why the mechanical metaphors for the dinosaur in "Sound of Thunder" (Bradbury story)?
I am referring to the original story here by Ray Bradbury, "The Sound of Thunder". There the dinosaur is repeatedly described by machine metaphors:
"It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs......its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily reptilian chest. Each lower leg was a piston, .... thick ropes of muscle, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior. Each thigh was a ... steel mesh. .... Its armored flesh ... the metallic eyelids...its armored tail,....everything shutting off,....a wrecked locomotive or a steam shovel at quitting time, all valves being released or levered tight."
One explanation that I have heard is that the story is seen through the eyes of modern humans, obsessed with machines. But I don't find that convincing; Bradbury is more subtle than that. Does someone have a better explanation for this use of machine imagery?
I like the idea that our doom will come from mechanical and not natural means.
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