Descriptive Language In Ray Bradbury's Pendragon

Would you want to read an entire piece of literature without any description? The most common answer would be “no,” which shows how relevant descriptive language is to any text. Descriptive language is a very influential craft tool that is used throughout many pieces of literature. The effect it has on those texts is so essential that if used consistently and purposefully, it allows the readers to visualize the scene that is created by the author. This essay will compare and contrast the descriptive language used within the short story, “A Sound of Thunder,” by author Ray Bradbury, and the novel, Pendragon, by D.J. MacHale. In “A Sound of Thunder,” the descriptive language is used to portray the scenes that occur throughout the story and acts

In “A Sound of Thunder,” the descriptive language focuses on the actions. “Like a stone idol, like a mountain avalanche, Tyrannosaurus fell. Thundering, it clutched trees, pulled them with it. It wrenched and tore the metal Path. The men flung themselves back and away. The body hit, ten tons of cold flesh and stone. The guns fired. The Monster lashed its armored tail, twitched its snake jaws, and lay still. A fount of blood spurted from its throat. Somewhere inside, a sac of fluids burst. Sickening gushes drenched the hunters. They stood, red and glistening.” The descriptive word choice that Bradbury used, describes the actions that take place as the Tyrannosaurus rex is shutting down, leading to its death - organs malfunctioning, liquids running, everything shutting off, snapped delicate forearms, meat settled, quivering. The descriptive actions creates a moving image that the reader can visualize. Whereas in the novel, Pendragon, the description focuses on the use of vivid adjectives, “Outside of the palace the two armies were drawing closer. The Milago miners were making their way through the dense forest, while the Bedoowan knights massed along the far side of a giant, open field. This grassy, sloping field was where the long-awaited battle would take place. Behind the Bedoowan was nothing but ocean.” In order to create the picturesque scene of the preparations for battle, the author uses strong adjectives to describe the scenery of the battleground. MacHale uses descriptive language to allow the reader to visualize the setting such as the dense forest, and the giant, open field. The way MacHale uses the language is still very effective, but uses many adjectives to describe the scene rather than the descriptive actions that are used in Bradbury’s short