist, a resurrected man from the past who is hunted by a future society that fears his historical knowledge and mortality.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/i)

The last dead man, risen from his grave, who hates the living world and plans to destroy its Incinerators.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/ii)

Commits the first murder in centuries by killing an Incinerator attendant.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/iii)

Protagonist of the chapter; a resurrected murderer who sabotages the Salem Incinerator, causing a massive explosion. He explores the future society, learning its vulnerabilities, and plans to reintroduce murder and fear.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/iv)

The pale, lying, walking man from Mars who decides to kill and destroy Incinerators to create an army of the dead; he attempts to raise corpses with ancient rituals but fails, then looks to Mars for hope.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/chapters/v)

A man resurrected from the past who plots to destroy the Incinerators and spread fear, identifying with classic horror figures.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters/william_lantry
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_46_se/characters