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Figurative Language in "A Sound of Thunder" Michael DiGiovanna…
Figurative Language in "A Sound of Thunder"
Michael DiGiovanna Block 1
Direct Characterization
“It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees…”(Bradbury 70).
Saying that his legs were resilient and striding, and that he was far taller than all of the trees, shows how large the dinosaur was. When it is said that he towers over the trees, we can only imagine how towering he must be compared to the men.
Indirect Characterization
“Eckels swayed on the padded seat, his face pale, his jaw stiff. He felt the trembling in his arms, and he looked down and found his hands tight on the new rifle”(Bradbury 19).
This quote shows that Eckels is nervous about the trip, and is second guessing. This is building up to the point when Eckels does decide to chicken out, and may create suspense by keeping the readers wondering if he will go through or not.
Conflict
“I didn’t realize it would be this big,” said Eckels. “I miscalculated, that’s all. And now I want out”(Bradbury 77).
When Eckels is overwhelmed by the size of the dinosaur and wants to go back to the present, this begins to create suspense, as the reader wonders what Eckels will do, and how this will further the plot.
Foreshadowing
'If the election had gone badly yesterday, I might be here now running away from the results. Thank God Keith won. He’ll make a fine President of the United States"(Bradbury 8).
Throughout the story, there is a ton of emphasis on the fact that Keith winning the election was a tremendous thing. All of this, combined with Travis' emphasis on how little things may end up changing the future help to foreshadow the ending.
Irony(Type)
"'You joking? You know very well. Deutscher, of course! Who else? Not that fool weakling Keith'"(Bradbury 144).
The readers know that, before Eckels stepped on the butterfly, Keith was made President and that he was consider the best candidate while the man behind the desk does not. This further contributes to the theme by showing how unaware we may be of our actions' consequences, due to the fact that we don't know what certain things they are changing.
Personification
"Time doesn’t permit that sort of mess — a man meeting himself"(Bradbury 48).
This makes it seem like time itself is making rules, and further contributes to the theme that all of our actions will have long lasting effects, and once our actions are sealed in the past time won't allow us to undo them.
Symbolism
"...an exquisite thing, a small thing that could upset balances and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes, all down the years across Time"(Bradbury 42).
The butterfly in this quote represents all of the things that we do and say and is meant to make us more aware of how those things will affect the world generations down the line, as well as how they will currently impact the people and world around us.
Metaphor
"...sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior"(Bradbury 70).
By describing the dinosaur's skin in this way, it makes it seem that the dinosaur is being protected by some sort of armor, and shows how he will be extremely difficult to kill.
Hyperbole
"A sound of thunder"(Bradbury 66).
By exaggerating the dinosaurs footsteps to sound like thunder, Bradbury shows that the dinosaur is heavy and will crush anything it steps on. This increases the danger and creates suspense.