Language of Ray Bradbury
Authors use magnificent language and description to enhance their stories. In "A Sound of Thunder", Ray Bradbury uses descriptive language to enhance the reading experience. Bradbury uses detailed description, foreshadowing, and symbolism to make the stories a first hand experience for his readers.
Bradbury uses amazing description to make the reader feel as if they are in the story, not just reading it. For instance, he uses tremendous detail in "A Sound of Thunder" when he writes "Eckels glanced across the vast office at a mass and tangle, a snaking and humming of wires and steel boxes, at an aurora that flickered now orange, now silver, now blue"(17) Bradbury is recounting what Eckels sees upon entering the Time Safari, Inc. office. Once again, he could have simply stated that Ecklels walks into an office and sees a time machine, but he does much more. He defines the colorful glows coming off of the time mechanism, and the machinery lying about in heaps around the floor to make the reader feel as if they are the ones stepping into that office for the first time.
Bradbury also uses the tool of foreshadowing to help the reader better understand the story and plot line and to let the reader know a little bit more about the mystery of a story without giving anything away too quickly. Bradbury uses foreshadowing in "A Sound of Thunder" to give the reader an idea of what might happen in the future. For instance, Eckels shows his insensitive personality when he states "‘So they’re dead. So what?’"(20). An another example of foreshadowing is the sign shown at the beginning of the story. This sign is grammatically correct. However, the same sign which Eckels notices when they return later that day is filled with errors. This foreshadows that something has changed, i.e. a different person has been elected President. This is significant because of Bradbury’s description of the two candidates at the story’s beginning. One is highly educated and the second finds education to be less important.
Bradbury establishes his characters’ personalities through dialogue. He lets you know that Eckels is boastful on the outside, but scared on the inside by the way he speaks. A reader can tell that Eckel’s priorities are not in the right place, which serves as a foreshadowing of future events.
To sum up, Bradbury uses detail to make the reader feel as if he or she is the main character embarking on adventures. He uses foreshadowing to give hints to the reader of future events, and makes use of symbolism (e.g.Time machine, Butterfly effect) to strengthen the stories’ plot lines. On the whole, Ray Bradbury uses special skills to enhance his remarkable stories
Thursday, December 13, 2007
MORE TO COME
Grandmother poem
The relationship that the writer describes that she has with her grandmother is that they didn’t seem to be very close. They never spent any time together. The writer says that she was “afraid” of her grandmother. This may have been because she was scared to get too close to her in case she lost her, as she was so old. The writer also says that all she felt was guilt when her grandmother died because she never went out with her. There was probably a lot of tension between the two when the grandmother was alive because the writer was scared to be with her.
I think that that the poem is separated into 4 stanzas because each stanza seems to describe a different part of the grandmother’s life. In the first stanza, the writer explains what her grandmother used to do; the second stanza goes on to say how she thought that her grandmother felt hurt that she did not want to go out with her. The third stanza talks about her getting too old to look after the antique shop and probably being on her last legs. The final stanza talks about when she died, and what was left of her antiques and the memories that were left of her in the room where all her things were.
In the first stanza there are many ways in which the writer has created the atmosphere of an antique shop. “Apostle spoons” and “Bristol glass” are the most obvious in the first stanza; this is because they are both collectables and are treasured by antique lovers. The writer also uses phrases such as “faded silks” and “heavy furniture”. The faded silks could have been describing her grandmother as well as what was in the shop (double entanger). Heavy furniture would have been in the shop because years ago the heavier the furniture, the more expensive it would be.
There are many couplets in the poem that do not have ‘full’ rhyming patterns: prove – love
afraid – said
guilt – felt
then – again
there – air
room – come
All of these couplets that are not “full” are either at the end of a stanza or near the beginning.
In the second stanza, there are a lot of simple words used. This may have been because when she refused to go out with her grandmother she was probably very young. The simple words reflect that because it is the sort of style that a child would write in if they were writing a poem. The use of simple words also makes it quite strong and makes the stanza stick in your head.
I think that Jennings is trying to tell us that growing old is all about memories. This is because she describes her grandmother as always keeping her memories with her, even if she didn’t need what she had in that room where she kept all her antiques. “I walked into her room among tall Sideboards and cupboards – things she never used But needed:” Jennings is also telling us about a memory that she has of being young.
“I could still feel the guilt Of that refusal, guessing how she felt” I think that this is an important line in the second stanza because it does not show any finality. The writer is showing how she felt about what she said to her grandmother, but she was not sure how her grandmother felt about it. It is the writer’s own feelings and draws you into the poem.
The last line “Only the new dust falling through the air” is significant because it is saying that this is the only thing that is left of her grandmother. All she has to remember her by is the antiques that she used to collect. The dust seems to mean that she is thinking about her grandmother and could signify memories of the antiques and her grandmother.
The relationship that the writer describes that she has with her grandmother is that they didn’t seem to be very close. They never spent any time together. The writer says that she was “afraid” of her grandmother. This may have been because she was scared to get too close to her in case she lost her, as she was so old. The writer also says that all she felt was guilt when her grandmother died because she never went out with her. There was probably a lot of tension between the two when the grandmother was alive because the writer was scared to be with her.
I think that that the poem is separated into 4 stanzas because each stanza seems to describe a different part of the grandmother’s life. In the first stanza, the writer explains what her grandmother used to do; the second stanza goes on to say how she thought that her grandmother felt hurt that she did not want to go out with her. The third stanza talks about her getting too old to look after the antique shop and probably being on her last legs. The final stanza talks about when she died, and what was left of her antiques and the memories that were left of her in the room where all her things were.
In the first stanza there are many ways in which the writer has created the atmosphere of an antique shop. “Apostle spoons” and “Bristol glass” are the most obvious in the first stanza; this is because they are both collectables and are treasured by antique lovers. The writer also uses phrases such as “faded silks” and “heavy furniture”. The faded silks could have been describing her grandmother as well as what was in the shop (double entanger). Heavy furniture would have been in the shop because years ago the heavier the furniture, the more expensive it would be.
There are many couplets in the poem that do not have ‘full’ rhyming patterns: prove – love
afraid – said
guilt – felt
then – again
there – air
room – come
All of these couplets that are not “full” are either at the end of a stanza or near the beginning.
In the second stanza, there are a lot of simple words used. This may have been because when she refused to go out with her grandmother she was probably very young. The simple words reflect that because it is the sort of style that a child would write in if they were writing a poem. The use of simple words also makes it quite strong and makes the stanza stick in your head.
I think that Jennings is trying to tell us that growing old is all about memories. This is because she describes her grandmother as always keeping her memories with her, even if she didn’t need what she had in that room where she kept all her antiques. “I walked into her room among tall Sideboards and cupboards – things she never used But needed:” Jennings is also telling us about a memory that she has of being young.
“I could still feel the guilt Of that refusal, guessing how she felt” I think that this is an important line in the second stanza because it does not show any finality. The writer is showing how she felt about what she said to her grandmother, but she was not sure how her grandmother felt about it. It is the writer’s own feelings and draws you into the poem.
The last line “Only the new dust falling through the air” is significant because it is saying that this is the only thing that is left of her grandmother. All she has to remember her by is the antiques that she used to collect. The dust seems to mean that she is thinking about her grandmother and could signify memories of the antiques and her grandmother.
How to quote GRANDMOTHER
This is a poem about a memory. The poem describes the writer’s grandmother and the grandmother’s love for antiques and how she had previously had a antique shop, before having to give it up due to her age. The writer describes her emotion - guilt of how she wished she had gone out with her grandmother, and not been too afraid.
The poem is descriptive. The first stanza captures the picture of the antique shop which the grandmother kept. We get the impression that the grandmother was rather lonely since antiques is all she seems to have. - perhaps because these antiques remind her of life when she was younger? The way the grandmother watches her own reflection in the brass suggests that she was lonely. (‘She watched her own reflection in the brass Salvers and silver bowls’) I think because she seemed lonely, it created a sensation of solitude and a strong feeling of emptiness.
In the second stanza, the writer describes her guilt. She describes how she refused to go out with her grandmother. It’s like she did not realise how the grandmother must have felt at the time - but as she looks back - she realises and feels the guilt. As a child - you don’t realise how she might have been hurt by it, which makes the reader feel quite sad for the writer.
In the Third Stanza, the atmosphere of old-loneliness is brought alive - by the writer talking about the smell of the place. (The place smelt old, of things being kept to shut’) Also, the writer describes the smell of absences - which again creates the lonely feeling. The idea of things being kept shut, may describe the Grandmother, due to her loneliness, she may have felt she was kept shut. (‘The smell of absences where shadows come that can’t be polished’) I get the feeling that the grandmother is perhaps more lonely by the third stanza because the reflection that she once used to look at, is not there anymore. (‘There was nothing then to give her own reflection back again.’)
On the last stanza, the writer describes how she felt no grief at all, which gives us the impression that she wasn’t very close to her grandmother. (‘An when she died I felt no grief at all.’). It shows that the only emotion she had was guilt, which is sad for the reader. When the writer speaks about the antiques, (‘Sideboards and cupboards - things she had never used’) she compares it to the relationship she had with her grandmother.
I think that the writer wanted us to think about how when she was a child, she did not realise the loneliness of her grandmother and did not realise how much it would have hurt her, which applies to most children. I think the writer took interest in her grandmother more after she had died, which makes us, as a reader think about spending time with our elders before they die and not to end up like the writer did (‘A wish not to be used’)
The poem is descriptive. The first stanza captures the picture of the antique shop which the grandmother kept. We get the impression that the grandmother was rather lonely since antiques is all she seems to have. - perhaps because these antiques remind her of life when she was younger? The way the grandmother watches her own reflection in the brass suggests that she was lonely. (‘She watched her own reflection in the brass Salvers and silver bowls’) I think because she seemed lonely, it created a sensation of solitude and a strong feeling of emptiness.
In the second stanza, the writer describes her guilt. She describes how she refused to go out with her grandmother. It’s like she did not realise how the grandmother must have felt at the time - but as she looks back - she realises and feels the guilt. As a child - you don’t realise how she might have been hurt by it, which makes the reader feel quite sad for the writer.
In the Third Stanza, the atmosphere of old-loneliness is brought alive - by the writer talking about the smell of the place. (The place smelt old, of things being kept to shut’) Also, the writer describes the smell of absences - which again creates the lonely feeling. The idea of things being kept shut, may describe the Grandmother, due to her loneliness, she may have felt she was kept shut. (‘The smell of absences where shadows come that can’t be polished’) I get the feeling that the grandmother is perhaps more lonely by the third stanza because the reflection that she once used to look at, is not there anymore. (‘There was nothing then to give her own reflection back again.’)
On the last stanza, the writer describes how she felt no grief at all, which gives us the impression that she wasn’t very close to her grandmother. (‘An when she died I felt no grief at all.’). It shows that the only emotion she had was guilt, which is sad for the reader. When the writer speaks about the antiques, (‘Sideboards and cupboards - things she had never used’) she compares it to the relationship she had with her grandmother.
I think that the writer wanted us to think about how when she was a child, she did not realise the loneliness of her grandmother and did not realise how much it would have hurt her, which applies to most children. I think the writer took interest in her grandmother more after she had died, which makes us, as a reader think about spending time with our elders before they die and not to end up like the writer did (‘A wish not to be used’)
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