In the short story A Sound of Thunder, author Ray Bradbury's main argument is that decisions that may seem inconsequential at first can turn out to be much more serious than expected. In the story, the main character, Eckles, pays $10,000 to travel back in time and hunt an extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex. While hunting, there is a gravitational path that each character must follow, as straying from this path can disrupt natural processes and cause irreversible damage in the story. Regardless, Eckles manages to leave the trail in a moment of panic while engaged in a fight with the dinosaur. Upon returning to the safari headquarters, Eckles notices many changes that were not there before, such as strange smells in the air, words spelled differently, and a different president. He realizes the damage he did right before he was shot. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This story serves as a warning to humans that the development of something like technology can have serious consequences if not used appropriately. It is an example of the struggle between promotion and the attempt to preserve what is human. This proves that small things can really cause huge changes. This is demonstrated by the symbolism that appears throughout the story. The sound of thunder represents Travis' gun as well as the footsteps of the T Rex, things which cause huge diversions in the plot of the story. The butterfly represents Independence, which was killed when Eckles' actions affected the story. The plot experienced by the characters is ultimately that of a written destiny. It is the path that must be traced so that they can return to their normal lives. Bullets equal the destruction of not only the past but also the future, all at once. Ray Bradbury maintains the structure of his argument by using literary devices such as irony, personification, simile, figurative language, metaphor, alliteration, and double entendre. Bradbury draws on verbal irony. While Eckles is in the Time Safari office, he observes: “It makes you think that, if the election had gone badly yesterday, I might be here now running from the results. Thank God Keith won. He will be an excellent president...". This is ironic, as Keith's opponent Deutscher is later revealed to win the election. Then there is the tool of personification, which consists of giving human traits to something that is not human. In line 141 the phrase time steps aside is used, giving time, something that is not human, a human-like quality. Another literary device that strengthens Bradbury's thesis is figurative language, an example of this is “They sat down in the ancient wilderness. The cries of birds far below driven by the wind, and the smell of tar and an old salt sea, damp grasses and blood-colored flowers.” Moving forward, Bradbury introduces various metaphors such as “the jungle was the whole world forever and ever,” “…soaring pterodactyls with cavernous gray wings, gigantic bats of delirium and night fever,” and “the death of the seed , the green death..." . Finally, the use of alliteration draws the reader's attention with the similar connotations and rhythm of the words “…glittering green and gold and…”. Finally, one of the most powerful literary devices used is the double meaning, that is, a formulation that is interpreted in two different ways, for example "the sound of thunder" refers to the sound of the dinosaur's footsteps, as well as the shot of the rifle that kills Eckels. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our writers now.