Skip to main content

What's an example of external conflict in "A Sound of Thunder?"

The most obvious external conflict is man v. nature, illustrated by the killing of the dinosaur by going back to prehistoric time. The two Time Safari staff members use their time machine to take three hunters to the exact spot where a Tyrannosaurus rex will be their target. And when it arrives on the scene, it bursts into view with “a sound of thunder,” because it of its size and power. It creates an immense external conflict, which is successfully resolved, though with much blood spilled.


Another external conflict occurs between the hunter Eckels and the group leader Travis. Travis insists on all rules being followed, and Eckels questions the reasons why. Then Eckels is so traumatized by the dinosaur’s appearance that he stumbles back to the time machine and steps off the path. Travis is furious, and with good reason, as it turns out. The outcome of this particular conflict changes all of their lives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more