The book, “Into the Killing Seas,” by Michael Spradlin, is about how World War Two breaks out and two boys named Patrick and Teddy must separate from their parents for safety. They miss their parents so much that they decide to secretly hide in a crate in a ship that takes them back. A companion who helps them, named Benny, privately gives them some supplies and water. Suddenly, the ship, or Indianapolis, is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and the ship begins to sink. The three make it out alive, but help is far and they are floating on a piece of a crate.
As the boom from the transatlantic slave trade was being put into a question of universal humanity and morality, millions of Africans were still being sold into a life of victimhood. Amongst those millions were freemen being stripped from their homes, because of their race, in the core and coastal regions of Africa. The Neirsee Incident occurred on, “January 21st, 1828” at a “British owned palm oil house near old Calabar” (Blaufarb and Clarke 71). The Neirsee as it was stopped at the port near the British owned palm oil house, was interrupted by a character name Feraud who “slipped out of old Calabar on the Neirsee”, where the ship was eventually seized after it had, “just loaded its human cargo” (Blaufarb and Clarke 72). The incident had led to innocent British citizens lives being sold into the slave trade.
In the essay “The Things with Feathers That Perches in the Soul “, Anthony Doerr asks “What lasts? Is there anything you’ve made in your life that will still be here 150 years from now? Is there anything on your shelves that will be tagged and numbered and kept in a warehouse like this?” (Doerr 97). The idea the author is trying to imply there are things in this world that will fade.
The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic science fiction short story about a hunter named Eckles, he visits the Time Safari, a company that sends you to the past. Eckles travels back in time with a group of three to shoot and kill a prehistoric dinosaur. Nethergrave is about a young boy named Jeremy, who plays sports, and has a group of internet friends. Later, Jeremy is faced with a decision whether to stay in the real world, or leave it for the virtual introduced by a great being. This critical response will be comparing, and contrasting both stories by making points such as, how the stories fit into the science fiction genre, the characterization between Eckles and Jeremy, the theme/message of the stories, dialogue, and writing style.
"Nethergrave" and "A Sound Of Thunder" are both short stories both written in Third person limited point of view. These stories are both considered Science Fiction and have a setting of alternating life. Nethergrave was set in present day and A sound of thunder was set in the past as well as the future. Both stories use great sensory details to thoroughly explain the story and feel as if you were in the story. ‘"A Sound of Thunder" is based on time travel and changing the way of life by doing one simple mistake.
The theme of Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" is enhanced by his use of foreshadowing throughout the story. The story follows a man named Eckles on his journey to the past on a hunt for a real dinosaur. As the events in the past unfold, Eckles ultimately alters the future forever by taking a small step off the Path. The path is there to make sure the time travelers do not affect the future. Unfortunately, Eckles learns the true consequences of his actions when he returns to a changed future.
In the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pollan claims we should be more knowledgeable about what we consume as omnivores. As omnivores we have a variety of food, we can choose from, however, we don’t regularly make the best decisions for ourselves. Pollan argues this by showing us where our food really comes from and how we can find many unwanted extras. Pollan shows us that we’ve evolved as humans from how we used to eat to how we eat now. Pollan argues this by introducing us to all the food chains we value today, some much more than others.
The Pigman, written by Paul Zindel, is the adventurous story of two teenagers who befriend a nice, lonely old man and their time together. Although there were many wonderful memories involving John, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati (the Pigman), sad memories were also made. The Pigman dying was a difficult time for two of the main characters, John and Lorraine. The pigs from the Pigman’s special collection being broken; and the baboon, Bobo, dying were the largest contributions to Mr. Pignati’s death. There may have been other factors; however, these had the most impact towards his death.
Although both Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, and Ray Bradbury, author of A Sound of Thunder, use foreshadowing, A Sound of Thunder creates more suspense for readers. Both are excellent, but Bradbury uses outstanding diction to emphasize the importance of certain events in the plot. While the pair of stories are equally well written, A Sound of Thunder uses it's foreshadowing to allure readers into continuing the short story. In A Sound of Thunder, there are many instances of suspenseful foreshadowing.
In the short stories “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, both main characters are great, experienced and risky hunters. Travis from “A Sound of Thunder” takes people through a time machine back in time to hunt dinosaurs. General Zaroff from “The Most Dangerous Game” has found a new interest instead of hunting animals, and he now hunts people. Both of these stories involve hunting out of the ordinary things and show why each character chooses to do so. Although Travis and General Zaroff are both great, experienced hunters, they differ in the game they hunt, their attitudes towards others, and their motivation for shooting people.
Introduction The book “On Killing” by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman discusses the taboo topic of killing and how humans are affected by it. The author does this with the help of testimonials coming from veterans who served in wars such as World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. The book looks at the act of killing and discusses some of the psychological methods that have been introduced to make soldiers effective killers as well as some psychological effects soldiers face in battle and when they return home. The purpose of this book is “to not only uncover the dynamics of killing, but to help pierce the taboo of killing that prevented the men in his book and many millions like them from sharing their pain” (pg.XXXV).
“Attack Dogs” From the 1950s through the 1960s the United States presence the effort by the African American community to gain equality and eliminate segregation in what is called the Civil Rights Movement. One of the images that highly influenced the outcome of the movement and helped achieve legislation that treated everyone equal was “Attack Dogs,” a photograph taken by Charles Moore in 1963 and published in the LIFE magazine. This photograph helped shed light on the unethical treatment of the peaceful protesters by police officers in Birmingham, Alabama, which essentially aided in gaining even more momentum and support for the Civil Rights Movement. Writer John Kaplan from LIFE magazine depicts Charles Moore as the most well-known and influential photographer during the Civil Rights Movement from 1958-1965 (127).
“He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon. There was a sound of thunder.” (Bradbury 44) This ends the short story “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury. “A Sound of Thunder” takes place somewhere in America during the year 2055, a group of hunters then travel back to the prehistoric dinosaur age.
Lamb to the Slaughter is an action packed short story about a wife who is let down by her husband and proceeds to kill him as an act of revenge. Obviously much more happens in this story consisting of humour, action, mystery and irony. Roald Dahl is a master of writing short stories in ways that attract readers, draw them into what is happening through using literary elements and universal themes to make the story relatable to the readers. In this story the main literary elements were foreshadowing, situation and dramatic irony, imagery and symbolism which really drew me in and kept me attached to the story. Literary elements are what make a story powerful and attracts readers to continue reading in the story and in this story they highlight the universal theme of Revenge and Betrayal.
Although when they return to the future and it has changed, they learn that Eckles had killed a butterfly. By killing something so small, and seemingly pointless, the whole future was different and the consequences were irreversible. The path in the setting was meant to prevent any changes in the future from occurring, but by stepping off it, it created the overall theme of the story. The Setting of “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury impacts the story tremendously.
