In Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, dinosaur fanatic and billionaire John Hammond creates a large-scale zoo on an isolated island near Costa Rica called Isla Nublar. He is populating this island with several species of dinosaurs that were genetically recreated by a team of scientists from InGen, Hammond's genetic engineering company. This island should be the ultimate resort, but dinosaurs are escaping from the facilities and people are starting to take notice. Jurassic Park is trying to say that people, especially scientists, should be careful and think about the effects of things before they create them, and not only the benefits.
Towards the beginning of the book, a chapter is focused on a group of paleontologists who are visited by a lawyer from the Environmental Protection Agency investigating John Hammond and his shipments of gene sequencers and computers to Isla Nublar. Alan Grant, a paleontologist, tells the lawyer about how he was offered fifty-thousand dollars to write a paper on the eating habits of juvenile dinosaurs. He says, "You see our operation here. Fifty-thousand dollars would support two full summers of digging. I told him I'd do what I could." This shows that even though the request for the paper was odd and he was asked many suspicious questions, he was easily bought. This shows that Grant was not thinking about what Hammond's company would do with the information, he was thinking about how he could benefit from giving the information. Later on in the book, Hammond is talking to Donald Gennaro, who helped Hammond found InGen. Hammond is talking about how the project is going. Gennaro says, "I heard there were accidents during construction, some workmen died..." Hammond responds by confirming the deaths, and saying that one workman that was mauled by a dinosaur was killed by an earthmover. He also says that everything is going fine. This lie and obvious denial show that Hammond is only interested in moving forward with the project without considering that there may be major problems.
In conclusion, Jurassic Park focuses on the idea that sometimes people think only about the benefits and not the consequences of things. John Hammond and his Jurassic Park are a prime example of this idea.
Great post! What you said about considering the consequences is very true, people really ought to think things through before going along with the plan. Also, about the man in denial seems right. i would of definitely called off the Jurassic Par if it was harming people.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea that you bring up. People often act without taking into consideration the consequences that might come as a result of their actions. It is a little strange to find such an applicable massage from a book about a dinosaur zoo. Good post.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace!
ReplyDeleteNice post! I really agree with what you said--when things are happening quickly and people are eager to get things completed, they often make quick and rash decisions and do not think about the consequences, and I think that's an important lesson for people to understand. It's often better to carry out your decisions and plans carefully and slowly than quickly and carelessly.
I was thinking the same thing as Nils--It was surprising to get a life lesson from such an unxepected source, but all the same, great post! :)
Hello Grace. I really love the title of your post. It made me laugh. I agree with the ideas in this. I think this relates to bullying in a large way, because a lot of the time a bully only thinks about other people thinking they're strong for putting someone else down, and don't think on the effect it has on the actual person being bullied. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sophie. But I do believe Hammond's lack of human decency is the problem at hand. Deaths and Hammond believes everything is alright. Dinosaurs are dangerous! And workers dying for a theme park doesn't seem alright.
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