Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park

by

Michael Crichton

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Jurassic Park makes teaching easy.
Themes and Colors
Chaos, Change, and Control  Theme Icon
Sight and Insight  Theme Icon
Flawed Human Nature Theme Icon
Technology Theme Icon
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

As he attempts to create a theme park of dinosaurs resurrected from the deep past, John Hammond believes that, because he owns the island and has paid for the technological advances made in its genetics lab, he can command nature itself. But the lessons of natural history, especially as chaos theory interprets it, suggest that very little lies within human control, and the book explores the unintended or unexpected consequences that can arise from humankind’s…

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Sight and Insight

For many people in Jurassic Park, seeing isn’t believing. Sometimes external sources cloud the picture, like the literal fog and mist that shroud John Hammond’s island or his attempts to locate the park beyond the sight of his investors, regulatory bodies, and governments. At other times, people see what they want to, ignoring the evident truth when it contradicts their beliefs or hopes. For example, Dr. Guitierrez discounts the observant Tina’s drawing…

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Flawed Human Nature

Although the novel is ostensibly about dinosaurs, Jurassic Park shines a light on the amazing capabilities and ingenuity of human beings, the most advanced animals ever to evolve on earth. But, the book argues, humans are still full of flaws that threaten our survival. Chief among these are greed, pride, and selfishness. Greed motivates John Hammond and Dr. Henry Wu to focus on entertainment over humanitarian research. It motivates men like Donald Gennaro to…

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Technology

Jurassic Park explores the breathtaking capability of technology to recreate the world around us, but the novel also warns that technology is only as good or bad as the ends to which humans direct it. The story takes place in 1989, during a scientific gold rush. Ground-penetrating scanners are revolutionizing paleontological research, allowing scientists like Drs. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler to find and explore fossils without lengthy excavations. DNA analysis allows them to identify…

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