A Sound of Thunder – Close Reading

The short story "A Sound of Thunder" has always struck me as a metaphor for
enlightenment. Before a major storm develops, it's not uncommon for there to be thunder.
When thunder rumbles, people notice and keep an eye out for Mother Nature. To show Sonia
Rand that the tragedy had occurred in another universe, Travis Ryer offered her a holo-disc.
Thunder-like thunder may wake anyone who's been playing about with Time with this
holographic disc.

The sign on the wall seemed to quaver under a film of sliding warm water. Eckels felt his
eyelids blink over his stare, and the character burned in this momentary darkness:

This means that the author wants to tell us

TIME SAFARI, INC. that he is in a different place and time. This
unfolds a thought that a past will be open
SAFARIS TO ANY YEAR IN THE or there will be a reconciliation.
PAST. YOU NAME THE ANIMAL.
WE TAKE YOU
THERE. YOU
SHOOT It

"We guarantee nothing," said the official, "except the dinosaurs." He turned. "This is Mr.
Travis, your Safari Guide in the Past. He'll tell you what and where to shoot. If he says no
shooting, no shooting. If you disobey
instructions, there's a stiff penalty of
It means that time travel is
another ten thousand dollars, plus possible dangerous and not following
instructions may cause danger to
government action, on your return." the time traveler

Eckels glanced across the vast

office at a mass and tangle, a
snaking and humming of wires
and steel boxes, at an aurora
that flickered now orange, The lines underlined are examples of
figurative language
now silver, now blue. There
was a sound like a gigantic
bonfire burning all of Time, all the years and all the parchment calendars, all the hours
piled high and set aflame.
 Eckels flushed angrily. "Trying to scare me!"

"Frankly, yes. We don't want anyone going who'll panic at the first shot. Six Safari leaders
were killed last
year, and a These lines stated that they are currently
having a dangerous trip. It is like listening
dozen hunters. to the sound of thunder scary and you’ll feel
We're here to the danger is near
give you the
severest thrill a
real hunter ever asked for. Traveling you back sixty million years to bag the biggest game in
all of Time. Your personal check's still there. Tear it up."Mr. Eckels looked at the check. His
fingers twitched.

So what?" Travis snorted

quietly. "Well, what about the
foxes that'll need those mice to
survive? For want of ten mice,
a fox dies. For want of ten The lines stated here proves that there is a
possible consequence of their time travel,
foxes a lion starves. For want one small mistake can lead to a great change
in the present and future
of a lion, all manner of insects,
vultures, infinite billions of life
forms are thrown into chaos and destruction. Eventually, it all boils down to this: fiftynine
million years later, a caveman, one of a dozen on the entire world, goes hunting wild boar
or sabertoothed tiger for food. But you, friend, have stepped on all the tigers in that
region.

Eckels moaned. He dropped to his knees. He scrabbled at the golden butterfly with shaking
fingers. "Can't we," he pleaded to the world, to himself, to the officials, to the Machine, "can't
we take it back, can't we make it alive again? Can't we start over? Can't we"

Sound of Thunder's key themes include nature preservation as well as time

and technology's perils. Technological dangers: According to circumstances
depicted in the novel, it is difficult for humans to completely nullify the
hazards of new technology. This narrative also reminds us of a notion
known as the "Butterfly Effect" in the final paragraph. As the name implies,
even a seemingly insignificant occurrence can have far-reaching
ramifications.