Compare And Contrast Nethergrave And A Sound Of Thunder

“Nethergrave” vs “A Sound of Thunder”

While it's true that both the literary works “Nethergrave” by Gloria Skurzynski and “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury are both classics that have been and are still being read and enjoyed by thousands equally today, in my reading of them both, I would surmise to say that “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury is much more entertaining and enjoyable to read. In “A Sound of Thunder”, Bradbury’s storyline pulled me in from the beginning and held my attention till the end. Whereas in the story “Nethergrave”, Skurzynski’s storyline was a bit slower and took a little longer to gain my full attention. Both of these literary works are science fiction stories where the characters get propelled into different worlds or as the unit refers to them as “Other Worlds” to fulfill a want in their lives. In “A Sound of Thunder”, Eckel’s is able to fulfill his want of trying to kill a dinosaur by using technology to travel back in time 60 million years with a couple of other men and two guides. They are able to experience how life was there and be brought back to the present which has been drastically changed due to a mistake on Eckel’s part,

and to which leads to Eckel’s death.

In “Nethergrave”, Jeremy is able to fulfill his want of being able to live in a world where he does not feel useless, weak, inadequate, unloved, and unwanted by using technology to physically enter his computer screen and become a

persona or avatar in the form of a jaguar. In this “Other World”, Jeremy is able to fulfill his want to live in a world where he fills useful, strong, needed, and wanted.

One way that both stories are alike is that they both use technology that allows their characters to fulfill a want which affects the future outcome of their lives. Another way in which they are alike is that they are both sci-fi stories that greatly show each of their author’s creative imaginations.

One way in which both of these stories are different is that in “Nethergrave” the story is about a boy who's being bullied at school and how it’s affecting his life. Whereas in “A Sound of Thunder” the story is about how a mistake or mess up in the environment can our futures. Another way in which they are different is that in “A Sound of Thunder” Eckel’s travels back in time to kill an animal. Whereas we find the opposite of that in the story “Nethergrave”, in which Jeremy gets sucked into a computer screen, not to kill an animal but to become one.

Even as I am coming to the end of writing this essay, I would venture to say that the moral of both stories are, “Be careful of what you want, you might just get it but not in the way you expect. Also, In as much as it still holds true that I did enjoy reading “A Sound of Thunder” more so than “Nethergrave”, that doesn’t take away from the fact that both literary works are terrific science fiction stories that have greatly put forth the use of their authors vast imaginations, and anyone would truly appreciate reading them.