Themes

We will now outline the main themes in the short story “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury. We will also discuss some of the motifs used by Bradbury in the short story.

Connection between the past, present and future

The short story carefully explores the connection between past, present and future. As Travis explains to Eckels, every minor and apparently insignificant action can have immense consequences. Travis uses the example of a mouse to demonstrate how mankind could have never existed if a mouse would have died millions of years ago. This is merely an illustration of a greater concept – that of the butterfly effect – which we will further analyze in the following part of the study guide.

You might want to think about other elements that connect past, present and future. For example, if Thomas Edison would have chosen another educational path, he would not have invented the electric light bulb and history would not have been the same and we probably would not be using the same appliances we use today. Another example is that of Hitler – mentioned in the short story. If he would have been accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the course of mankind would have probably changed drastically. Can you think of other important examples?

Danger of scientific discoveries

The short story also touches the theme of the dangers brought by scientific discoveries. In “A Sound of Thunder”, the Time Machine is, at the same time, a dangerous yet innovative piece of technology. Its...