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Tess Nakaishi

Mr. A

English 1B

11/20/09

Face Your Fears

Everyone experiences fear. We all know what it’s like to feel our heart pounding and our

hands shaking and the desire to simply sprint away from whatever we are facing Yet we want to

be valiant; those who allow themselves to be controlled by their terror, who forsake their

companions to the monster, are scorned and looked down on. One such person is in Ray

Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder,” a short story about a group of hunters who travel back in

time to shoot dinosaurs. Eckels, the main character from Bradbury’s story, is a craven crybaby,

as demonstrated though his actions, thoughts, speech, and other character’s reactions to him.

One of the first ways Eckels shows his lack of bravery is through his actions. He seems to

run away when real danger approaches. One instance of this is one page 41 when “Eckels, not

looking back, walked blindly to the edge of the Path, his gun limp in his arms, stepped off the

Path, and walked, not knowing it, in the jungle.” This shows he is walking, literally, away from

things instead of standing up to them. Then on page 37, it says, “Eckels swayed on the padded

seat, his face pale, his jaw stiff. He felt the trembling in his hands and found his hands tight on

the new rifle.” Obviously he is tense and nervous. Also, on page 41, “He looked at his feet as if

trying to make them move. He gave a grunt of helplessness.” He was clearly so afraid he

couldn’t even move; if someone is relaxed and confident, then they can usually walk. Finally, on
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page 43, he is described thus: “Then he fell. He lay where he fell, not moving.” Since he’s not

dead here, this demonstrates that he shocks easily and reacts rather extremely to this distress.

Therefore his actions clearly point towards the fact that Eckels is none too bold.

Another aspect that displays Eckels’s cowardice is his thoughts. He shows a tendency

towards trying to avoid and skip around the unpleasant truth when he thinks. On page 36, it says,

“Eckels’s mind whirled. It couldn’t change things. Killing one butterfly couldn’t be that

important! Could it?” If he were stout-hearted, he would face up to the facts. Also, on page 41,

“He had weighed the evidence and this was his considered opinion. The rifle in his hands seemed

a cap gun.” His ‘considered opinion’ is just a reaction of anxiety, since he had really no time to

weigh all the evidence, and this shows that he lets his fearful emotions cloud his judgment. As

thus, his thoughts also provide evidence that Eckels is a sissy.

A third manner that shows Eckels as a coward is through his speech. He says several

things that disclose his overall tendency to alarm easily and back out of bad situations. For

example, page 43, says, “‘Don’t look at me,’ Eckels cried. ‘I haven’t done anything. Just ran off

the Path that’s all, a little mud on my shoes- what do you want me to do- get down and pray?’”

This tells us that he is trying to deny his actions in fear of the consequences, and also that he is

being sarcastic and whiny about it. Then on page 41, he says, “‘Get me out of here,’ said Eckels.

‘It was never like this before. I was always sure I’d come through alive. I had good guides, good

safaris and safety. This time I figured wrong. I’ve met met my match and I admit it. This is too

much for me to get hold of.’” It is apparent from this quote that he is shirking out of his

commitment, because he has chosen to desert instead of staying and confronting the monster.

The evidence presented through the things Eckels says all serve to demonstrate how Eckels is a

wimp.
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Finally, Eckels confirms he is a quitter is by how other characters react to him. The way

other people, such as Travis, the guide, respond and what they say express their dislike and low

opinion of him. “‘He’s dead, you idiot!’” is one thing Travis says to Eckels on page 43. This

shows that Travis recognizes how stupid it is to be afraid of something that’s dead and that he

despises Eckels for it. Also on page 43, Travis says, “‘The bullets! The bullets can’t be left

behind. They don’t belong in the Past; they might change anything. Here’s my knife. Dig them

out!’” this represents that Travis wants Eckels to suffer for what he did by testing his limited

valor. These are some ways other character’s reactions contribute to the idea that Eckels is an

easily intimidated person.

Evidently Eckels is, to put it bluntly, a lily-livered, yellow-bellied weakling. He shows

this through his shirking actions. His alarmist thoughts also present the fact. It becomes

irritatingly obvious he is chicken through what he says. Finally, the way other characters react to

him with scorn and dislike prove he is in want of courage. So, the next time fear raises its ugly

head to strike, remember Eckels, and resist the urge to run away from all the monsters of life, for

sometimes we must challenge the things that scare us most, or risk being seen as a spineless

milksop.
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Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “A Sound of Thunder.” Elements of Literature: Third Course. Ed. Kathleen

Daniels. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2002.