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Comparing 'By The Waters Of Babylon And A Sound Of Thunder'

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28, February, 2023 Vubbara 1
Walker 1B
English 1 ADV
The Risks of Uncontrolled Technology
Environmental Destruction can have disastrous results, emphasizing the significance of making responsible decisions and respecting the natural environment. This belief is seen clearly in Stephen Vincent Benet’s post apocalyptic short story, “By The Waters of Babylon,” through the plot development seen throughout John’s Journey. Additionally, this is seen in Ray
Bradbury’s Sci-Fi short story, “A Sound of Thunder,” through the plot development seen after
Eckels killed the butterfly in the past. Both "By the Waters of Babylon" and "A Sound of
Thunder" show the devastation that human activity has caused to the ecosystem, serving as a warning that our choices …show more content…

He comes to understand that the destruction of the old world was largely caused by humans mindlessly using destructive technology, and that the ruins of the old world still hold dangerous secrets that could harm the living. According to the text, "Very great they were, and wonderful and broken—broken in the time of the Great
Burning when the fire fell out of the sky" (Benet 39). This event caused widespread destruction and is attributed to the use of harmful technology. Similarly, in "A Sound of Thunder," the time travelers are warned not to make any changes to the past, as even the smallest changes could have devastating consequences on the future. Eckels killing of the butterfly is shown to have impacting effects. According to the text, “ A small thing that could upset balances and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes, all down the years across Time.”(Bradbury, 128) This quote from Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder"
28, February, 2023 Vubbara 2
Walker 1B
English 1 ADV emphasizes the idea that even seemingly small actions can have huge consequences, just like

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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.

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Throughout the existence of literature, there have been numerous pieces that portrays life in a dystopian American. In the narrative, "By the Water of Babylon", Stephen Vincent Benet tells the story of a young priest 's journey to gather metal in a post-apocalyptic New York City. In contrast, the Pulizter Prize winning novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy displays the hardships faced by a middle-aged man and his adolescent son as they travel south through an ash covered wasteland that were once the Appalachian Mountains. Even though these pieces of fiction are seperated by decades of various turmoil, the authors accomplish numerous comparisons and contrasts that exemplify a post-apocalyptic America.

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In the short story, “A sound of Thunder”, Ray Bradbury used figurative language to make a bigger impact on the story. When Eckels goes into the office he sees and hears, “... A sound like a gigantic bonfire burning all of Time, all the years and all the parchment calendars- all the hours piled high and set aflame.” The author, Ray Bradbury, wanted his audience to have a specific image set in the audience’s head. By using a simile he help the reader imagine how Eckle’s is going to get to the past.

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This would then cause a ripple effect through time, leading to no prey for larger animals. Through this example, one can see how time travel technology is dangerous not only for the past, but for the present and future as well. The theme in A Sound of Thunder is one that calls forth the thought-provoking ideas associated with the dangers of technology. Through its ideas of out-of-control possibilities, unforeseen endings, and the butterfly effect, technological hazards are presented through the tale of Eckles and Travis on their journey to hunt an ancient creature: a

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Erika Wang Mitrevski ENG4U1 March 9, 2015 State the topic question you are answering for this condensed essay outline: How does the author depict humanity’s destructive nature? Theme Statements: The thirst for knowledge is inevitable in human nature. Harnessing Statements: The short story “By the Waters of Babylon” explores the idea of a post-apocalyptic world where the advancement of technology leads an entire city to extermination. As a result, the consequences of mankind’s mistakes determines the outcome of the future.

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In Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" and Gloria Skurzynski's "Nethergrave," both authors tour conceptions of time travel and its consequences. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that "A Sound of Thunder" is the superior of the two texts due to its well-developed characters, complex plot, and effective writing style. One reason for this is the deeper level of character development present in "A Sound of Thunder. " The protagonist, Eckels, is depicted as a, nervous, indecisive, brave, curious and courageous beyond measure, but he is far from admirable because his of his selfish and impulsive ways, who's fear of the unknown leads him to make a fateful mistake. This internal conflict adds layers to his character and makes him more relatable to the reader.

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Gloria Skurzynski’s “Nethergrave” is a better work of science fiction than Ray Bradbury’s story “A Sound of Thunder” because “Nethergrave” is more realistic in how the future could turn out to be if the internet becomes advanced enough. The stories “Nethergrave” and “A Sound of Thunder” both have interesting plots that seem plausible in the realm of science fiction. “Nethergrave” fits into the realm of science fiction quite well because the story involves very advanced technology that seems almost unbelievable. “Nethergrave” also delves into the theory of cyberspace and how different it could be from the physical world. “A Sound of Thunder” also fits into the science fiction category well.

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Theme: There are a plethora themes in this story, perhaps the utmost observable and distinguishable theme is the price for knowledge. Throughout the exposition of the story, the reader witnesses Johns’ tribe clueless about metals. In the story, it states “...he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest... He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die…”.

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During this time they were told to not go off the path but then something goes wrong. In the story, the first example of foreshadowing is used by Bradbury, when the group of hunters/time travelers have just

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In the short story “There will come soft rains” by Ray Bradbury and Poem by the same name written by Sara Teasdale both tackle the idea of what would happen after we are gone. Bradbury decides to write of how technology would react to us being gone. Teasdale thinks about how nature would react and the conclusion she thought of would be of indifference from nature as it would barely know we were gone. Both these stories use Connotative Diction, Connotative Imagery, and Personification to develop their themes, like that of Bradbury’s theme of the danger of technology when we rely on it heavily, while Teasdale explores the idea of how insignificant mankind is in the face of the natural world.

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Example: “Eckels felt himself fall into a chair. He fumbled crazily at the thick slime on his boots. He held up a clod of dirt, trembling, ‘No, it can’t be. Not a little thing like that, No!” (Pg.7) Discussion: He accidently kills a living creature which is the butterfly and is surprised by how much of a big difference it has made in the future just by that one little insect.

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Ray Bradbury used figurative language to describe the Tyrannosaurus Rex in “A Sound of Thunder. ’’ Ray Bradbury compared the legs to pistons, this means that the Tyrannosaurus Rex has strong legs. He compared it’s eyes to ostrich eggs, this means that the dinosaur has big eyes. He also compared muscles to thick ropes, this means that the dino has big thighs.

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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.

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