one that's very easy to answer, unless Bradbury himself answered it at some point in his life. We might point to various pieces of evidence in the text itself, but the conclusions we draw should be recognized as hypothetical.

"A Sound of Thunder," along with other short stories by Bradbury and other prominent science fiction authors, was published in the now-discontinued magazine Collier's. Collier's had a reputation for publishing science and science fiction short stories and generally progressive political viewpoints. Thus, we might assume that the story is aimed at an educated, politically active and liberal, "forward-thinking" demographic.

We might also assume, from the fact that the story partially seizes upon the public fascination with dinosaurs, that the intended audience is one which retains a sense of childlike enthusiasm for them, although tempered with the more adult concepts like hunting. Psychologically, there is a wealth of concept to explore in this area, such as the idea that hunting a dinosaur is a form of the adult's persona and interests dominating the interests of the same person's childhood persona, or the "man" taking dominance over the "boy," representing a maturing or rite of passage. This might also reflect upon Eckels' character and speak to his own lack of maturity.