Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park

by

Michael Crichton

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Jurassic Park: Seventh Iteration: Hammond Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In the dense vegetation of the jungle, Hammond sits down to catch his breath. The hot and humid air makes it hard to breathe, and his swollen, painful ankle forces him to hop slowly up the hill towards the path. He finds it hard to catch his breath and fight off the dizziness that washes him over in waves. He assures himself that he’s not in danger—the bungalow must sit close by—but he feels tired and frustrated. Still, he has many reasons left to live, like opening other parks and creating other wonders.
Far from being in command of nature, Hammond’s uncomfortable and frustrating experience in the thick vegetation merely confirms his powerlessness. And the longer he sits in nature, the harder he has to work to maintain his sense of domination, by reminding himself of the nearness of civilization and his plans for the future.
Themes
Chaos, Change, and Control  Theme Icon
A chittering sound in the undergrowth interrupts his thoughts. A flock of compys converges on Hammond where he sits in the dirt. They don’t look dangerous, but he knows that they have a venomous bite that they use to kill crippled animals. While the implications of that fact sink in, he tries unsuccessfully to shoo the small creatures away. From an animal handler who got bit, Hammond knows that the venom isn’t painful—it’s more like a narcotic that makes its victim feel peaceful and happy. But, unwilling to die, he hauls himself to his good foot and resumes hopping up the hill. Suddenly, one compy jumps onto his back, knocking him to the ground. Another dashes forward and nips his hand. He scrambles away on all fours as a third bites him on the back of the neck.
In the end, John Hammond turns out to be just another wounded animal vulnerable to predation. The compys’ clean up the waste from other dinosaurs; when they dispatch Hammond, they thus metaphorically suggest that he (and his ideas) must be disposed of. And, because he’s killed by many small animals, rather than one impressive one, Hammond’s death itself points back to Malcolm’s theories, especially the idea that many tiny variables can create massive effects in combination.
Themes
Chaos, Change, and Control  Theme Icon
Quotes
Hammond rolls onto his back, overcome with a sense of detachment. But he rests assured of Malcolm’s error. Hammond made no mistakes with the park. His efforts to defend himself from the compys become halfhearted, and he feels only the slightest discomfort when a compy jumps to his chest and begins to chew though his neck.
Still, Hammond’s last conscious act is one of denial: even as the evidence of his failures literally crawls over his body to kill him, he refuses to admit his error. He clings to the vice of pride to the very end.
Themes
Flawed Human Nature Theme Icon