Short Story summary: A Sound of Thunder

The beginning/background of the story:

In the year 2055, Mr. Eckels steps into the office of Time Safari, Inc., a company that organises hunting trips to the past, allowing clients to hunt large prehistoric animals, including dinosaurs, for a fee of ten thousand dollars. Feeling a lump in his throat, Eckels asks the company agent at the reception if they can guarantee his safe return. The agent responds that there are no guarantees "except for the dinosaurs" and warns that disobeying any instructions will result in an additional fine of ten thousand dollars.

Eckels pauses to admire the Time Machine, recalling the company’s advertisements that emphasise the reversal of life and death. He reflects that with just “a touch of the hand,” gray hair and wrinkles could disappear; everything could “fly back to seed, flee death, rush down to their beginnings.”

Key notes in the story:

• "A Sound of Thunder" explores how small actions can have large effects on the future.

• Bradbury uses time travel to present a pessimistic view of humans' impact on the world.

• The story shows how individuals' limited understanding and flaws can lead to disaster in an interconnected world.

• Privilege allows the wealthy to take risks that affect everyone, with little responsibility.

• Time Safari Inc. caters to the rich, offering dangerous hunting trips in the past.

• The government imposes regulations but seems more concerned with financial gain than ethics.

• Eckels, the wealthy protagonist, nervously pays for a trip to hunt a dinosaur.

• Despite warnings, Eckels refuses to back out of the trip, motivated by pride.

• As the trip progresses, Eckels’s pride and fear become more apparent.

• He questions the rules and brags about past hunts, hiding his fear.

• When the dinosaur appears, Eckels is overwhelmed and wants to leave.

• Eckels finally admits his fear but accidentally steps off the path, setting off disastrous consequences.
  

• In the falling action, Travis, furious with Eckels, threatens to abandon him in the past and report him to the government, leading to penalties.

• Eckels offers to pay Travis off, but instead, he is ordered to retrieve bullets from the dinosaur’s head as punishment.

• Travis believes Eckels has learned his lesson.

• Upon returning to the present, Travis blames Eckels for the changes in the world, though the company's careless attitude also shares the blame.

• In the resolution, Eckels reflects on the impact of his actions and the consequences of his flaws.

• The story highlights how one individual's mistake, supported by a corrupt system, can lead to disastrous outcomes.

• Eckels’s small action causes significant changes, including spelling shifts and the rise of authoritarian rule.

• In the final moments, Travis, still angry, shoots Eckels, symbolised by the "sound of thunder." This act doesn't solve the problems created by their altered timeline.

Themes and symbols of the story:

THEMES 

• Cause and effect (the butterfly).

• Man’s mortality - what could this possibly mean? 

• Environmentalism
  

• The dangers of using powerful technology for trivial purposes: As technology advances, it allows humans to make significant changes that were once impossible. Time Safari Inc., a company in the story, misuses time travel to offer hunting trips for the rich, showing how human greed and ego often outweigh concerns about the consequences of technology.

SYMBOLS

• Thunder - what does the thunder symbolise in the story? Pay attention to when we hear the crack of thunder. 

• Butterfly - the butterfly is obviously linked to "The Butterfly Effect". 

Characters of the story:

The main characters in "A Sound of Thunder" are Eckels and Travis.

• Eckels is a hunter who has paid a great deal of money to travel to the past and shoot a dinosaur, yet his confidence and bluster disappears when he actually comes face-to-face with a T-Rex. His panic in this moment changes the course of history and ultimately costs him his life.

  • Travis is an employee of Time Safari, Inc. Furious when Eckels, through his carelessness, fails to heed his warnings about not disturbing the natural order of the past, Travis shoots him.

  • Lesperance who is Travis's secondhand man.