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Short Story 'The Sound Of Thunder'

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During the Cold War, the USSR and the United States engaged in a race for better technology. Each country feared that the other was trying to gain the upper hand to maintain world dominance. Each of the two countries wanted to avoid attack or possible invasion. The United States was the first country to develop any nuclear weapons. They developed these weapons through the Manhattan Project and were proven successful when the the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan at the end of WWII. The USSR developed them a year or two later. These stories teach that advanced technology can be very dangerous even if they are not intended to hurt anyone. In the short story “ The Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury they use technology which is represented by time travel incorrectly. It was incorrect because they should have used it to discover about our past but instead, they used it for hunting purposes. Also they know it is dangerous because if they touch anything it will mess up the future. As a result, the main character, Eckles, goes off the trail and completely messed up the future.“‘Stay on the path. Never step off.’ says the Tour Guide” (pg 3). This connects to the cold war by showing how technology can be dangerous even if it isn’t intended to be used. …show more content…

The Earthmen use a nuclear weapon to find out more about the atmosphere of Mars. They shot the bomb at mars and it accidentally destroyed all the Martian population on mars. This shows that advanced tech was used in a wrong way. Because the earth men wanted to find out more about mars, but they ended up “blowing up” information that they could have discovered from the Martians. “Each planet would gain greatly, neither would lose.”says the Author on pg 1 The connection to the cold war from this story is that advanced tech was used a lot in the cold war for the wrong

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If not taken seriously, technology can do just as much damage to humans as it does benefit them. In Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder”, an act of carelessness turns out to result in a time paradox leaving the travelers helpless. Once the travelers arrived ready to hunt, out of fear one traveler ran towards the opposite way provoking the beast, “The Monster lunged forward, the rifles jerked up and blazed fire. ”(Bradbury, 81, A Sound of Thunder) In an instance the monster perished causing disbelief across everyone’s faces, a paradox was created.

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During this time period of the Cold War, jets were furnished with fail-safe measures that instruct attacks. When the United States realizes all fail-safe mechanisms have failed, the President must take immediate

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We guarantee no one leaves the Path. He left it. Oh, the fool! I'll have to report to the government. They might revoke our license to travel.

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This quote was explaining the action that made this entirely different reality unfold. The action of Eckols, stepping on, and killing one singular butterfly. The way the Safari was set up, was to ensure that there would not be any animals killed that would change anything about the future, and time that they were living in. One small mistake was Eckels, stepping off the path and killing one butterfly that was sitting in the mud where he stepped. Why risk the entirety of a future off of one mistake.

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In the story The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury, a theme that arises is that every action has a consequence. Three solid consequences in this story is the risk that they could die, a big fee if you go off the path, as well as a large fee for just going on the safari, and we have become illiterate. To begin, when Eckles asks "Does this safari guarantee I come back alive?" The official says that they guarantee nothing. The consequence of going on this safari is that they could end up wounded, dead, or even destroying the planet in some way.

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Being able to listen and follow directions is a big key to success in life. In life if someone does not follow directions it can lead to big consequences because it can affect the outcome of something. If someone does not follow directions or the law they can be put in jail, or maybe even killed. in Ray Bradbury’s short story “A Sound Of Thunder,”the main character is murdered and the future because of Eckel’s own stupidity, the anger of the safari guide, and the lax screening process of Safari, Inc.

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Many people were affected by the Cold War, especially the people in the story “Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed.” Written by Ray Bradbury. The Cold War happened when the United States and Russia, two military superpowers, had tension due to the brutal leader Joseph Stalin and because of the spread of communism. This tension affected many people who lived during this time of tension. The story “Dark They were and Golden-Eyed.”

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In "A Sound of Thunder," by Ray Bradbury Eckels uses technology to be able to go back in time, but due to his actions and ignoring the warnings he receives, he ends up changing the future. Martha in “Be Right Back” Owen Harris directed by tries to move on from her husband by using a robot, but unknowingly doing that it is not good for her, and then cannot get rid of the robot Eckels and Martha both try to use technology thinking it will be harmless, but while Eckels was informed of the potential consequences of going back in time/using the time machine, Martha went into everything not knowing what could happen. Eckels knew the risks of using the time machine, but he continued on his journey anyway knowing there could consequences. Eckels was

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(Page 1) The quote above shows a glimpse of the devastation that the nuclear weapon has caused, and how quickly lives must have been ended. The automated machines continue to perform daily routines without fail, despite the obvious absence of their masters. Because of the water depleted by the senseless completion of chores, it leaves the house vulnerable to fire, and the robots are unable to fend off the flames, resulting in the house being destroyed. Throughout all of his stories, Bradbury continues to criticize weaponized technology, as well as technology that seems to take over human thoughts and emotions.

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Small Things are the Most Meaningful Individuals do not realize that all of their decisions can dramatically transform their life. Currently, teenagers are not thinking about the consequences when they make unreasonable, foolish choices and how it can affect their ability get hired for a job, getting accepted into college and their mental and physical health. Ray Bradbury uses cause and effect in The Sound of Thunder to convey the theme that every action, no matter how small, can have an enormous impact in the future. In the story, Eckels does not recognize how serious time traveling is and how one mistake can significantly affect his future As soon as Eckels pinpoints the Tyrannosaurus, fear engulfs his body to the point where he feels as though he can no longer hunt.

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As soon as Eckels exits the time machine, the descriptions are vivd enough that the audience can believe they are in the “jungle [that] was the entire world forever and forever”. The Tyrannosaurus Rex is described as “a great evil god” with “delicate watchmaker's claws”, a mouth with “a fence of teeth like daggers”, and “ostrich eggs” for eyes (Bradbury). We are transported to this previously unconceivable jungle with descriptors that make the setting easy to imagine. This technique is essential to making the reader take the moral of the story to heart. If we can become so immersed in a story, we begin to apply our own experiences and the story can influence us and our futures.

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Cold War was an era of geopolitical tension between the USA and USSR. Many people feared a nuclear war that would kill countless people and irradiate the land. This fear bleed even to schools, “At school, we had air-raid drills: an ominous bell would go off and we’d file into the hall, fall to the floor, cover our heads with our coats, and imagine our hair falling out, the bones in our arms going soft.” (Alvarez 127) Alvarez uses the order of the air-drills meant to protect students in juxtaposition to the horror it instills in students.

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