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עמוד:20
Booi ^ Veb ^ Read the following online review of "A Sound of Thunder" and decide whether you are interested in reading the story itself . Explain your decision and refer to parts of the review . "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury ( mR isfor Rocket , 1952 ) "A Sound of Thunder" is a powerful story that is now considered a classic of science fiction . Ray Bradbury once described science fiction as "sociological studies of the future . things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together . " In this story , Bradbury makes his calculations , but do they add up ? "A Sound of Thunder" is set in the United States . some time in the future , when time travel is possible . Time Safari , Inc . is a travel agency that takes safari hunters back to the wilds of the past . In fact , the animals that are hunted and killed by time travelers are those animals that are about to die . We are told that Mr . Eckels , one of the main characters , has decided to travel back in time . Eckels has chosen to travel back 60 million years , when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth . His goal is to "bag" the biggest and fiercest of them all — the T-Rex ! The story begins as Mr . Eckels enters the travel agency . Before departing . Mr . Travis , the time travel safari guide , explains the rules of time travel . All travelers must stay on a specially built path and shoot the animal only when instructed . He explains that time travelers must be very careful not to touch or change anything , because changing something in the past might alter the future . This is the central issue of the story . The safari reaches its destination in time and place . Suddenly . the T-Rex appears . creating what Bradbury calls " a sound of thunder . " The noise terrifies Eckels and he accidentally slips and falls off the specially built path . In his fall , he steps on a butterfly . which he later finds dead under his shoe . What might be the consequences of this mishap ? Could it be insignificant , or might it have major consequences ? The answer is suggested in the final pages of the story . Bradbury provides the reader with several examples of what the safari party finds on its return to the " present , " such as the travel agency sign , now written , Tyme Sefari , Inc . The small differences signify that the world may actually be more altered than any of the characters can imagine . This story is a "must read" for us all . It is the source of what is called the butterfly effect , posing questions about the impact of seemingly minor events on later developments . The reader is left wondering whether something like this could reall y happen or whether it is , indeed , just science fiction .
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