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Mr. Eckels
A safari guide employed by Time Safari, Inc., Mr. Travis leads the expedition on which Mr. Eckels sets out. Travis has a keen sense of the danger of their trip, but he is primarily concerned with protecting the bottom line. He stresses how much Time Safari, Inc. pays the government in order to stay in business and warns the hunters that they must avoid straying from the path at all costs. He also scolds Eckels for handling his gun improperly. Yet despite his apparent concern for rules, Mr. Travis also appears volatile and impatient. For instance, he responds with anger when Eckels does not keep total silence during the dinosaur’s approach. And after the hunt concludes, Travis becomes enraged when he realizes that Eckels has strayed from the path. He laments the huge government fine to be paid and suggests leaving Eckels behind, although that would only compound the damage to the past. Lesperance talks him down from this extreme punishment, but Travis still forces Eckels to retrieve the bullets from the dead animal’s corpse. After returning to the present, Travis tells Eckels to leave and never return. When Eckels draws attention to his mistake of stepping on a butterfly, however, Travis responds with deadly force. Impervious to Eckels’ pleas, he aims his rifle at the man’s head and concludes the story with another sound of thunder.
Mr. Travis Quotes in A Sound of Thunder
The A Sound of Thunder quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Travis or refer to Mr. Travis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
A Sound of Thunder
Quotes
Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species. […] The stomp of your foot, on one mouse, could start an earthquake, the effects of which could shake our earth and destinies down through time, to their very foundations.
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“It can’t be killed.” Eckels pronounced this verdict quietly, as if there could be no argument. He had weighed the evidence and this was his considered opinion. The rifle in his hands seemed a cap gun. “We were fools to come. This is impossible.” […] Eckels, not looking back, walked blindly to the edge of the Path, his gun limp in his arms, stepped off the Path, and walked, not knowing it, in the jungle.
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This ruins us! We’ll forfeit! Thousands of dollars of insurance! We guarantee no one leaves the Path. He left it. Oh, the fool! I’ll have to report to the government. They might revoke our licence to travel. Who knows what he’s done to Time, to History!
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… “can’t we take it back, can’t we make it alive again? Can’t we start over? Can’t we—”
He did not move. Eyes shut, he waited, shivering. He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon.
There was a sound of thunder.
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Mr. Travis Quotes in A Sound of Thunder
The A Sound of Thunder quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Travis or refer to Mr. Travis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
A Sound of Thunder
Quotes
Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species. […] The stomp of your foot, on one mouse, could start an earthquake, the effects of which could shake our earth and destinies down through time, to their very foundations.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“It can’t be killed.” Eckels pronounced this verdict quietly, as if there could be no argument. He had weighed the evidence and this was his considered opinion. The rifle in his hands seemed a cap gun. “We were fools to come. This is impossible.” […] Eckels, not looking back, walked blindly to the edge of the Path, his gun limp in his arms, stepped off the Path, and walked, not knowing it, in the jungle.
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This ruins us! We’ll forfeit! Thousands of dollars of insurance! We guarantee no one leaves the Path. He left it. Oh, the fool! I’ll have to report to the government. They might revoke our licence to travel. Who knows what he’s done to Time, to History!
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… “can’t we take it back, can’t we make it alive again? Can’t we start over? Can’t we—”
He did not move. Eyes shut, he waited, shivering. He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon.
There was a sound of thunder.
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