Man and God in Frankenstein and Jurassic Park

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Man and God in Frankenstein and Jurassic Park

Not since Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, has an author captured such a theme in their work in a way that is magical and captivates the reader. Michael Crichton's science fiction novel Jurassic Park portrays what happens when man plays God: his imperfections cause things to go terribly wrong. The story's, plot, setting, point of view and characterization all add to an atmosphere of fear and raise readers' consciousness about the consequences of doing so.

Jurassic Park is dealing with a very sensitive issue that involves every person on the planet because everybody has genes. It deals with genetic engineering and the repercussions of the actions that scientists take. There are a lot of unanswered questions that deal with the ethics and morals of the study of genetics. In this situation Robertson Davies appropriately says that, ìMen of action, I notice, are rarely humble, even in situations where action of any kind is a great mistake, and masterly inaction is called for (Kuchling), which is exactly what happened in Jurassic Park.

Starting with the plot one can start to see how it adds to an atmosphere of fear that makes the reader aware of the point that Crichton is trying to make. The plot of Jurassic Park begins in the middle of things and it does not follow the tradition plot line. It seems to climb steps through the implementation of different crisis and complications in the plot instead of having one smooth rising action. The story keeps building to this high intensity and does not climax until the very end. This adds to the fear because it creates suspense because the events just keep building on one another.

The setting also adds to ...

... middle of paper ...

...he reader, which creates many questions about the particular subject of genetic engineering. It also conveys the authors idea, that we really need to be careful about what we do with this new scientific marvel, effectively to the reader, thus raising the reader's awareness about genetic engineering.

In conclusion the theme of Jurassic Park, Man playing God, is effectively portrayed by Crichton using an atmosphere of fear. This atmosphere of fear relative to the theme of man playing God makes a definite statement and effectively serves Crichton's purpose of raising awareness about genetic engineering and its possible out comes.

Works Cited

Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

Kuchling, Richard. "Robertson Davies: Quotations." 12 October 2000. 16 October 2004. http://www.amk.ca/davies/robertson-davies.html

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