Thought Provoking Ideas Essay Research Paper The

Thought Provoking Ideas Essay, Research Paper The best short stories have thought provoking ideas expressed in interesting ideas Do you agree? One thought provoking idea, is expressed clearly in the story The weapon by Fredric Brown. The story suggests many themes, but the main one being the lack of respect humans have with power and their ignorance towards technology. A scientist, Dr James Graham is creating the ultimate weapon. During his study time one night, a guest Mr. Niemand arrives at his doorstep, raising many questions about the weapon that James cannot answer. The ultimate question that James blindly ignores is is humanity ready for the ultimate weapon? Meanwhile James son Harry, a mentally disabled boy insists Mr. Niemand reads him Chicken Little . Dr James later

enters Harry s room, discovering that Mr. Niemand left Harry a loaded revolver. Dr James leaves us with his thought only a madman would give a loaded revolver to an idiot. The last line suggests many ideas, that arouse the readers thoughts. The last line is the key to the authors meaning- that mankind could destroy itself. There is an obvious and very direct comparison created in the story. Certain symbols stand for things, the gun representing the weapons society creates. The gun is an ideal symbol , for it is a weapon that if not used properly can result in unfortunate consequences, including death. Humanity cannot respect or are incapable of respecting power. The idiot (Harry) symbolizes modern society s ignorance. This enforces the theme that mankind could destroy itself. By

using metaphors and symbolism, this theme is expressed quite interestingly. Chicken Little the story that is read to harry by Mr. niemand also presents many ideas to the reader. Chicken Little a story about a bird called Chicken Little, who believes the sky, is falling, when an acorn drops off a tree and hits him on the head. He quickly runs to the king to tell him the sky is falling, when on the way to the king, he meets ducky lucky, and many other friends, telling them of the news. In the end Foxy Loxy a sly character, tells them that she knows a short way to get to the king tempts them all into her cave, and none of the animals are ever seen again. This foreshadows events that happen in the story. Chicken Little is much like the scientist Dr James Graham- they both jump into

conclusions are stubborn and strongly believe that their views are correct. Chicken Little seems so sure that the sky is falling when the acorn hits him on the head and without a second thought runs along to tell the King. Dr James, is similar to this, as he does not think about the outcome of the weapon he is creating, completely believes that he is doing the right thing for science, and refuses to listen to other peoples views. In this way when Mr. Neimand says, I hope that the sky shall never fall on Chicken Little he hopes that in Dr James creating this weapon, that it doesn t end up hurting him. The author includes Chicken Little, as it is a metaphorical comparison between a childhood character that seems so innocent, and an adult scientist. This appears to be quite ironic,

and a contrast, but it seems that in the end they are the same, the adult being just as naive and innocent as the child. In this way the ideas are cleverly expressed through irony and metaphors. The story is written in third person, giving the reader, an unbiased perception, and a clearer view of what is happening. The atmosphere was created in the story, through what each character says, and their actions. In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Dr James, whom is studying hard, thinking about his son and his disabilities, the atmosphere is quite tense, and we get a sense that something is about to happen. Mr. Neimand arrives at Dr James door, and more tension is created due to conflict between the two. Near the end, the atmosphere seems almost relaxed, and