Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Jurassic Park, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chaos, Change, and Control
Sight and Insight
Flawed Human Nature
Technology
Summary
Analysis
Grant and Ellie wait for Hammond’s private jet to arrive, peeved at having to “wait on the money man.” But paleontology still depends on the generosity of private donors, unlike other 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. The company will fly to Dallas to refuel and pick up their last passenger, then continue to Costa Rica in the morning. Hammond assures Grant and Ellie that the trip will take no more than 48 hours, although Gennaro doesn’t share his optimism.
Hammond can exert control over Grant and Ellie because he has the money and the interest to fund their research. Ellie and Grant’s distaste for him and Gennaro thus comes to function as a subtle critique of greed. Presumably, paleontology attracts less funding than other disciplines because people perceive it to have fewer real-world applications. This suggests a dangerous lack of foresight and regulation of emerging technologies, which promise humans the power to do things like resurrect extinct species.
Themes
