Read our detailed study guide on the short story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury. Our study guide covers A Sound of Thunder summary, themes, characters, and literary analysis.
A Sound of Thunder Summary
Eckel being an avid hunter wants to hunt the Tyrannosaurus rex. To fulfill his desire, he consults the time travel office. He entered Time Safar Inc., in the year 2055, in order to travel back to the past. His eyes fell over the sign hanging on the wall. The sign states the company offers to travel back in the past and hunt the animals you want.
Then he opens up a conversation with the company agent on reception while giving him the cheque of ten thousand dollars. He pushes down the phlegm and asks whether the company guarantees his return from the past tour. On which company agent replies in negation and says they only guarantee dinosaurs.
Moreover, the company agent informs him about the instructions to obey. Regarding disobedience, he warns him about the penalty of another ten thousand dollars.
While waiting for his past tour to begin, he does small talk with the company agent. They both discuss the recent presidential election. Both of them express their content on the victory of Keith over Deutscher.
Regarding Deutscher, the company agent says that his victory would have brought dictatorship. He portrays him as a threat that if he had won everyone would have traveled back to 1492. The agent adds that it’s not the business that the company does. Rather they only offer hunting in the past time.
Moreover, Eckel feels confused and hesitant when the agent asks him to sign the release. Particularly, when the agent mentions the risks involved in the past tour and the deaths of previous hunters and guides. The agent tells him if he does not want to go he can tear up his cheque. However, Eckel couldn’t tear up the cheque. While this, the agent continues the transaction.
The travel machine starts its functioning. Also, Eckel is handed over to his guide Mr. Travis. The guides and the hunters test their oxygen and intercoms. The time machine flashes back to the past while Eckel sits stiff and pale alongside Travis, Lesperance( Travis’s fellow guide), and Billing and Kramer (other hunters).
When they arrived at their destination, Travis gave them some instructions. He instructs them to stay on the path, as it is antigravity and hovers over the ground and only shoots those which are marked red. When Eckel asks the reason for those instructions, Travis opens up a whole explanation. He tells him how our mistake can negatively impact the future.
If he kills a mouse it will disturb the whole food chain. The animals who preyed on this mouse will not survive. In this case, generations of the animals will be destroyed. They all feel frightened by hearing this.
While waiting for the T.rex, they hear the dinosaur approaching. When Eckel sees the giant beast he becomes terrified and shied away. Travis tells him to return to the machine. However, Eckel ran in the wrong direction and left the path out of fear. In the meanwhile, T.rex sees the hunters and comes after them. While the hunters open up fire at the giant beast.
After killing the beast, they return to the time machine, where they found Eckel shivering. Travis becomes furious when he sees Eckel’s muddy boot. He threatens to leave him there unless he takes out the bullets from T.rex’s body. Despite Eckel’s taking out the bullets, Travis intimidates him for disobeying the rules.
As they return to the time travel office, Eckel notices the things have changed a bit. The smell of the air was bizarre and also the spelling on the company’s sign was changed. Eckel starts to look at his boots on which he finds a beautiful dead butterfly.
He at once, asks the company agent about the election. On which he responds cheerfully that Deutscher has won. Eckel moans and asks can’t we fix it. He kneels down and starts trembling. He sees Travis aiming a rifle at him and then there was a sound of thunder.
Background of the Story
A sound of thunder is written by American writer Ray Bradbury. It is a science fiction short story first published in Collier’s magazine on June 28, 1952. After that, it was republished in Bradbury’s collection The Golden Apples of the Sun in 1953.
This story describes Eckel’s desire to hunt T.rex in prehistoric times. To fulfill his desire he travels back to the past along with some other hunters and his guide via a time machine. Whereas, when they arrived he instead of hunting shied away out of fear. Also, he disobeys the instructions and veers off his path and crushes a butterfly beneath his boots. Due to his disobedience, things change in the future and his guide shoots him.
This story is written after the Second World War and highlights its repercussions. Although this story is set in the future, it depicts the chaotic times of mid-twenties. Bradbury reveals the political upheaval by stereotypically using the German name Deutscher specifically highlighting Hitler’s fascist politics. Moreover, readers may find the prevailing political chaos evident through the conversation of agent and Eckel.
Themes in A Sound of Thunder
Cause and Effect
This short story is an amalgamation of the cause and effect. Bradbury through the journey from present to past depicts the cause and effect in a tactful manner. Though, Eckel’s veering off the path and crushing a butterfly is tiny destruction. However, it changes the future drastically by the victory of a fascist and change of the English language.
It suggests to the readers how humans make a lot of mistakes by considering them petty. However, somewhere in the future, they will show their effects. Moreover, it highlights the effects of war. Bradbury is of the view that though the war has ended but it will keep affecting the world in the form of shockwaves.
Authoritarianism, Fascism, and Nostalgia
This story is written shortly after the Second World War and highlights its repercussions. Bradbury via the German name Deutscher depicts Hitler’s fascist politics. He portrays him as a threat to everything from which everyone wants to escape. The agent told Eckel if he wins they will be running out of time machines as everyone would be escaping from the present.
Moreover, when they arrive in prehistoric time they praise the beauty over there. This shows the nostalgia they were having. The world in which they are living is full of chaos. Eckel’s desire to travel back in time itself shows nostalgia for the past.
On the other hand, Bradbury also throws light on the authoritarianism of America. He expresses his concern about the political upheaval in America through the discussion of the election between Eckel and the company agent.
Environmentalism
Bradbury in this story highlights the relationship between ecology and human. He is of the view that both are directly linked to each other. He expresses how human civilization has badly affected nature through weapons of mass destruction or technology. Particularly, when Travis asks Eckel to take out the bullets from the beast’s body they don’t belong there.
Similarly, when they arrived in the prehistoric age they were surprised by the beauty of nature. Bradbury describes the equilibrium between nature and humans when Travis explains how their minor mistake can destroy the whole food chain. Bradbury points out that everything in the world is linked. He explains it via the crushing of a butterfly that how it changes things in the future.
Mortality
Bradbury via time travel machine depicts the theme of mortality. Readers may find that aging could be halted via a time machine. Life seems to pause at one point when they visit and return and their ages aren’t changed.
On the other hand, readers may find the Bradbury of the view that death is inevitable. Eckel’s fear and concerns regarding his life foreshadow his death in the story. Though he escapes from the monster in the past, his guide shoots him when they return.
Bradbury clarifies this point to the readers that despite having the time machine Eckel couldn’t escape death. He pinpoints that death is inevitable in anyways.
Characters Analysis
Mr. Eckel
Mr. Eckel is the protagonist of “a sound of thunder”. He is a hunter and wants to hunt dinosaurs by traveling back into the past. While talking to the company agent he shows his concern about the election. This also foreshadows the change of the history which Eckel will bring later on in the story.
Although, he is passionate about hunting dinosaurs yet he seems fearful of the risks involved. Despite his desire to hunt, he backs down when he encounters the giant beast. He wanders off the path and crushes the butterfly. The crushed butterfly marked his own death in the story.
Mr. Travis
He is the tour guide of Mr. Eckel employed by Time Travel Company. He wants the hunters to abide by the rules of the company in case any danger happens. He guides the hunters about the rules of the company. Also, he instructs that no one is supposed to leave the metal path even if any danger happens.
Despite his role as a guide, he acts out furiously over Eckel. He stresses out himself about the penalty set by the company for disobedience of rules. He becomes outraged when he comes to know about Eckel’s wandering off the path.
Moreover, he threatens Eckel to leave him behind for the damage he has caused. However, he punishes him by making him retrieve the bullets from the dinosaur’s body. Similarly, he shoots Eckel when Eckel turns everyone’s attention towards the crushed butterfly.
Lesperance
Lesperance is another guide appointed by Safari Inc. his duty is to mark the dinosaurs for the hunters which are going to die anyway. He is given this task to maintain ecological balance. In this way, hunting will not damage the equilibrium.
Unlike Travis, Lesperance is sympathetic and patient. He also tries to stop Travis from punishing Eckel.
Company Agent
He is an anonymous character in the story. He greets Eckel and completes his transaction for his trip. As well as, he tells him about the risks on the tour. He emphasizes that the company does not guarantee anything whether he will return or not. He also mentions the death of hunters and guides, who recently visited the past.
Moreover, readers may find a bit of political discussion between the agent and Eckel. In the beginning, he expresses his relief over Keith’s victory. However, in the end, he praises Deutscher for winning the election. Through this character, both Eckel and readers can find the glimpses of change occurred due to Eckel’s blunder.
Literary Analysis
A sound of thunder is written by Ray Bradbury. It is a science fiction short story first published in Collier’s magazine on June 28, 1952. After that, it was republished in Bradbury’s collection The Golden Apples of the Sun in 1953.
Moreover, it describes Eckel’s desire to hunt T.rex in prehistoric times. To fulfill his desire he travels back to the past along with some other hunters and his guide via a time machine. Whereas, when they arrived he instead of hunting shied away out of fear. Also, he disobeys the instructions and veers off his path and crushes a butterfly beneath his boots. Due to his disobedience, things change in the future and his guide shoots him.
This story is written after the Second World War and highlights its repercussions. Although this story is set in the future, it depicts the chaotic times of mid-twenties. Bradbury reveals the political upheaval by stereotypically using the German name Deutscher specifically highlighting Hitler’s fascist politics. Moreover, readers may find the prevailing political chaos evident through the conversation of agent and Eckel.
Similarly, readers may find Bradbury nostalgic through the desire of Eckel; traveling back into the times. It is obvious to the readers that Bradbury is yearning for the calmness of the past when there wasn’t any bloodshed or war.
In addition, he describes the cause and effect of things, how one minor mistake can impact life wholly. He explains it through the crushing of the butterfly that changes things into the future. He is of the view that we turn a blind eye towards the wrong things but they do affect us later. He gives the reference of the aftermath of the war that though it has ended, it has left its drastic side effects behind. War has put everything in disordered form.
Significance of the Title
Usually, the sound of thunder is horrifying and taken as a sign of danger. Similarly, the title itself foreshadows dangers and death in the story. At first, this sound of thunder is heard before the arrival of the giant beast. Afterwards, it is heard at the end of the story, when Travis shoots Eckel.
Setting
A sound of thunder is a science fiction story that is set in the time period of 2055. Though, no specific geographical location is given in the story. The story opens up in the office of Safari Time Inc., Time Travel Company which offers hunting in the prehistoric age.
Point of view
Bradbury has told this story from the third-person omniscient narration.
Symbolism
Bradbury has used the symbol of “metal path” for guidance and teachings of religion. He shows how society has been swerved when Eckel veers off the path. He paints a rough image of society before the readers. He shows how they have forgotten ethics at the hand of lust for power. People were killing each other just to become an imperial power. Through this, he depicts the chaos between Hitler and the Western World.
Moreover, he has used the “bullets” as a symbol of a weapon of mass destruction. He shows the consequences of brutal war and the loss of thousands of innocent lives by the blast of atom bombs. He denounces the bullets by saying “They don’t belong in the Past”. It signifies the bloodshed due to the sophisticated technology they have used. It throws light on the callousness of people how they destroyed each other to gain power.
On the other hand, Bradbury has used the symbol of “thunder” as death. In the jungle when T.rex approaches it foreshadows Eckel’s death. Similarly, he feels this danger when he returns to the future when Travis points his gun at him. Here, Bradbury depicts death is inevitable.
Additionally, in the story, the “butterfly” is used as a symbol of ecological balance. With the help of this symbol, he clarifies his point on how everything in the world is linked with each other. Travis explains this point to Eckel that if he kills a mouse it will destroy the whole food chain. In this way, their generations will vanish.
It is evident that Bradbury wants to pinpoint that same is for humans. In war, thousands of humans were killed (means a generation). So this will affect its coming generation as well because they germinate a bad seed for them.
Imagery
Bradbury has tactfully employed the imagery at certain places in the story. He pictures up the time machine before the readers how it flashes back millions of years. “A week, a month, a year, a decade! A.D. 2055. A.D. 2019. 1999! 1957! Gone! The Machine roared”
Similarly, he exhibits T.rex, a giant beast with an enormous physical power with a shiny slime skin, digging claws and daggers like teeth “Its eyes rolled, ostrich eggs, empty of all expression save hunger. It closed its mouth in a death grin”
In addition, the view of the jungle is described as a place pure and full of nature. He images the birds flying in the air and flowers as red as blood.
Tone of the Story
Overall tone employed by Bradbury in the story is suspenseful, serious and critical as well. Throughout the story, readers may feel the fears of Eckel. Also, they are put in the dilemma of what will happen next.
Literary Devices
Bradbury has beautified the story through the use of different literary devices such as personification, similes, foreshadowing. Bradbury seems to personify the thunder “the thunder grumbled like an old man.”
Further, he comes up with the comparison of a sound of thunder with “armored flesh glittered like a thousand green coins.” Here, the writer is comparing the two using simile.
Similarly, he foreshadows the death of Eckel when the company agent tells him that they guarantee nothing. From this part, readers may know something bad could happen.
Genre
It is evident to the readers that it is a science fiction short story. The whole story revolves around time travel hunting. The characters go back to the past in order to hunt dinosaurs. Moreover, Eckel’s veering off the path depicts butterfly effects in the story.
The butterfly effects show how a small change in state can cause a disturbance in the later state. This is evident when they return from the tour and the whole government is changed in the future.