A Sound of Thunder

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A Sound of Thunder "Change is a welcomed friend... But only if it is invited." -Shane Pendley. In the short story "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury, the story explores the carelessness of mankind. Mankind's carelessness proves their arrogance in believing that they are good enough to tamper with life as we know it. Change can happen in an instant, by accident, or on purpose. Carelessness is shown through Time Safari Inc. when they take five hunters into prehistoric times to hunt a Tyrannosaurous Rex. Thoughout the journey the hunters are warned and reminded to stay on the anti-gravity metal "Path" given to them to avoid altering the future. But when one careless, cowardly man, Eckles, catches sight of the monsterous dinosaur he walks blindly off of the Path and squashes a butterfly. The effects that the dead butterfly left on the universe was far greater than anyone would have anticipated. Some of mankind's careless acts are shown through Bradburys short story. One example of carelessness in the story is when Time Safari Inc. takes a time machine into the past to shoot a Tyrannosaurous Rex. The problem is the hunters that are taking part in the trip could potentially change the natural order of the future, "A time machine is finicky business. Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species" (225-226). The carelessness and lack of courage of the protagonist, Eckles, caused him to veer off of the Path once he sees the dinosaur. When the Safari Guide, Travis, discovered what Eckles had done, he was furious. He was worried what would happen to the future, but he was even more distraught about the government revoking their license to travel, causing them to lose money. Another careless act in the short story was shown when everybody traveled back to the

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