Comparative Study: A Sound of Thunder and Nethergrave Short Stories

This essay offers a comparative analysis of Ray Bradbury's 'A Sound of Thunder' and the story 'Nethergrave,' focusing on their core themes and literary elements. The analysis delves into the concept of time travel, its potential consequences, and the impact of individual actions on the future. The essay examines how both stories explore the dangers of altering the past and the ethical considerations associated with such actions. It highlights the thematic similarities and differences between the two narratives, exploring the role of technology, the impact of decisions, and the characters' experiences within these narratives. The essay also provides a brief overview of the story 'Nethergrave' and how it was inspired by 'A Sound of Thunder'. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of considering the broader implications of one's actions, particularly in the context of time travel and its potential to disrupt the fabric of reality. The essay also includes references for the source materials used in the analysis.

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"A Sound of Thunder"
1/26/2020

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Sound Of Thunder
It is the fictional short story which was written by Ray Bradbury. The major theme behind this
story was that time travel machine can take the people back to their old times and the common
man experience the past. In this story there was the man named Eckels who hears some steps of
the animal gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex which was the sound of thunder for him as he was
walking through the forest (Marek, 570).
In this story Eckels buys the time machine company in the $10000 so that he can travel and can
shoot the animals which they wish. Later on the machine has only taken Eckels in the present as
he was not following the rules and he accidently changes the future by not following the path.
The butterfly was killed easily as it was representing the freedom but the outcomes are changed
when the actions are not taken right.
Nethergrave
“Nethergrave” is the story which is written by Skurzynski’s which was inspired from the story of
“A Sound of Thunder” as in that story one bad action taken by Eckels taken up to massive
destruction as the time machines was leaving past from present. This story is based on the theme
that bad decision can be easily made by the people and especially when the reality is tough
(Duncan, 2001).
In this story the main character was played by the Jeremy in whom he was staying in the world
where he was not happy or he has the other option to leave that world and start the new journey
in which he was never be hurt or alone. In this story it is evaluated that life is hard and when the
people make poor decisions it not only harm themselves but it harms the other people too.
Jeremy’s online friend left him and he felt bullied and ignored in the real world.
From the above two stories it was evaluated that technology can be dangerous too and can harm
the person. Although the technology is rapidly changing and advancement is coming in that but
as per these stories, the technology can be more destructive. In the story The sound of Thunder,
the time machines was built through which the person can go back to the time and settle the
stories in the jungle while the story “Nethergrave” is sucked into between the real world and the
virtual world (Bradbury, 2016). The story of “A Sound of Thunder” was more interesting than

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the story of the “Nethergrave” as one small change in past can affect the future forever. Time
travel machine can be dangerous as it was affecting and alternating the reality later down
(Agustina, 2015). The little change in the past can have the drastic effect on the future and also
states that there are many events which are addressed in the daily life with just actions so person
should think before taking any actions.

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References
Agustina, Mia Fitria. "Applying Ecological Approach in A Sound of Thunder by Ray
Bradbury." Proceeding of 4th English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation,
International Conference. 2015.
Bradbury, Ray. A sound of thunder. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.
Duncan, Lois, On the Edge: Stories at the Brink. Simon and Schuster, 2001.
Marek, Michael W., and Wen-Chi Vivian Wu. "Environmental factors affecting computer
assisted language learning success: a Complex Dynamic Systems conceptual model." Computer
Assisted Language Learning 27.6 (2014): 560-578.