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Ray Bradbury's Suspense In 'A Sound Of Thunder'

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IV. TONE
The major tone of “A Sound of Thunder” is suspense. From the beginning of the story Bradbury succeeds in placing the reader in Eckels’ shoes. The audience absorbs the danger and suspense that Eckels feels as he is told not only that his safety is not guaranteed, but also that he would not be the first person to perish on a Time Safari. The tension from this first encounter continues to build throughout the story as the hunting party is informed of the possibility to alter history with a simple misstep. The intensity peaks with Eckels’ encounter with the T. rex and passes with his realization that he has changed the course of time. However, the reader never fully escapes Bradbury’s suspense as he ends with a final and ambiguous gunshot. …show more content…

SPEAKER
“A Sound of Thunder” is told by Ray Bradbury, who remains unnamed and uninvolved in the story. The story is written n the third person omniscient.
VII. STRUCTURE
The story is written in chronological order, following the regular sequence of time over the span of a few hours. The plot begins with Eckels inquiring to the official if his safety was guaranteed by Time Safari, and ends with Travis firing a shot after realizing the full effect of Eckels’ actions. Bradbury incorporates the motif of the sound of thunder, reinforcing his suspenseful tone with the allusion to an approaching storm.
“A Sound of Thunder” is found in Ray Bradbury’s short story anthology R is for Rocket. The book consists of 184 pages, containing seventeen short stories. “A Sound of Thunder” is the seventh story and spans approximately twelve pages.
VIII. IMAGERY
Ray Bradbury’s writing in “A Sound of Thunder” overflows with its uses of figurative language in order to draw the reader into the environment and the plot. Bradbury’s use of descriptive images, coupled with the suspenseful tone, creates an aura of obscurity and mystery. By utilizing an array of imagery, he manages to submerge the reader in a prehistoric world completely foreign, yet now more

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