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Similarities Between A Sound Of Thunder And Harrison Bergeron

1145 Words5 Pages

Through Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” and Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s “Harrison Bergeron”, give us two different stories about societies in a dystopian future and the consequences of what the future may or not await us. Dystopian literature has long been a popular genre that imagines dark and oppressive futures where societal norms and values are twisted, and the human condition is questioned. Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" and Kurt Vonnegut Jr's "Harrison Bergeron" are two short stories that go into dystopian visions of the future. While both stories share common themes, they also have different perspectives on the consequences of technology, the dangers of government control, and the impact on individuals and society. This essay will provide …show more content…

In "A Sound of Thunder," the use of time travel technology leads to unintended consequences when Eckels, a time traveler, steps off the designated path and crushes a butterfly in the past, resulting in a chain of events that dramatically alters the present and future (Bradbury). This highlights the butterfly effect and the unpredictable consequences of tampering with the natural order of things. In "Harrison Bergeron," advanced technology is used by the government to suppress the unique qualities of individuals, imposing handicaps on them to achieve a forced and unnatural equality, which ultimately results in a dehumanizing society where individuality is removed altogether (Vonnegut).
Both stories warn against the negative impact of uncontrolled or misused technology on society and reveal the consequences behind …show more content…

On the other hand, "Harrison Bergeron" has a satirical and darkly humorous tone, using exaggeration and absurdness to poke at societal norms and values (Vonnegut).
Another way both stories differ is by their use in government control, "A Sound of Thunder" primarily focuses on the consequences of time travel and its impact on the present and future (Bradbury). In contrast, "Harrison Bergeron" specifically emphasizes the government's oppressive control and manipulation of individuals to achieve perfect equality (Vonnegut).
Another way both stories differ is in the protagonists and conflict. In "A Sound of Thunder," the protagonist is Eckels, a time traveler who disrupts the past and faces the consequences of his actions by unintentionally destroying a butterfly, creating the paradox of the same name(Bradbury). Alice Hoffman from Ploughshares mentions that "A Sound of Thunder" predates chaos theory, often called the butterfly effect…In principle, if a butterfly moves its wings in one corner of the globe, it can affect the weather across the world. Every cause has an effect, no matter how small.” Although maybe time travel may not be possible, the theory still applies to the modern day, where actions still have consequences

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The technologies in “A Sound of Thunder” include; the time travel machine with its abilities to travel back in time and the antigravity path the hunters walked

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The two stories, “Harrison Bergeron” and Fahrenheit 451, both have common themes. The common themes of the stories may include; our reliance on technology can spiral out of control if we let it, knowledge is joyful and painful, and that we can be confined by our own self-censorship. All of these themes are exhibited throughout both stories frequently. Whether it is as Montag has conflict with his wife over books or as Harrison’s parents forget right from wrong in their society. In Fahrenheit 451, their technology definitely gets out of control.

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Harrison Bergeron is based in the future, as well as A Sound of Thunder, likewise is Welcome to the monkey house. These all stories are based on what the world will be like in the future, but some of them are based on the near future like Welcome to the monkey house, while A sound of thunder and Harrison Bergeron are based a little further in the future. But they are all based on different futuristic things. While Harrison Bergeron is made to make everyone the equal, A sound of thunder is about time travel and hunting, and Welcome to the Monkey House is about sustaining a population and making a world where there is no sexual desires. Now the points of view are the same they are all Third Person while they may be about more

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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.

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Kurt Vonnegut uses characterization to describe how the characters act in this society. Vonnegut also uses style to show how he uses science fiction and dystopia in “Harrison Bergeron”. The theme demonstrated in “Harrison Bergeron” is equality is not meant to make one person better than another. Kurt Vonnegut in “Harrison Bergeron”, demonstrates that equality based on characteristics is not a good thing for society. Harrison Bergeron is a short story based on the year 2081, where everybody is equal.

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