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Tess Nakaishi

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Mr. Anderson

English 1B

12/16/09
Character Analysis

Everyone experiences fear. We all know what it’s like to feel our heart pounding and our hands

shaking and the desire to simply sprint away from whatever we are facing Yet we want to be

valiant; those who allow themselves to be controlled by their terror, who forsake their

companions to the monster, are scorned and looked down on. One such person is in Ray

Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder”, a short story about a group of hunters who travel back in

time to shoot dinosaurs. Eckels, the main character from Bradbury’s story, is a craven crybaby,

as demonstrated though his actions, thoughts, speech and other character’s reactions to him.

One of the first ways Eckels shows his lack of bravery is through his actions. He seems to

run away when real danger approaches. One instance of this is one page 41 of Elements of

Literature, when “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.” This shows he is

walking, literally, away from things instead of standing up to them. Then on page 37, it says,

“Eckels swayed on the padded seat, his face pale, his jaw stiff. He felt the trembling in his hands

and found his hands tight on the new rifle.” Obviously he is tense and nervous. Also, on page 41,

“He looked at his feet as if trying to make them move. He gave a grunt of helplessness.” He was

clearly so afraid he couldn’t even move; if someone is relaxed and confident, then they can

usually walk. Finally, on page 43, he is described thus: “Then he fell. He lay where he fell, not

moving.” Since he’s not dead here, this demonstrates that he shocks easily and reacts rather

extremely to this distress. Therefore his actions clearly point towards the fact that Eckels is none

too bold.
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Another aspect that displays Eckels’s cowardice is his thoughts. He shows a tendency

towards trying to avoid and skip around the unpleasant truth when he thinks. On page 36, it says,

“Eckels’s mind whirled. It couldn’t change things. Killing one butterfly couldn’t be that

important! Could it?” If he were stout-hearted, he would face up to the facts. Also, on page 41,

“He had weighed the evidence and this was his considered opinion. The rifle in his hands seemed

a cap gun.” His ‘considered opinion’ is just a reaction of anxiety, since he had really no time to

weigh all the evidence, and this shows that he lets his fearful emotions cloud his judgment. As

thus, his thoughts also provide evidence that Eckels is a sissy.

A third manner in which a reader can discern Eckels’ feebleness is via his speech. He

says several things that disclose his overall tendency to alarm easily and back out of bad

situations. For example, page 43 says, “‘Don’t look at me,’ Eckels cried. ‘I haven’t done

anything. Just ran off the Path that’s all, a little mud on my shoes- what do you want me to do-

get down and pray?’” This tells us that he is trying to deny his actions in fear of the

consequences, and also that he is being sarcastic and whiny about it. Then on page 41, he says,

“‘Get me out of here,’ said Eckels. ‘It was never like this before. I was always sure I’d come

through alive. I had good guides, good safaris and safety. This time I figured wrong. I’ve met my

match and I admit it. This is too much for me to get hold of.’” It is apparent from this quote that

he is shirking out of his commitment, because he has chosen to desert instead of staying and

confronting the monster. This evidence all shows how Eckels is a wimp.

The last way Eckels confirms he is a quitter is by how other characters react to him. The

way other people, such as Travis, the guide, respond and what they say express their dislike and

low opinion of him. “‘He’s dead, you idiot!’” is one thing Travis says to Eckels on page 43. This

shows that Travis recognizes how stupid it is to be afraid of something that’s dead and that he

despises Eckels for it. Also on page 43, Travis says, “‘The bullets! The bullets can’t be left
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behind. They don’t belong in the Past; they might change anything. Here’s my knife. Dig them

out!’” this represents that Travis wants Eckels to suffer for what he did by testing his limited

valor. These are some ways other character’s reactions contribute to the idea that Eckels is an

easily intimidated person.

Evidently Eckels is, to put it bluntly, a lily-livered, yellow-bellied weakling. He shows

this through his shirking actions. His alarmist thoughts also present the fact. It become

irritatingly obvious he is chicken through what he says. Finally, the way other characters react to

him with scorn and dislike prove he is in want of courage. So the next time fear raises its ugly

head to strike, remember Eckels and resist the urge to run away from all the monsters of life, for

sometimes we must challenge the things that scare us most, or risk being seen as a spineless

milksop.
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Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “A Sound of Thunder.” Elements of Literature: Third Course. Ed. Kathleen

Daniels. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2002.

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