Mr. Kolade’s 8th grade English Weblog

Because there were so many really good comments, here is a recap of some of them that I thought touched on some good issues.

Angelica Conway Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 2:11 pm I think that it was extremly probable that Eckles wasn’t the one who was shot. I belive that Travis ( or anyone else who went on the safari ) could’ve comited suicide due to thier new and strange enviornment. The book does imply that Eckles was shot but then again the book does have alot of twists and turns. It is probable that he was destroying the time machine in rage.
I think that the author Ray Bradbury didn’t tell us exactly what happens to keep us guessing and compile the characteristics from the Main Charactersand draw our own conclusions.

Emmanuel Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 4:14 pm e

I think that when the butterfly was killed in the past, it kept others from learning beauty and colors. at the end of the book when Travis shot the gun, I think he shot himself because since Eckels messed up the future, he would have to pay a lot of money.

Andrew Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 4:42 pm eI think that Travis did shoot Eckles because it was his fault for messing up the future but it is still possible that he could have been killing himself or destroying the time machine like other people have said. I think that not killing Eckles, letting him live knowing he messed up the world, would have been a worse punishment than killing him. Killing him would have been an escape from failure for Eckles.

Kelsey Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 5:04 pm eI think that at the end of the story Eckles was killed. I think that if he was killed, he might be dead before he went into the Time machine. I think that Ray Bradbury did not say if some one was hit with the gun or if someone died because he wanted people to guess what happened.
I think that Eckles should not have died because otherwise he would have just changed the world and not have to think about it. If he did live then he would always have to know that he changed the world for the worse. I dont think that any one but the other two people in the group would know any diffrent way of life. So he would think that he was mad because no one else would think of the world any diffrent but him. He would have to live a lonely, sad life untill he died

Jordan Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 5:32 pm eI think that the ’sound of thunder’ heard at the end of the book was actually Travis shooting himself. It would be natural to think that Travis would be shooting Eckles since he was the one who altered the future, but shooting Eckles would not be punishing him; it would be saving him from a world very different from which they left it. Ray Bradbury probably wanted the readers to have an open mind about the outcome of the story and why the outcome actually happened, which explains why he ended the story openly. I think that Ray Bradbury wanted the readers to think that Travis shot Eckles, even though that might not have been the case.

Raya Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:01 pm eI think that the butterfly represents beauty, grace and fun. If the butterfly is dead none of these will exist. No beauty or grace in life; life has become dull and boring and there is no reason to get out of bed.

Kevin Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:03 pm eWhats to say that Travis even shot his gun? Maybe it was a dinosaur like before. It could have been anything that makes a sound of thunder. Could it have been thunder itself?

William J. Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:04 pm eThe hunters should embrace their new “Post Stomp World” and see how much of a difference (besides appearance) this new world is. Maybe they could see some of the mistakes that their old world made and learn from it. And if they do not like it, they can always go back and change the past to correct the future. (Though I wouldn’t advise it!)

The butterfly is a symbol of beauty, color, life, radiance, evolution (caterpillar to butterfly), and all that good stuff. Which are most of the things that people who have changed the world, have used. Without, maybe they wouldn’t have been inspired to change the world.

Maybe Mr. Bradbury wanted to keep you guessing and see whether or not you really were paying any attention to the story.

Deji M Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:22 pm eI’m having mixed feelings if Travis shot Eckles or himself. After reading the some parts of the book again, it seems to be clear that if Eckles were to mess up the present day Travis would kill Eckles one way or another. But it seems stupid for a person to just shoot someone in the open like that. So it could be a possibility that Travis shot himself, as he did not like the direction of the new world. I don’t see how living in the new world would be punishment though. You would get used it anyway.

As for the butterfly, it represented peace and beauty, which Deutscher obviously did not have. And when Eckles killed that butterfly it altered the future making everything not as colorful as it was before, making Deutscher the better leader over Keith.

Blair Winchester Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:24 pm eI agree with Allen when he says that it is a possibility that Eckles never got shot. Yes, I also agree with Mr. Kolade that that would make it more interesting at the end of the story if this were true.

Maybe the author left it as unknown so that people could think about it after the story was finished, as we are now. So i guess everything has to happen for a reason and he obviously didn’t end the story this way on accident.

Well I think I know what the butterfly could represent, but I’m not sure why that would change the world……Does that mean that my idea was wrong?

Maybe the new world is dull. Maybe the reason it is dull is because the butterfly that died held the beauty within the world. And now that it is gone the world is no longer interesting.

Yet things now.. (Post butterfly stomp) are different and my first thought of the butterfly was that it represented change. Like, at fist, it is a caterpillar, and then the cacoon, and then the butterfly. so when it died things wouldn’t change but that was obviously was not right. Because things changed.

But as I write this I am beginning to wonder, Mr. Kolade, what would you say about these questions?

Alec Kanyuck Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 7:43 pm eI think that kevin’s interpretation of the ending was very interesting, like the movie trailer, there may be dinosaurs or some other creatures, still living in the world that maybe didnt become extinct becuause of the buterflies non-existentence.

Also, living in this new world would probably not be sutableble to the 5 time travelers, becuase of their tottally different development, but it would be just fine for everyone else, so they should either killl themselves, go back in time and live somewhere else.

Valerie Holt Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 8:26 pm eIf the idea hadn’t been thought of after this story was written, I would say that the butterfly represented the Butterfly Effect, the theory that if a butterfly flaps its wings, the slight change in the atmosphere could lead to a hurricane, or prevent a hurricane.

Perhaps, since the Butterfly Effect came after A Sound of Thunder, the idea was named after the story?

Jordan Says:
November 7th, 2006 at 9:20 pm eI don’t see how just because the butterfly represented “change” that without it the world would not change. I get the idea, but I don’t think that’s the case.

I think that the butterfly served as motivation or encouragement to people, and without it people just don’t seem to have that sort of hope anymore. Without the butterfly, people became less aesthetic and hopeful so I think they gave up.