A Sound Of Thunder Mood

The plot for Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” cannot exist without the two settings, a distant past and perceivable future, which create a hyperbolic portrayal of cause and effect on society which is easily visualized and comprehensible. The plot relies on a significant length of time to demonstrate a hyperbolic portrayal of cause and effect. A smaller length of time doesn’t create the same extremes that the author is trying to portray. Any period than the Mesozoic Era would shorten the chain reaction, it would no longer be a hyperbole and diminishes the ominous warnings Mr. Travis provides of altering the past even in the slightest of ways. Without it, the reader would not be able to visualize the ripple effect Bradbury so effectively illustrates,

These questions don’t occur to the reader when the setting predates humans for millions of years. The plot requires an event in the past (the cause) to alter the outcome of the future (the effect). The story depicts a ripple effect across millions of years in which one seemingly insignificant action has drastic implications for the future. The action (setting on a butterfly) comes before the reaction (an altered 2055). A plot in which the settings were reversed would not make sense; an act in the future cannot possibly impact the past. The same can be said about an act in an unfamiliar past (2055, hypothetically) effecting an even more uncomprehensible future (4055, hypothetically). If the story were based on these dates (both unfamiliar to the reader but one pre-dating the other, providing a past 2055 for the future hunters of 4055 to travel back to), it would be that much more difficult for the reader to visualize the

A future further beyond 2055 A.D. would be significantly more difficult to visualize, detracting from the realism of the threat technology poses to society. The future date Bradbury chose, 2055 A.D., is far enough away to engage the readers imagination of the advances of technology but not so far away that the reader cannot easily understand and picture what that future looks like. As it is, the future Bradbury chose is relatable and comprehendible; he refers to a U.S. presidential election, includes modern-day weaponry used by the hunters, and includes various historical references when illustrating how actions in the past could alter history. Setting predating technology is a critical component to the plot of the story. Bradbury illustrates the potentially disastrous effects technology can have on humanity; a time machine takes the characters back to a prehistoric age where one negligible act drastically alters the future. A setting pre-dating technology allows the reader to pinpoint the root problem that created the circumstances, allowing the ripple effect to take