Survivor: "A Sound of Thunder"

Question 1: How does the character search for solace, purpose, and/or redemption?

In "A Sound of Thunder" the main character is named Eckels. His purpose in the story is to hunt a T-Rex. To get this T-Rex, Eckels must take a time machine into the past during the prehistoric time so he can hunt his target down. The only catch when traveling back in time is that you cannot touch anything while in the past. When Eckels is in the past he has to walk on metal plates hovering over the surface of the land because if anything was changed or altered that wasn't supposed to be then he could create a butterfly effect. When reaching the past Eckels is told that he must only shoot when told. Even though his purpose is to shoot a T-Rex he does not accomplish this because he gets to frightened and is ordered to return to the time machine. When reaching home back to his time he notices something different which then turns out to be the changing of the Presidents. Instead a dictator is ruling the country. Eckels then discovers that when he stepped off the metal plates because he was scared he stepped on a butterfly and because of this one death, the future was altered. Eckels tries to find redemption for his mistake but is then killed and never finds it.

Question 2: How does the character's experiences reflect the historical period in which his/her story is told?

The story "A Sound of Thunder" has two different time eras in which the story takes place; the prehistoric past and the future. The story starts off with the main character, Eckels; paying ten thousand dollars to go on a safari the only difference is that in this safari the hunters hunt dinosaurs. You must go back in time to the past to hunt these animals. Already you can tell the story takes place in the future because the use of the time machine has not been created yet. When in the past of the prehistoric time Eckels and the others are not allowed to step on the ground of the past so there is a metal path which was created which hovers over the ground. This is another example of future technology and how it is not created yet. On the way back to the future where Eckels lives the time machine counts forward in time ending in 2055 which gives the answer of what time era he lives in which concludes the story takes in the future.

Question 3: How does the character's experience in the story symbolize the theme of survival and the human spirit?

Eckels paid to go in the past to hunt a dinosaur but while in the past Eckels gets frightened of the very large dinosaur which happens to be a T-Rex. His experience symbolizes the theme of survival and the human spirit because when reaching upon his destination, Eckels realizes how big his target really is and because of being frightened, is sent back to the time machine. Eckels survives being in the past but when returning to the future he notices that the way he once lived is changed and that changed way of life comes to the conclusion of Eckels stepping on a butterfly which caused the altering of the future. Because of this change, Eckels is killed by one of the safari leaders out of anger. So in the end Eckels survived the time traveling but because of his careless mistake he cost his life and did not survive his death.

Survivor: The prisoner Who Wore Glasses

Question 1:How does the character search for solace, purpose, and/or redemption?

In "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses" the character, Brille, goes to prison for his political beliefs. He is not a criminal but just someone with different beliefs. He knows fully what he did and he does not regret it so I belief he did not need to find redemption. While in prison at first him and the other prisoners are able to do almost whatever they would like but soon they are restricted of this freedom with a new warden named Hannetjie who was a very harsh and did not let anybody slip out of line. Throughout the story Brille gets pushed around by Hannetjie but soon Brille makes Hannetjie get a taste of his own medicine by black mail. After feeling a little guilty of this action Brille says that all he wants is Hannetjie to be on the prisoner's side and Hannetjie agrees. Brille finds solace by creating peace in the prison and equality, this is just a small step to what Brille wants to do with the rest of the world.


Question 2: How does the character's experiences reflect the historical period in which his/her story is told?


In all started in the 1940's when black south Africans were political prisoners for being frequently assertive. Some examples of imprisonment would be simply for speaking out against the government or publicly protesting government policies. Brille went to prison for having political beliefs because he wanted equality and peace between the blacks and the whites. He also thought that blacks and whites should have the same freedom and rules. This story reflects the time period when racism was a big problem in Africa. Many blacks were treated differently because of the color of their skin. When the blacks disagreed with the government they would be sent to jail. Even though Brille went to prison for disagreeing with the government, he still did not give up what he believed in. (100)Even though racism was a big problem it has decreased a lot since then. But racism has not totally disappeared. Maybe one day it will only be a part of the past.


Question 3: How does the experiences in the story symbolize the theme of survival and the human spirit?

Racism is what the story "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses" deals with. Racism is how Brille ends up in jail. I believe survival and the human spirit symbolizes the theme because Brille had to survive his long journey in prison. Brille is in prison for believing in equality between the blacks and the whites. He knew from the beginning that he would go to prison for political beliefs but he knew it was the right thing to do.Even after being put in prison, Brille still does not change what he believes in. Also another theme is cooperation for example Brille had his other political prisoners help each other out in the fields but what really helped was the joining of the warden. Brille convinced the warden to help him out by saying "We want you to be on our side. We want a good warder because without a good warder we won't be able to manage the long stretch ahead". Soon after that Hannetjie, the warder, started giving a hand here and there. This proves that with a little help you can achieve a lot. The warder's help goes along with the theme equality because that small help with a white man helping black men shows that blacks and whites can work together and get along later creating friendship between the blacks and whites which soon created equality between the two races.

Survivor: "Two Friends"

Question 1: How does the character search for solace, purpose, and/or redemption?


In the story "Two Friends" there are two characters named Monsieur Morissot and Monsieur Sauvage. Both men have a common love which is fishing. They both find solace by going to their favorite fishing spot but ever since the war they have not been able to do so. Before the war the place where both men fished was beautiful, especially in the Autumn when the sky was blood-red and the water reflected strange shapes of scarlet clouds which reddened the whole river, and the glowing sun set the distant horizon ablaze, making the friends look as though they were on fire, and touching with gold the russet leaves which were already trembling with the wintry shudder. But when the war came around, everything became gloomy with bad weather and it has not been very safe to just wander around. One day they finally get enough courage and they go to their favorite spot. The only problem is that the river which they fish on is on the other side of the border line where their enemies, the Prussians, stay. Because of their passion for fishing, they go on their journey anyway. When arriving to their destination
both men find redemption as they begin to fish with feelings of relaxation and peacefulness even though they are in the middle of a war.

Question 2: How does the character's experience reflect the historical period in which his/her story is told?


From the beginning you find out that Paris is under siege in the grip of a famine. The story "Two Friends" takes place in the 1870's when Paris was at war with Germany. Both characters live in Paris with a constant hunger. They both meet when walking along the boulevards with nothing to do. During this time it wasn't always the safest to be wandering around because you never knew where the next targets from your enemies, the Prussians, would be. Because of the war both Monsieur Morissot and Monsieur Sauvage could not go fishing because where they fished was on the other side of the border line where the Prussians were. You can tell that this story is in a different time era because while Morisott and Sauvage are fishing, they hear cannons in the distance which is not common anymore in wars now. "Two Friends" helps gives readers an idea of how life was like in the past when countries were at war with each other.


Question 3: How does the character's experience in the story symbolize the theme of survival and the human spirit?

Morisott's and Sauvage's experience symbolizes the theme determination. Both characters have the same passion which is fishing. They always went fishing before the war but when the war came they were not able to go anymore because where the fished was on the other side of the border. They loved how the scenery was beautiful and peaceful. They had not gone fishing ever since the war broke out but finally they decided to go. They realized that it had to be a sneaky get away but they did not care, they just wanted to fish. They did not think it over before they left because they were too excited and they did not want to think of anything else that would make the change their minds. In the end they finally reach their destination and they have a good time for a while but then they are captured and killed by the Prussians all because the wanted to what they loved, they were determined to fish no matter what.