Donald Gennaro Character Analysis in Jurassic Park

Donald Gennaro is both a major investor in InGen and the company’s chief legal counsel. His business association with John Hammond stretches back to the days when Hammond was wooing InGen’s initial investors, and he’s one of the few people beyond the confines of the island who knows that InGen is cloning dinosaurs. Greed and self-protection motivate Gennaro; he becomes an investor in the park project based on Hammond’s promise that it will make them all very, very rich. But after Hammond turns furtive and Gennaro begins to worry that the eccentric businessman is covering up issues with the park, he invites Drs. Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm to visit the park and report on its safety and viability. When it becomes clear that the park has several major issues, Gennaro’s initial impulse is to shutter it and destroy the evidence; this is why he cheers the news that the Costa Rican authorities plan to bomb it into oblivion. Nevertheless, his actions on the island demonstrate his ability to feel empathy and to place human life and safety above profits. Despite his fear, he joins Robert Muldoon in several search and rescue missions, and when John Arnold dies before he can restart the main generator, Gennaro steps up to the plate and tries to finish the job. Thus, while he initially stands as a stark reminder of the results of unbridled greed and irresponsibility, Gennaro’s personal evolution offers hope that humankind can survive, if only it learns to overcome its baser instincts.

Donald Gennaro Quotes in Jurassic Park

The Jurassic Park quotes below are all either spoken by Donald Gennaro or refer to Donald Gennaro. 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:

“If I use a cannon to fire a shell of a certain weight, at a certain speed, and a certain angle of inclination—and if I then fire a second shell with almost the same weight, speed, and angle—what will happen?”

“The two shells will land at almost the same spot.”

“Right,” Malcolm said. “That’s linear dynamics.”

“Okay.”

“But if I have a weather system that I start up with a certain temperature and a certain wind speed and a certain humidity—and if I then repeat it with almost the same temperature, wind, and humidity—the second system will not behave almost the same. It’ll wander off and rapidly will become very different from the first. Thunderstorms instead of sunshine. That’s nonlinear dynamics. They are sensitive to initial conditions: tiny differences become amplified.”

Related Characters: Dr. Ian Malcolm (speaker), Donald Gennaro, John Hammond

Page Number and Citation: 82

Explanation and Analysis:

Gennaro was speechless. He had known all along what to expect—he had known about it for years—but he had somehow never believed it would happen, and now he was shocked into silence. The awesome power of the new genetic technology, which he had formerly considered to be just so many words in an overwrought sales pitch—the power suddenly became clear to him. These animals were so big! They were enormous! Big as a house! And so many of them! Actual damned dinosaurs! Just as real as you could want!

Gennaro thought: We are going to make a fortune on this place. A fortune.

He hoped to God the island was safe.

Related Characters: Donald Gennaro (speaker), John Hammond

Related Symbols: Island

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 88

Explanation and Analysis:

“You arrogant little snot,” Hammond said. He stood, and walked out of the room.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Gennaro said.

“I’m sorry,” Malcolm said, “but the point remains. What we call nature is in fact a complex system of far greater subtlety than we are willing to accept. We make a simplified image of nature and then we botch it up. I’m no environmentalist, but you have to understand what you don’t understand. How many times must the point be made? We build the Aswam Dam and claim it is going to revitalize the country. Instead, it destroys the fertile Nile Delta, produces parasitic infestation, and wrecks the Egyptian economy. We build the—”

“Excuse me,” Gennaro said, “But I think I hear the helicopter. That’s probably the sample for Dr. Grant to look at.” He started out of the room. They all followed.

Related Characters: Dr. Ian Malcolm (speaker), John Hammond, Dr. Alan Grant, Donald Gennaro

Related Symbols: Island

Page Number and Citation: 102

Explanation and Analysis:

Yes […] Look here. The basic event that has happened in Jurassic Park is that the scientists and technicians have tried to make a new, complete biological world. And the scientists in the control room expect to see a natural world. As in the graph they just showed us. Even though a moment’s thought reveals that a nice, normal distribution is terribly worrisome on this island […] Based on what Dr. Wu told us earlier, one should never see a population graph like that […because it] is a graph for a normal biological population. Which is precisely what Jurassic Park is not. Jurassic Park is not the real world. It is intended to be a controlled world that only imitates the natural world. In that sense, it’s a true park, rather like a Japanese formal garden. Nature manipulated to be more than the real thing, if you will.

Related Characters: Dr. Ian Malcolm (speaker), John Arnold, Donald Gennaro, Dr. Henry Wu

Related Symbols: Island

Page Number and Citation: 149

Explanation and Analysis:

“Malcolm’s models tend to have a ledge, or a sharp incline, where the drop of water will speed up greatly. He modestly calls this speeding-up movement the Malcolm Effect. The whole system could suddenly collapse. And that was what he said about Jurassic Park. That it had inherent instability.”

“Inherent instability,” Gennaro said. “And what did you do when you got his report?”

“We disagreed with it, and ignored it, of course,” Arnold said.

“Was that wise?”
“It’s self-evident,” Arnold said. “We’re dealing with living systems, after all. This is life, not computer models.”

Related Characters: John Arnold (speaker), Donald Gennaro, Dr. Ian Malcolm, John Hammond

Page Number and Citation: 274

Explanation and Analysis:

Malcolm’s just another theoretician. […] Sitting in his office, he made a nice mathematical model, and it never occurred to him that what he saw as defects were actually necessities. Look: when I was working on missile, we dealt with something called resonant yaw. Resonant yaw meant that, even though a missile was only slightly unstable off the pad, it was hopeless. It was inevitably going to go out of control, and it couldn’t be brought back. That’s a feature of mechanical systems. A little wobble can get worse until the whole system collapses. But those same little wobbles are essential to a living system. They mean the system is healthy and responsive. Malcolm never understood that. […] Look, the proof is right here. […] In less than an hour, […] the park will all be back online. […] And that’s not theoretical. That’s a fact.

Related Characters: John Arnold (speaker), Donald Gennaro, Dr. Ian Malcolm, John Hammond

Page Number and Citation: 276-277

Explanation and Analysis:

Donald Gennaro Character Timeline in Jurassic Park

The timeline below shows where the character Donald Gennaro appears in Jurassic Park. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Morris that, as a consultant to InGen, he mostly talked with a lawyer named Donald Gennaro on the phone. The company offered Grant $50,000—enough to support two full summers of fieldwork—to... (full context)

At the plush San Francisco law offices of Cowan, Swain and Ross, Donald Gennaro’s boss waits for him to get off the phone with John Hammond. After Gennaro hangs... (full context)

Gennaro’s relationship with Hammond began in 1982, when the 70-year-old eccentric was raising the capital to... (full context)

Gennaro’s secretary brings him a hastily purchased suitcase of new clothes, remarking that his forgetfulness about... (full context)

On the flight from California to Montana, Hammond reproaches Gennaro for neglecting his old friend John. Gennaro knows that Hammond’s small, child-like stature belies his... (full context)

Gennaro considers Hammond’s tendency for denial. Even now Hammond treats the trip like a grand social... (full context)

The secret to making money is limiting costs, Hammond reasons. He assures Gennaro that the huge initial investment in computer technology will save money through automating as many... (full context)

...scientific disciplines that attract federal funding. Once they board the plane, Hammond introduces them to Gennaro, who expresses surprise that Dr. Sattler—Ellie—is a woman. Neither she nor Grant like the lawyer.... (full context)

As the plane flies through the night, Malcolm explains his work to Grant and Gennaro. Physics, he says, successfully describes “the regular movement of objects.” But it struggles to predict... (full context)

Then why, Gennaro asks, does Malcolm think the project will fail? Malcolm’s critique hinges on the difficulty of... (full context)

Hammond, Gennaro, Grant, Malcolm, Dennis Nedry, and Ellie take off in a helicopter from the San José... (full context)

...God.” She’s surprised at the animals’ beauty and grace, despite their immense size. Even though Gennaro has always known about InGen’s plan for the island, seeing the dinosaurs in the flesh... (full context)

The party assembles in the visitor building where exhibits sit partially completed. Before the tour, Gennaro tells the consultants that he summoned them to determine the safety and viability of the... (full context)

Looking at Gennaro’s evidence, Malcolm quickly assures him that the infant mortality rate is unconnected; its nonlinear signature... (full context)

On the landing pad, Gennaro discovers that John Hammond has invited his grandchildren to stay on the island for the... (full context)

Gennaro asks about the physical containment systems, and Arnold explains that a moat surrounds each enclosure,... (full context)

Gennaro asks about the “mechanical systems,” reminding Grant and the others that the island is destined... (full context)

...Arnold pulls up a graph of the compys’ heights, which displays a normal bell curve. Gennaro expresses his firm belief that, given these redundant systems, he can’t see how any animals... (full context)

...where electric Land Cruisers wait to whisk them around the island. Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and Gennaro take the first car, leaving Tim, Lex, and Regis to ride in the second. Each... (full context)

...back to the shelter of the trees for consumption. The episode fascinates Grant and terrifies Gennaro. (full context)

Henry Wu joins Arnold and Hammond in the control room just in time to overhear Gennaro, Grant, Malcolm, and Ellie over the car radio as they discuss the dangers posed by... (full context)

Near the vehicles, Gennaro plays catch with Lex while asking Malcolm how the sick stegosaurus fits into his theories... (full context)

On the tour, Grant’s discovery underwhelms Gennaro. But Grant maintains that the small white fragment in his hand came from a dinosaur... (full context)

...to split up. Ellie will stay with Dr. Harding to finish documenting the stegosaurus’s symptoms. Gennaro volunteers to join them. Malcolm and Grant prepare to return to the visitor center in... (full context)

Elsewhere on the island, Dr. Harding, Ellie, and Gennaro find the road blocked by a massive fallen tree. Harding can’t reach the control room... (full context)

Muldoon and Gennaro speed over muddy roads in the Jeep. Muldoon won’t relax until he makes sure everyone... (full context)

...it off before crawling out of the vehicle alive and voluntarily. If that’s the case, Gennaro asks, where did the kid go? Muldoon consults tracks in the muddy road to see... (full context)

...find Malcolm, in shock and with a badly mangled leg, but still alive. Muldoon and Gennaro abandon the search for the others—even though Malcolm confirms that Lex survived the initial attack—in... (full context)

In the cafeteria, John Hammond surprises Gennaro by calmly eating ice cream as if his grandchildren aren’t missing on an island overrun... (full context)

...her wet clothes, when Muldoon knocks on the door. He tells her that he and Gennaro found Malcolm, badly injured, near the crumpled Land Cruisers and that he thinks Grant, Lex,... (full context)

Gennaro leaves the control room to check on Malcolm. He needs surgery, but with Dr. Harding’s... (full context)

...improved. Enough of the park systems have come back online to allow him to humor Gennaro with an explanation of the “Malcolm Effect.” Malcolm, he explains, uses computers to model the... (full context)

Meanwhile, back in the control room, Arnold tries to explain to Gennaro why he and Hammond discounted Malcolm’s report. Their park project involved living things, which—unlike mechanical... (full context)

...jamming program Nedry initiated. Arnold doesn’t like the idea, but they need phone lines urgently; Gennaro arrives with the report that Malcolm is getting sicker. Reluctantly, Arnold turns off the safety... (full context)

...it requires manual rebooting. The systems come back to life just in time to give Gennaro and Arnold onscreen footage of the tyrannosaur attacking the flock of stampeding hadrosaurs. Arnold asks... (full context)

From the relative safety of the Jeep, Gennaro and Muldoon survey the aftermath of the tyrannosaur attack on the hadrosaurs. Muldoon’s experience as... (full context)

Muldoon and Gennaro drive to the place where Nedry abandoned his Jeep. His bloated corpse lies near the... (full context)

Muldoon and Gennaro speed across the island in the Jeep searching for the tyrannosaur. The radio crackles: Arnold... (full context)

When Muldoon and Gennaro catch up to the beast, Muldoon shows the lawyer how to load the rocket launcher... (full context)

...an hour for the tranquilizer to take effect. Arnold wants to rub his success in Gennaro’s face; he arrogantly points out that “the park is now completely back to normal,” just... (full context)

...can back on in the control room. This means, as he confesses to Muldoon and Gennaro, that the park has run exclusively on auxiliary power since 5 a.m. And the fences... (full context)

...but Muldoon orders him to run to the lodge, shut the doors, and stay put. Gennaro wants to run away, but he chooses to follow the park warden to the weapons... (full context)

Muldoon and Gennaro leave the visitor center in time to see three raptors closing in on Arnold, who... (full context)

Gennaro doesn’t like living dangerously, but he thinks he has a plan. Assuming that the raptors... (full context)

...he hears someone shouting over the noise of the generator. Following the sounds, he finds Gennaro, hiding inside a truck covered with compys. (full context)

Grant leads Gennaro out of the maintenance shed. Gennaro describes fighting off the raptor; he assumes it was... (full context)

...outside the fence head towards the visitor center. In the fog, they run right past Gennaro and Grant. (full context)

Outside, Grant and Gennaro crouch in the fog, watching the three raptors alternately listening to something and trying to... (full context)

Grant and Gennaro find the visitor center’s rear door locked, requiring them to run around to the front... (full context)

...panic, Tim and Lex run madly through the lab until they run into Grant, with Gennaro by his side. It took Grant longer than it took Tim to think of taking... (full context)

Grant tells Gennaro that he has a plan to dispatch the raptors and pushes him, Lex, and Tim,... (full context)

...needle with its remaining poison into the beast’s tail. Once the danger has passed, Grant, Gennaro, Lex, and Tim head back to the control room. (full context)

...Tim pushes the button for the grid, receiving another error message about the auxiliary power. Gennaro snaps his fingers. This happened before, he says; they can fix it by turning on... (full context)

...enclosures, they’re reaching a more sustainable Jurassic equilibrium, as predation picks up. As an example, Gennaro, Grant, and Ellie watch a pack of six raptors take down a hadrosaur on one... (full context)

...Rican government will bomb the island into oblivion as soon as they evacuate the survivors. Gennaro can’t wait for them to finish off the dangerous theme park. This angers Grant, who... (full context)

After gathering weapons, Ellie, Grant, Gennaro, and Muldoon head to the garage, where Lex plays with the juvenile raptor Grant captured... (full context)

In the Jeep, Gennaro asks Grant what to expect in the raptor nest, and Grant confesses he doesn’t know.... (full context)

...symbolic intelligence—the ability to think and organize knowledge through images—and the capacity for language. As Gennaro grumbles that no intelligent bird has ever stalked him, the juvenile disappears from view down... (full context)

...of many animals. Grant dons a gas mask and prepares to drop into the hole. Gennaro, scared to face so many animals, suggests that they drop the nerve gas grenades down... (full context)

Gennaro watches incredulously as Ellie prepares to follow Grant into the dinosaur’s tunnel. After she disappears,... (full context)

As his eyes adjust, Gennaro realizes he sits on a ledge in a giant, subterranean structure filled with at least... (full context)

...tense moment as the adult approaches; Grant slowly pulls out a nerve gas grenade, but Gennaro points to indicate that Ellie isn’t wearing a mask. Grant switches to a shock prod.... (full context)

...implications—maybe this indicates a hive intelligence among the raptors, like bees, or maybe there’s a breeze—Gennaro opens his watch and checks its compass. The animals orient themselves along a northeast-southwest line.... (full context)

Chasing the raptors, Gennaro, Grant, and Ellie follow the tunnels to the beach. The dinosaurs array themselves along the... (full context)

...approaching helicopter. As it lands, the dinosaurs scatter. Soldiers rush to escort Grant, Ellie, and Gennaro onboard. Tim, Lex, and Muldoon are already strapped in. Muldoon tells the newcomers that a... (full context)

Donald Gennaro Character Analysis

Donald Gennaro Quotes in Jurassic Park

Second Iteration: Malcolm Quotes

Second Iteration: Welcome Quotes

Third Iteration: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth Quotes

Third Iteration: Control (II) Quotes

Fourth Iteration: The Park (I) Quotes

Donald Gennaro Character Timeline in Jurassic Park