The Consequences In Ray Bradbury's 'A Sound Of Thunder'

Ever regretted an action you took, thinking, “How things would have been if I did this different”. We make decisions on a daily basis that can alter our future. Ray Bradbury’s story, “A Sound of Thunder” shows , it's shown that actions do have consequences.

Growing up in society, there has always been rules established. In “A Sound of Thunder” there was one rule, “...whatever you do not go off the path”. To prevent any disruption they could cause in present time they created this rule. There are laws we too face and if we break them we deal with the consequence. Eckles died his consequence, we too face our own.

We take preventative actions in our everyday lives to protect us from harm or mistakes. This may be washing our hands to ensure

we won't get sick, or looking both ways before crossing the street.
In the story, workers took actions to ensure they wouldn’t alter anything. They developed a path that didn't touch the ground and used oxygen masks to leave the air untouched. One man said, “..this purpose is to keep you from touching this world of the past”. Sometimes we may find ourselves in a situation we don’t belong in, such as Eckels. We make decisions that puts us in a tough spot regardless of how prepared we assume we are. Eckels was not prepared for killing the Tyrannosaurus. This caused him to go off the path and costing him his life.

We all have made mistakes, watched others make them, observant of the consequences. The smallest thing can have such a great effect in the future. Eckles, was flabbergasted on how stepping on a butterfly, changed the future of the his nation. On his knees crying, “Not a little thing like that! Such a small thing upset the balances”. This is how life works and the author illustrates this concept in a beautiful way.

Karma is a reflection of the choices made, which is always a result of the actions we take. Every step taken, every path chosen, is going to affect the future. We cannot go back, change what we have done, our mistakes are turn into lessons. This is why we have consequences.