English | Model Fiction Summary | Summary of “The Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
Model Fiction Summary
Summary of “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury’s short story “A Sound of Thunder” begins when the protagonist, a
man named Eckels, enters the office of Time Safari. Eckels pays $10,000 for the
opportunity to travel to any time period to hunt any animal. Eckels is reminded by
the clerk that there are stiff penalties for disobeying his guide and that there are no
guarantees, “except the dinosaurs” (Bradbury 203). Eckels makes small talk with the
clerk. They discuss the election and joke that the time machine would have come in
handy if a man named Deutscher had won the election. Eckels had favored Keith, a
progressive candidate, while Deutscher is described by Eckels as a tyrant.
Eckels is focused on killing a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The clerk warns him of the dangers,
listing the guides and hunters who had died the previous year. Trembling, Eckels steps
into the time machine with the Safari Leader, Travis, his assistant, Lesperance, and
two other hunters.
When the group arrives in the past, 60 million years to be exact, Travis leads them
down a metal path towards the jungle. The Path, made of antigravity metal, is
designed to prevent hunters from having any physical contact with the past. When
Eckels asks why, Travis explains how something as small as killing a mouse or
crushing a blade of grass could create a ripple effect, affecting plants, animals, and
humans millions of years in the future. Travis then explains that they use the time
machine to locate animals that are about to die of natural causes. They mark these
animals with red paint and take clients back in time to just a few moments before the
death of those marked creatures. This way, the animals’ death will have no impact on
the future.
When they arrive, they have sixty seconds to get into position. The dinosaur then
emerges from the mist. Eckels is overcome with fear at the sight of the massive beast.
Terrified, Eckels shouts that he wants out. In his panic, Eckels gives the position of
the hunters away. The dinosaur lunges, and a haze of gunfire and smoke rings out.
Terrified, Eckels runs, stepping off of the path momentarily.
The men continue to fire. While close, they are able to bring the dinosaur down. As
the men make their way back to the machine, a tree falls—the same tree that was
scheduled to kill the animal originally. The group finds Eckels, shivering in the time
machine. Upon seeing the dirt on Eckels’s shoes, Travis threatens to leave Eckels
behind. Not only did Eckels’s panic nearly cost the crew their lives, Eckels may have
altered history forever. Eckels attempts to bribe Travis with a hundred thousand dollars
to take him back. Travis refuses Eckels’s money, but demands that Eckels retrieve the
bullets from the dead Tyrannosaurus.
Begin annotation.
The opening
paragraphs outline
the
characters, setting,
and basic situation
of the story. End
annotation.
Begin annotation. In
the body paragraphs,
important details
to the development
of the plot and
characters are
discussed. End
annotation.
Begin annotation.
The
main conflicts
and events of the
story are
summarized. End
annotation.
When they arrive back in the year 2055, Eckels notices that something is off. The sign
for the Time Safari company is spelled differently; there is a strange smell in the air.
Everything is the same and yet, different.
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Page 1 of 3
English | Model Fiction SummaryTESTEnglish
| Summary of| “The
ModelSound
Short of
Story
Thunder”
| Reaching
by Ray
theBradbury
Summit
Looking at the bottom of his shoe, Eckels discovers that he has stepped on a butterfly.
How could something that small make any difference? In a panic, Eckels asks the clerk
who had won the presidential election. “You joking? You know damn well. Deutscher,
of course! Who else?” (Bradbury 215). Realizing that his seemingly insignificant
actions have changed history forever, Eckels begs Travis to take him back so that they
can fix this mess. Travis then raises his weapon, shooting and killing Eckels.
© 2017 K12 Inc. All rights reserved.
Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
Begin annotation.
The last paragraph
summarizes the
story’s
resolution
End annotation.
Page 2 of 3
English | Model Fiction SummaryTESTEnglish
| Summary of| “The
ModelSound
Short of
Story
Thunder”
| Reaching
by Ray
theBradbury
Summit
Begin annotation. If
anything is being
cited, it needs to be
in a list of
Works Cited
Bradbury , Ray. A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories. New York: Harper, 2005. Print.
works cited, with
properly formatted
entries
End annotation.
© 2017 K12 Inc. All rights reserved.
Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
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