Setting
Based on the information from the story, what is the setting?
The story takes place in the future.
How could you describe the types of trips provided by Time Safari, Inc.?
The company provides very dangerous trips to its customers.
Anti is a prefix meaning "against." What was Deutscher against?
He is against everything except the military.
In the story, Travis explains the effects of stepping off the path and killing a mouse. What is the final effect Travis mentions?
There may not be a United States.
Identify the type of figurative language and explain the comparison:
"A fence of teeth like daggers..."
Simile; teeth vs. daggers - sharp, dangerous, and deadly
Who were the two candidates running for president of the United States? Who won the election?
Keith and Deutscher; Keith won the election
Why do you think there is such a stiff penalty for disobeying Time Safari, Inc. Instructions?
Time travel is dangerous and could harm future events if rules are not followed.
What causes Eckels to step off the path?
He is in a daze.
What was the main effect from Eckels killing the butterfly?
It set off a chain reaction that led to Keith losing.
Identify the type of figurative language and explain the comparison:
"Like a stone idol, like a mountain avalanche..."
Simile; T-Rex vs. stone idol/mountain avalanche - immense, heavy, unstoppable force
Compare and contrast the “Time Safari” signs. Why is the original sign different from the altered sign?
The original is correct English, while the altered sign is misspelled. The contrast highlights the effect Eckel's actions had on the future.
What effect might Eckels stepping off the path have?
It may change the future in some way.
Why do you think the two hunters, Billings and Kramer, do not want to take "trophy pictures?"
They are too horrified at what they have done to want to record it.
What does Travis mean when he says he is not sure whether "messing around in time can make a big roar or a little rustle in history?"
He doesn't know if a change in the past will make a small or big change to the future.
Identify the type of figurative language and explain the comparison:
"Each lower leg was a piston."
Metaphor; leg vs. piston - power, speed, machine
Why do the travelers wear sterilized clothing and oxygen helmets?
So they do not introduce any bacteria or germs into the past that can alter the future.
At the end of the story, what is the "sound of thunder" in the last line?
It was the gunfire.
What two things does Travis fear might happen because Eckels stepped off the path?
He has changed the future and that he has ruined the company's reputation.
Why does Eckles compare people to chess pieces?
They are helpless to determine their own fate.
Identify the type of figurative language and explain the comparison:
“armored flesh glittered like a thousand green coins.”
Simile; armored flesh vs. green coins - metal, shiny/flashy
Why are the only animals that are about to die anyway chosen for hunting?
They die anyway, so it will not change the future.
What is the Paradox referred to by Travis and Lesperance when Eckles states, "But if you came back this morning in Time," said Eckels eagerly, "you must've bumped into us, our Safari! … "
You cannot be in the past and present at the same time. You cannot meet yourself. You cannot be in two places at once.
"The room was there as they had left it. But not the same as they had left it. …." In this passage, what two clues indicate that Eckels's actions have had an effect on life in his present?
- "but not the same room they had left"
- "but not quite the man sat behind the desk"
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
What is the purpose of the Path and why is "Path" capitalize?
The path is to keep anyone from touching/changing the past. "Path" is capitalized because it represents authority or destiny.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Identify the type of figurative language and explain the comparison: "Moons eat themselves"
Personification; moon vs. eat - consume, cannibalize