A Sound of Thunder Cover Image

A Sound of Thunder

by Ray Bradbury

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What moments in "A Sound of Thunder" illustrate the story's theme?

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One of the main themes that Ray Bradbury explores in the short story "A Sound of Thunder" concerns the consequences of the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect, also known as the chaos theory, is the idea that causing a small, seemingly insignificant difference in the past can have an enormous impact on future events. This theme also corresponds to the concept that one's actions have a linear effect on the future, and past actions have a direct relationship with our present society. Bradbury introduces the theme concerning the butterfly effect when Travis tells Eckels and the others,

"We don't want to change the Future. We don't belong here in the Past. The government doesn't like us here. We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise. A Time Machine is finicky business. Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species" (Bradbury, 3).

Travis continues to elaborate on the significance of the butterfly effect by presenting a moving argument that the death of a tiny mouse in the past can impact the entire history of humanity and civilization. Travis says,

"The stomp of your foot, on one mouse, could start an earthquake, the effects of which could shake our earth and destinies down through Time, to their very foundations. With the death of that one caveman, a billion others yet unborn are throttled in the womb. Perhaps Rome never rises on its seven hills. Perhaps Europe is forever a dark forest, and only Asia waxes healthy and teeming. Step on a mouse and you crush the Pyramids. Step on a mouse and you leave your print, like a Grand Canyon, across Eternity" (Bradbury, 3).

Travis and the employees of the Time Sarafi do their best to not impact the past when they travel back in time, but they cannot prevent Eckels from leaving the floating Path. When Eckels comes face-to-face with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, he flees in a panic and accidentally steps off the Path. Eckels accidentally kills a butterfly, which evidently has an enormous impact on the future of humanity when they discover that Deutscher is the elected president upon their return.

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This phrase appears twice in the text, and it’s used as a metaphor. (Meaning: it uses one term or image to describe another.) It refers to a noise equal to the most intense thunder you have ever heard. The first time we read it is when the Tyrannosaurus rex crashes onto the scene. Bradbury uses the thunder reference here to let us know that the dinosaur is enormous and that it dominates the landscape. The animal strikes fear into those who see, hear, and smell him, and especially the hunter Eckels.

The second time the phrase appears is in the last line of the story. We know that Travis has a gun. We know that he is upset with the changes that have occurred as a result of the butterfly that Eckels accidentally stepped on, in past time. We are left to conclude that someone was injured or killed by the gun, which at close range would have been quite loud and destructive. It is up to us readers to decide what happens and what the “sound of thunder” indicates here.

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