The short story “A Sound of Thunder”, by Ray Bradbury tells the story of Eckels. Eckels pays $10,000 in order to travel back in time and hunt for animals. Eckels’ goal was to go back in time and hunt one of history’s most infamous monsters, the Tyrannosaurus. There is no guarantee that the adventures will be safe or successful. In order to avoid any problems, the company provides strict instructions on how hunters should behave once they return in time. Travis warns his fellow hunters to stay on the path. He says that even stepping on a small mouse can have drastic consequences. Eckels became frightened when he saw Tyrannosaurus Rex in close proximity. He panicked, and veered from the trail, killing one butterfly. The future reveals that Eckels’s decision to kill a single butterfly affected the presidential election.
Bradbury uses imagery and figurative words to convey the mood of the story as mysterious, unnerving and calm. Bradbury illustrates how he uses imagery and figurative language to portray a visual image of the Jungle in his explanation of it: “Sounds that resembled music filled the air, and those were pterodactyls flying with cavernous wings and giant bats suffering from night fever.” The auditory imagery is what makes the story even more memorable because we can visualize the scene as we are reading. Bradbury also uses personification, figurative language and other techniques to give inanimate objects a life. This gives the reader an even more vivid image of the story.
Bradbury uses the personification of objects to create a mood and a more convincing story. The reader is drawn in by their emotions. The author was able to set the mood for the future and prehistoric setting by using personification alongside the imagery. Eckels used this example when he described the “machine slowed. Its scream was reduced to a faint murmur.” The machine halted”. The machine stopped”.
Bradbury provides a interpretation of the dangers that choices can bring, and the impact a single decision, no matter what it was, may have on the future. He stresses the concept that all events within the tale, past, future or present, are linked through a causal chain. Travis says that “crushing some plants can add up infinisimally”. A small mistake would become a huge problem in 60 years. …”. This domino affect is caused by one event causing another. A cause is the reason for something to happen, and an effect is the resultant aftermath of that cause. These connections emphasize that a butterfly’s impact was so large. We may not realize the impact of a small action, but it can have a huge ripple effect. It is both inspiring and terrifying to see that both failure and positive changes are present in real life and on both sides of the coin. This short story may be predictable because it’s linear, but I recommend it for the immersive narrative and the connection to real life.
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