The Chosen Path In 'A Sound Of Thunder'

The Chosen Path

In the short story, "A Sound of Thunder" a man named Eckels tests the delicacy of life while traveling back in time to hunt the most ferocious predator to ever walk the planet. Ray Bradbury develops the theme that every choice made has an effect so we must be cautious of our actions in times of confidence, fear and guilt. Eckels is a young man, determined to hunt for his biggest catch yet and he enters TIME SAFARI INC. hoping they can give him the thrill he's been looking for. He has hunted many things like tigers, wild boars and elephants but has never hunted something like this. In his excitement he, "waved a check for ten thousand dollars to the man behind the desk" and was ready for his safari (Bradbury 1). He showed confidence

by investing a great deal of money into his hunting and was very eager to get started. He chose to give the check to the man and sign the waiver, meaning he accepted the responsibility and consequences that followed him during his journey. Eckels, Travis the safari guide and other hunters entered the time machine and went back 60 million years. Once they reached the past, they stepped onto a narrow metal path "floating six inches above the earth" symbolizing the path of life and how going off it can cause someone to wander aimlessly (3). There is great consequences and a fee for stepping off the path because doing so can change the future. They prepared their guns and out of the forest a tyrannosaurus rex approached with mighty stride and "teeth like daggers" (6). The great beast was proven to be too much for Eckels and he was frightened, “'This time, I figured wrong. I've met my match and I admit it’" and he ran in the face of fear (6). Once he was in the past he had two choices, hunting or hiding and he was not brave enough to continue the hunt. He was selfish and chose his own safety, risking the lives of others and straying off the path. He was aware of what would happen if he went off the path and had to pay the price that came with the choices he made.

He made the choice to hide when he was afraid and stepped on a butterfly while fleeing. They returned to the time machine and arrived in present time but Eckels noticed something odd about the area and his body "screamed in silence" as he pondered what he had changed from stepping off the path (9). Every choice Eckels has ever made led up to this point in his life and then he saw the sign, ”TYME SERFARI INC" (10). He felt the guilt inside of him as he pulled a lifeless butterfly off of his shoe. The butterfly was a symbol for life and how delicate it is. By stepping on one butterfly he eliminated generations of butterflies and as a result, changed the future. Eckels begs Travis to fix the damage and start over but it is not possible, "He heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch and raise the weapon. There was a sound of thunder" (10). Eckels was guilty of stepping off the metal path and begged for help. Eckels made poor choices and his last one was to plead for help but Travis made his choice as well. Eckels kills a butterfly which ironically was the reason he was killed. Bradbury develops the theme that we should be cautious of our actions in moments of confidence, fear and guilt because every

choice has an effect.