Thunder's Destruction

Aleena Gaines

Professor Berger

English 111, Section 352

19 October 2017

ROUGH DRAFT

THUNDER`S DESTRUCTION

      ‘BOOM!’ A sound of thunder is what most kids are afraid of, but in this story by Ray Bradbury “A Sound of Thunder” leads to a character`s demise. The setting of the climax contributes to the change of the character’s personal perspective because that is when Eckels truly understands the consequences of his actions.  In the short story ‘A Sound of Thunder’ Eckels changes from a confident, arrogant man to a man who is a coward.                                             The climax of the story is where the story truly unfolds. When Eckels returned to the present he felt, and smelled the difference. He couldn`t quite pin point what the difference was he could feel it, smell it, but the immediate change he saw was the sign. That morning he could read it normally to it being spelled phonetically. “TYME SEFARI INC. SEFARIS TU ANY YEER EN THE PAST. YU NAIM THE ANIMALL. WEE TAEKYUTHAIR. YU SHOOT ITT.” (Bradbury 145).                                                                                                                 Eckels is the protagonist of the story, he is a prideful and arrogant man.    He wanted to travel back in time to the past, shoot a dinosaur, and return safely to the present.  In the midst of the safari trip Eckels got spooked and ran off the path to go back to the time machine, and wounded up changing the present. He changed from a confident, arrogant man to a coward.  

The setting is the location, time, ideas, values, and beliefs. At the onset of the story Eckels is in the Time Safari building in the year 2055.  The Time Safari will allow Eckels  to travel to any year in the past to shoot an animal.  Eckels travel sixty million years into the past. When they return it is not the 2055 as they knew it, but a different present.

Having too much pride can overcompensate for an individual`s short fall deference in attitude and actual mental preparedness. In the case of Eckels at first was full of pride and arrogance.  Eckels was playing with his gun while Travis was trying to explain the dangers of time travel and what could happen is you make even a small mistake.  “Why” Eckels asked.”” We don`t want to change the future. We don`t belong here in the past. The government doesn`t like us here. We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise. A time machine is finicky business. Not knowing it we might kill an important animal, a small bird, roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species.” (Bradbury 140) He doesn`t care for the time, space continuum he just wants to shoot a dinosaur, he has the money so why can`t he. When the dinosaur showed up Eckels did a complete one-eighty, he panicked. Eckels ran off the path, kicked up some dirt, and ran all the way to the time machine.  When Travis and the rest of the group returned to the time machine, Travis made Eckels go back to the dinosaur and remove the bullets. “Go out there. The monster`s next to the path. Stick your arms up to your elbows in his mouth. Then you can come back with us.” (Bradbury 144). Eckels responded with “That`s unreasonable!” “The monster`s dead, you idiot. 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!” (Bradbury 144) .