A Sound of Thunder Plot Theme Literary Devices

What is the plot of "A Sound of Thunder" as
written on a plot graph? (Initial Incident,

Rising Action, Climax, Resolution)
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The plot of a story basically consists of 5 parts: exposition, rising action,

climax, falling action, and resolution. Here are the elements in this story.
Exposition is the part of the story where we are introduced to the characters,
the setting, and the initial conflict. In this story, we learn that it is the year
2055 and a company has created a way to travel through time. They use it to
hunt dinosaurs. We are also introduced to Eckels, the protagonist, when he
learns about this company. He meets his guide, Mr. Travis, and his assistant
Lesperance, who marked the path thy need to stay on. There are two other
hunters, Billings and Kramer. The initial setting is both 2055 and the time of
the dinosaurs, and the conflict at first is to shoot a dinosaur without interfering
in the past.
The rising action is the events in the story leading to the climax. In this case,
these are the events of traveling through time, learning how to hunt dinosaurs,
and setting off on the specially marked path.
The climax is the most interesting point of the story, and the point of no
return. In this famous climax, poor Eckels steps off the path and kills a
butterfly, therefore changing history completely.
The falling action is the events that go between the climax and the resolution,
or ending. Usually these events are related to the events of the climax, and
could not have happened otherwise. Travis is furious with Eckels, and
berates him for stepping off the path.
The resolution is how the conflict is resolved. In this case, Travis shoots
Eckels, we learn that words are spelled differently, and the man they didn’t
want in office is president.
Theme
“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction story about a man named

Eckels who hires a time travel company to take him on a hunting
expedition in the age of the dinosaurs. The theme is that little things
can make a big difference.
This story reminds us of an idea called the “Butterfly Effect.” The Butterfly
Effect states that a very small event can have large unintended
consequences. In the story, Ecklels is warned never to step off the path,
because they can only hunt animals that are already about to be killed if
nature runs its course.
It floats six inches above the earth. Doesn't touch so much as one grass
blade, flower, or tree. It's an antigravity metal. Its purpose is to keep you from
touching this world of the past in any way.
This little bit of foreshadowing, the insistence that he stay on the path, is
directly related to the theme. When you step off the path, something happens
that you do not intend. You can affect the entire course of the future, just by
stepping on a butterfly.
"Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels.
By stepping on the butterfly, Eckels altered the path of history such that the
spelling on the sign was changed and a new man was elected president.
We probably won’t go time traveling in our lifetime, but this is still a relevant
theme. Sometimes a little thing can make a big difference. One small
choice, although it may seem minor, can affect not only the course of
your future but others as well.
Literary devices employed by Bradbury are as follows:

 Irony - specifically, verbal irony as something is said that has the opposite
effect.
e.g. As Eckels talks in the office to Time Safari official, he is told of the
dangers of the Time Machine, and he remarks,
"Makes you think, 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 course, as it turns out, Deutscher, the opponent, later has won. Later, too,
Eckels forgets what the official tells him about: that he is going into the jungle
of sixty million two thousand and fifty-five years before President Keith"
because when he returns to the ship after having stepped off the gravity path,
he ironically says, "I'm innocent. I've done nothing"
 Personification - The attribution of human traits to that which is non-human.

e.g. "The Machine howled....The Machine slowed; its scream fell to
a murmur. "Time steps aside."
 simile - A stated comparison using the words like or as. e.g. Eckels remarks
on going back in time to hunt, "This makes Africa seem like Illinois" "Time
steps aside (personification). Like (simile) an airplane hitting an air
pocket." "I'm shaking like a kid." "There was a sound like a gigantic
bonfire." "...like golden slamanders, the old years, the green years (also
a metaphor for early years), might leap."
 figurative language - Language used for more than its literal meaning. e.g.
"They sat in the ancient wilderness. Far birds' cries blew on a wind, and
the smell of tar and an old salt sea, moist grasses, and flowers the color
of blood."
 metaphor - An ustated comparison. The jungle was the entire world forever
and forever." "...pterodactyls soaring with cavernous gray wings, gigantic
bats of delirium and night fever. "A sound of thunder" = the T-Rex. "the
seed death, the green death,..." "Trees exploded in clouds of leaf and
branch." "The Monster twitches its jeweler's hands down..."
 alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds. e.g.
" ...glistening green and gold and...." /g/
 double entendre - A wording that is understood in two ways. e.g. "A sound of
thunder" first means the sound of the dinosaur's step; then it means the firing
of the rifle that kills Eckels.

A Sound of Thunder Plot Theme Literary Devices

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What is the theme of the story?

What literary devices does the author employ?

What is the plot of "A Sound of Thunder" as

written on a plot graph? (Initial Incident,

The plot of a story basically consists of 5 parts: exposition, rising action,

“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction story about a man named

"Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels.

Literary devices employed by Bradbury are as follows:

 Personification - The attribution of human traits to that which is non-human.

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