A Sound Of Thunder 'And Poison'

Nobody’s perfect. Perfection is a utopian quality that is far from realistic as it means “without fault or flawless.” Therefore, stating that nobody’s perfect is just another way of rewording the phrase everybody has their flaws. Afterall, there is a reason behind why pencils have built in erasers, white out was invented, and apologies can be said. Mistakes and faults are a natural part of human nature. This concept applies to all people - even the ones portrayed in literature. In the short stories “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “Poison” by Roald Dahl, the main characters all share a common pattern of having their own mistakes and faults. These authors are able to give their protagonists more in …show more content…
Doodle has struggled with medical issues since birth and is largely dependent on the support and acceptance of his only sibling, who is referred to throughout the story as “Brother.” Brother is ashamed that he is related to an invalid younger brother, so he soon “began to make plans to kill [Doodle] by smothering him with a pillow” (417). Brother is more concerned about his own needs and wants that he is not able to realize that killing Doodle is not the solution to dealing with his frustration and disappointment of not having an ideal younger brother. Although Brother does not actually carry through with this plan, he instead makes it his duty to teach Doodle how to walk and run, even when that means overexerting him. His flaw here was that he initially viewed this task as a selfless act, but it was not until much later that he reflected back upon the moment and realized that it was done purely out of embarrassment. He concluded “that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (419). Due to his need to satisfy his pride, Brother had an “empathy gap” because he does not realize how much his actions and interests were hurting Doodle. All he cared about was how Doodle was impacting others’ views on himself. When Doodle fails one day to live …show more content…
Harry is convinced that a deadly krait is lying on top of his stomach underneath his bedsheet. When his companion, Timber, arrives at their bungalow he quickly calls an Indian doctor named Dr. Ganderbai for help. In the beginning, Harry is so petrified with fright that he does not challenge the doctor’s procedures. However, later on in the story Harry’s true personality is revealed after he realizes that there was never a snake on him to begin with so he “wasn't going to get bitten and he wasn't going to be killed and everything was fine” (345). Dr. Ganderbai asks Harry if perhaps he was dreaming about the snake to which Harry takes offense and starts shouting racial slurs at the Indian doctor. He calls Dr. Ganderbai several derogatory names including a “dirty little sewer rat” (345). This conflict that arises between Dr. Ganderbai and Harry ends with the doctor leaving the house and driving away. Also, the fact that Harry was so insistent on the snake’s presence even though there was never a real snake to being with reflects his unreliability. When people realize how racist and unreliable Harry Pope is, it will cause people to lose their trust in him and begin to doubt his