Kensey Long English 9A Critical Analysis Essay 01-11-16 (1) Essays

Kensey Long English 9A Critical Analysis Essay 01-11-16 (1) Essays Ken sey Long Ms. Goins English 9A 12 January 2016 "A Sounds of Thunder " Zaps " Nethergrave " "A Sound of Thunder" and " Nethergrave " are both short stories based on humans caught up in a world of advancing technology. Although "A Sound of Thunder" and " Nethergrave " are both works of science fiction wi th which adolescents can relate, "A Sound of Thunder" is a better example science fiction based on the author's successful use of setting and surroundings , choice of technology, and choice of theme. Bradbury is more effective in establishing a vivid setting for his reader than Skurzynski . Bradbury uses similes and metaphors to describe time travel, the jungle, and the prehistoric animals. Bradbury paints a clear picture of time travel for the reader when he writes that " The Machine howled. Time was a film run backwards. Suns fled and ten million moons fled after them" ( 290). Bradbury describes the jungle as " the jungle of sixty million, two thousand and fifty-five years before President Keith" and goes on to describe " the Path " in the jungle as "a metal path that struck off into green wilderness, over streaming swamp, among giant ferns and plants" ( 290). The detailed language of Bradbury is like a brush on a canvas when he notes the details of the Tyrannosaurus rex : It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily, reptilian chest. Each lower leg was a piston , a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscle, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior. (294). Skurzynski is not as successful as Bradbury in her depiction of the face of Nethermagus , the vortex, and Jeremy entering the virtual world. When Skurzynski portrays Nethermagus she write s: The black eyebrows angled upward, too symmetrical to be natural. Beneath the cheekbones, green-tinged shadows formed triangles with the apex at the bottom, just touching the corners of the too-red, too-smiling mouth. Black hair peaked in the center of the man's forehead, them swept back as sleekly as if it were molded plastic. (320). Skurzynski delivers to the reader a simple sketch writing that Jeremy watches as "a whirling vortex appeared, so three dimensional that he felt he could dive into it " (320). Jeremy ent ering the virtual world is a significant event; yet, Skurzynski 's depiction of his entrance is brief , as well : "flying through the whorls. They rotated around him; he was a weightless body caught in a fast-spinning, kaleidoscope tunnel " (320). Badbury engages the reader much more effectively with descriptions of the setting and surroundings than Skurzynski . The technology in "A Sound of Thunder" is more believable that the technology in " Nethergrave ". Bradbury's use of and manner of detailing the Time Machine allow s the reader to believe it could be possible. The reader can compare it t o stepping onto a train or bus since Bradbury uses phrases such as "the silver metal and roaring light" with a "padded seat" and states , "The Machine slowed; its scream fell to a murmur . The Machine stopped " (289-290). In contrast, the vision of as Jeremy, an adolescent young man, being "sucked inside" his " twenty-one inch monitor screen" seems far less plausible ( Skurzynski , 320). Bradbury , again, scores higher when it comes to using more believable technology. The theme in "A Sound of Thunder" is mor e applicable to the life of an adolescent than the theme of " Nethergrave " . Bradbury explores the theme that humans must be responsible in their use of technology, because the effects of technology can be far reaching into the future. Today, adolescent' s face challenges with the safe, responsible use of technology just as Eckels in "A Sound of Thunder". The ab ility to travel back in time is so inviting; yet, one small misstep by Eckels changes the world forever and ultimately take s his life. Here , Bradbury outline s