A Sound Of Thunder Literary Devices

Words: 1271
Pages: 6

What interests you when you read a story the characters, the plot, the tension/suspense of it all? Well, no matter what it is that interests you, it probably has something to do with writing tools. Writing tools that used to add depth, realism, and detail can be hard to master. Today you will be looking at the many tools that a writer can use to add meaning to a story. One writer in particular, Ray Bradbury, is a wonderful example of someone who uses these tools to their full potential in his stories writes.

In Bradbury's stories the writer uses characterization to deepen your feelings towards the characters who are suffering from the effect this technology has had on their world. In "The Pedestrian" the main character, Mr. mead, has a conversation
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"You see, there are the lions, far over, that way{...} They've just been eating," said Lydia. "I don't know what." "Some animal." George Hadley put his hand up to shield off the burning light from his squinted eyes. "A zebra or a baby giraffe, maybe." "Are you sure?" His wife sounded peculiarly tense. "No, it's a little late to be sure," he said, amused. "Nothing over there I can see but cleaned bone, and the vultures dropping for what's left." "Did you bear that scream?" she asked. 'No." "About a minute ago?" "Sorry, no." ("The Veldt") Although these quotes seem harmless enough, they are not. The "animal" that those lions are eating is George and Lydia's future selves. This is an example foreshadowing for the future feeding that is bound to happen, thanks to Peter and Wendy, George and Lydia's children. We see a similar situation of foreshadowing happen in "A Sound of Thunder;" when we first see the dinosaur. When the hunters are about to kill the "monster" Eckels hears "a sound of thunder." Which, in this story, the writer was using as another word for death. We also see another example of foreshadowing in the "The Veldt". Although, instead of a scream George finds a wallet and a scarf belonging to him and his wife near the area that the lions were eating that "creature." I just don't see how the parents didn't catch on. Foreshadowing is all about meaning. The screams from the nursery and the sound of thunder both have meaning behind them. Just because the story doesn't tell you the exact meaning, doesn't mean there isn't