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A Sound of Thunder

by Ray Bradbury

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Student Question

Who are the hunters in "A Sound of Thunder"?

Quick answer:

Travis, Lesperance, Eckels, Billings, and Kramer are the names of the people who go on the hunt in "A Sound of Thunder."

Expert Answers

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In Ray Bradbury's short story "The Sound of Thunder," Eckels arrives at the futuristic Time Safari to embark on a dangerous hunting expedition in the distant past. Eckles is depicted as a naive, ignorant individual who is excited about the possibility of shooting a Tyrannosaurus Rex. After the man at the desk attempts to scare Eckels from embarking on the Time Safari, he enters the Time Machine with Travis, Lesperance, and two other hunters named Billings and Kramer. All five men proceed to travel sixty million years into the past and arrive in a prehistoric jungle.

Once they arrive in the prehistoric jungle, Travis elaborates on the "chaos theory," which is also known as the "butterfly effect." The "chaos theory" concerns the interconnectedness of the universe and states that one small change in the past or present could dramatically alter the future of mankind. Travis also warns the men to remain on the Path at all times and to only shoot the dinosaur with red paint on its chest. Unfortunately, Eckels panics, runs off the Path, and steps on a prehistoric butterfly, which significantly alters the history of mankind. When they arrive in the present, Travis and Eckels are astonished to discover that Deutscher won the presidency and that the United States is a dystopian society.

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