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A Sound of Thunder

 A Sound of Thunder
type
TVTItem
 A Sound of Thunder
label
A Sound of Thunder
 A Sound of Thunder
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ASoundOfThunder
 A Sound of Thunder
comment
A Short Story first published by Ray Bradbury in the Collier's magazine, June 1952 issue. "A Sound of Thunder" is one of the Trope Namers for Butterfly of Doom, because this story introduced the Time Travel plot where small changes in the past snowball into the future.The story is set in the (then-distant) year of 2055, shortly after another Election Day result. The protagonist is a hunter known simply as "Eckels", who prepares to use time travel to visit the age of the dinosaurs and kill a Tyrannosaurus rex. His guide is very emphatic about the need to prevent changes to the timeline, and exposition of time travel rules and setting details are interwoven into the narrative. Naturally, the rules are violated when Eckels runs off the path, but nothing seems to have been broken yet..."A Sound of Thunder" has been adapted several times, with a 2005 movie released by Warner Bros., an EC Comics adaptation available here, as well as a spin-off novel series and the short story series Rivers of Time.The original story has been reprinted dozens of times, including in Bradbury's own collections, such as The Golden Apples Of The Sun (1953), R Is For Rocket (1962), Twice Twenty Two (1966), and Dinosaur Tales (1983).Not to be confused with the Pink Floyd live album/concert film A Delicate Sound Of Thunder.
 A Sound of Thunder
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2024-03-19T13:15:59Z
 A Sound of Thunder
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2024-03-19T13:15:59Z
 A Sound of Thunder
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DBTropes
 A Sound of Thunder / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 A Sound of Thunder / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: Twice in the narration. First in the middle, and then a Finale Title Drop.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_18d15922
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A Sound of Thunder / int_18d15922
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2dfc29a2
type
Dumb Dinos
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2dfc29a2
comment
Dumb Dinos: The T. rex is described as monstrous and devoid of emotion, but also awesomely majestic.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2dfc29a2
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1.0
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2dfc29a2
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A Sound of Thunder / int_2dfc29a2
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2ec219ee
type
Butterfly of Doom
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2ec219ee
comment
Butterfly of Doom: The archetypal example and Trope Namer — when Eckels steps on a prehistoric butterfly, he discovers he caused major changes (e.g. the outcome of an important election) upon returning to the present.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_2ec219ee
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A Sound of Thunder / int_2ec219ee
 A Sound of Thunder / int_3203ef8b
type
Time Traveler's Dinosaur
 A Sound of Thunder / int_3203ef8b
comment
Time Traveler's Dinosaur: The protagonist is a hunter known simply as "Eckels", who uses a time travel agency to visit the age of the dinosaurs and kill a Tyrannosaurus rex.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_3203ef8b
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A Sound of Thunder / int_3203ef8b
 A Sound of Thunder / int_36e63b81
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Rule of Cool
 A Sound of Thunder / int_36e63b81
comment
Rule of Cool: Alternate universes filled with dinosaurs, samurai, sapient pterodactyls, cyborgs, and Aztecs. At one point it is hinted that there is even an entire universe filled with cat people.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_36e63b81
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A Sound of Thunder / int_36e63b81
 A Sound of Thunder / int_4832a3bb
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Always Chaotic Evil
 A Sound of Thunder / int_4832a3bb
comment
Always Chaotic Evil: The Gairk, a race of sentient Allosaurs.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_4832a3bb
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_501de366
type
Temporal Paradox
 A Sound of Thunder / int_501de366
comment
Temporal Paradox: Subverted when the safari guides explain that "Time steps aside" to prevent such paradoxes from happening.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_501de366
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A Sound of Thunder / int_501de366
 A Sound of Thunder / int_549a7152
type
Godwin's Law of Time Travel
 A Sound of Thunder / int_549a7152
comment
Godwin's Law of Time Travel: The Ur-Example, although Deutscher is only Nazi-like rather than full-on Nazi.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_549a7152
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A Sound of Thunder / int_549a7152
 A Sound of Thunder / int_54d6f53f
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Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory
 A Sound of Thunder / int_54d6f53f
comment
Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: The travelers and their tour guides are the only ones who seem aware of the changed Bad Future.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_54d6f53f
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A Sound of Thunder / int_54d6f53f
 A Sound of Thunder / int_6282a6d6
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Abusive Alien Parents
 A Sound of Thunder / int_6282a6d6
comment
Abusive Alien Parents: The Mutata send their young off to be raised by other Mutata.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_6282a6d6
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A Sound of Thunder / int_6282a6d6
 A Sound of Thunder / int_67d722d8
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A Storm Is Coming
 A Sound of Thunder / int_67d722d8
comment
A Storm Is Coming: The phrase "a sound of thunder" occurs a couple of times in the story, each time prefiguring danger.
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_7089d02e
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All Germans Are Nazis
 A Sound of Thunder / int_7089d02e
comment
All Germans Are Nazis: The fascistic candidate Deutscher's name is based on the German word for German.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_7089d02e
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A Sound of Thunder / int_7089d02e
 A Sound of Thunder / int_a220d528
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What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
 A Sound of Thunder / int_a220d528
comment
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Who thought it was a good idea to make big-game time traveling, knowing full well what the risks and consequences were? What sort of monetary gain could be worth the risk of waking up one morning to have never existed? Simple: Screw the Rules, I Have Money!.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_a220d528
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A Sound of Thunder / int_a220d528
 A Sound of Thunder / int_aadcbbe4
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Close-Enough Timeline
 A Sound of Thunder / int_aadcbbe4
comment
Close-Enough Timeline: Travis actually theorizes about this before the hunt began.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_aadcbbe4
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_d243518d
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In Spite of a Nail
 A Sound of Thunder / int_d243518d
comment
In Spite of a Nail: Despite changing the political landscape just enough to ensure the rise of Fascism and the basic tenets of the English language, nothing else of major importance seems to have changed in the modern day. Then again, we only see a few of the changes to the modern timeline before the end of the story. . . given the obvious changes already shown, who the hell knows what else is different?
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A Sound of Thunder / int_d243518d
 A Sound of Thunder / int_d2528a4a
type
Terrifying Tyrannosaur
 A Sound of Thunder / int_d2528a4a
comment
Terrifying Tyrannosaur: The story's Tyrannosaurus is true to form. Just seeing it for the first time is enough to make Eckels (a seasoned big game hunter) lose his nerve.
 A Sound of Thunder / int_d2528a4a
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_e3bdea5c
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Artistic License – Politics
 A Sound of Thunder / int_e3bdea5c
comment
Artistic License – Politics: While the setting isn't specified beyond a year, the story implies that it takes place in America. Unless the US constitution was amended at some point, presidential elections occur every leap year, meaning that the actual presidential elections in the 2050s would take place in 2052 and 2056, not 2054 as implied.
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_f09a2e19
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Time Travel for Fun and Profit
 A Sound of Thunder / int_f09a2e19
comment
Time Travel for Fun and Profit: Travis' agency organizes safaris into the past for big game hunters.
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 A Sound of Thunder / int_feea5139
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Stay on the Path
 A Sound of Thunder / int_feea5139
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Stay on the Path: Or else!
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A Sound of Thunder

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 A Sound of Thunder
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A Storm Is Coming / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Abusive Alien Parents / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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American Literature (N to S) / int_fcac8bd2
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Casual Time Travel / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Doom It Yourself / int_fcac8bd2
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Dumb Dinos / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Nu Speling / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Short Story / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Time Travel for Fun and Profit / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Time Travel Tales / int_fcac8bd2
 A Sound of Thunder
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Time Traveler's Dinosaur / int_fcac8bd2