A Sound of Thunder Flashcards
by Ray Bradbury — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: A Sound of Thunder
In what year is the story set?
The story is set in 2055, when time travel has become commercially available.
What is the name of the company that offers time-travel safaris?
Time Safari, Inc.
How much does Eckels pay for the safari?
Eckels pays ten thousand dollars to travel back in time and hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex.
What animal are the hunters going back in time to kill?
A Tyrannosaurus rex, sixty million years in the past.
What is the Path, and why is it important?
The Path is a floating anti-gravity walkway that hovers above the prehistoric ground. Hunters must never step off it to avoid changing the past.
Why are the hunters only allowed to kill specific dinosaurs?
The targets have been pre-researched and are animals that were about to die naturally within minutes, minimizing any disruption to the timeline.
What happens when Eckels sees the Tyrannosaurus rex?
He panics at the sheer size and ferocity of the dinosaur and stumbles off the Path into the prehistoric jungle.
What does Eckels find on his boot when they return to 2055?
A single crushed butterfly, embedded in the mud on the sole of his boot.
How has the present changed when the hunters return?
A sign in the Time Safari office contains misspellings, the air smells different, and a different presidential candidate (Deutscher) has won the election.
How does the story end?
Travis raises his rifle and shoots Eckels. The story ends with the words 'There was a sound of thunder.'
Who is Eckels?
The protagonist, a wealthy hunter who pays to go on the time safari but panics during the hunt and steps off the Path.
Who is Travis?
The stern, knowledgeable safari guide who repeatedly warns the hunters about the dangers of disrupting the past.
Who is Lesperance?
Travis's assistant who travels into the past ahead of the group to identify and mark dinosaurs that are about to die naturally.
Who are Keith and Deutscher?
Keith is the moderate, democratic presidential candidate who originally won the election. Deutscher is the authoritarian candidate who wins after the timeline is altered.
What is the butterfly effect as depicted in this story?
The idea that a very small change — killing one butterfly — can cascade through millions of years and drastically alter the present.
What does the story suggest about technological hubris?
That no amount of engineering or safety protocols can eliminate the risk of tampering with forces beyond our full understanding.
What is the story's message about the irreversibility of actions?
Some mistakes cannot be undone. Eckels begs to go back and fix things, but Travis's gunshot makes clear that the consequences are permanent.
How does the story connect to environmental themes?
It illustrates ecological interconnectedness — disrupting even one small organism can unravel an entire chain of life across millions of years.
What does the crushed butterfly symbolize?
The fragility of the natural world and the disproportionate consequences of seemingly insignificant actions.
What does the Path symbolize?
Moral and ethical boundaries — staying on the Path means following rules and exercising restraint; stepping off means facing irreversible consequences.
What are the multiple meanings of the title 'A Sound of Thunder'?
It refers to the T. rex's footsteps, the hunters' rifles killing the dinosaur, and the final gunshot that kills Eckels.
How does Bradbury use foreshadowing in the story?
Through the warning sign at Time Safari, Travis's urgent lectures, and Eckels's visible nervousness — all signaling disaster before it happens.
What does 'anti-gravity' mean in the context of the Path?
The Path floats above the ground using technology that counteracts gravity, preventing the hunters from touching the prehistoric earth.
What is a 'trophic cascade'?
An ecological chain reaction where disrupting one level of the food web causes effects that ripple through multiple other levels.
When was 'A Sound of Thunder' first published?
June 28, 1952, in Collier's magazine. It was later collected in R Is for Rocket (1962).