The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton, is a science fiction novel about the struggle of mankind’s intelligence, and the dangers it may pose. The author has an extensive background in medicine and the sciences, which are incorporated into his writing and film production. This novel is noted for the use of literary devices, theme, and writing style, which will be covered in this paper.
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Crichton was born October 23, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. Michael attended college at Harvard University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1964. He also obtained his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1969, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 1969 to 1970. Michael has been a guest professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has taught Anthropology at Cambridge University (Biography 1).
Crichton wrote his first bestseller, The Andromeda Strain, while studying medicine at Harvard. “He later worked full time on film and writing. One of the most popular writers in the world, he has sold over 200 million books. His books have been translated into thirty-eight languages and thirteen have been made into films” (Constant). Other books such as: Five Patients, Terminal Man, Westworld, Great Train Robbery, Eaters of the Dead, Jasper Johns, Coma, Congo, Looker, Electronic Life, Runaway, Sphere, Travels, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure, ER, Lost World, Twister, Prey, State of Fear, Next, Pirate Latitudes, Micro, and Overview (Constant). He also published work under the pseudonyms John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and Michael Douglas (FamousAuthors 1).
Michael Crichton died, unexpectedly, on November 4, 2008 in Los Angeles, California after battling cancer. ...
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Biography.com. "Michael Crichton." Biography.com. A+E Television Networks, LLC, 2012. Web. 6 June 2012.
BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. "The Andromeda Strain Study Guide and Notes." Bookrags.com. Thomson Gale, 2006. Web. 6 June 2012.
Constant C Productoins. "Andromeda Strain." MichealCrichton.com. Constant C Productions, 2012. Web. 6 June 2012.
Crichton, Michael. The Andromeda Strain. New York: Ballentine, 1993. Print.
FamousAuthors, comp. "Michael Crichton." Famousauthors.org. FamousAuthors. org, 2012. Web. 8 June 2012.
Novelguide. "The Andromeda Strain." Novelguide.com. Novelguide.com, 28 Oct. 2008. Web. 8 June 2012.
Wilson, Mark. "Review: 'The Andromeda Strain' by Michael Crichton." Rev. of The Andromeda Strain, by Micheal Crichton. Scifi.About.com. The New York Times Co., 2012. Web. 6 June 2012.
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles: The Grand Master Edition. New York: Bantam Spectra, 1977. EPUB file.
Asherman, Allan. The Star Trek Interview Book. New York: Pocket Books, 1988. Cited as Interview.
Few things are more powerful than the human mind or human intelligence. This ability to think, learn and process complex thoughts has been the driving force that has allowed for the immense growth of human culture and society, without which it is doubtful we would have ever had the capacity to evolve from our basic animal existence. As fantastic as this quality may be, our intellectual growth has not always spawned ideas that produce sound and safe results. Victor Frankenstein, although a fictitious character, provides a superb example of the vast potentiality of human intelligence and the morbid destruction that it can create. For very real examples, one need only read the headlines of the newspaper to find a multitude of malicious and perverse atrocities that occur each day due to the human mind and "intelligence" gone haywire. This is why, in light of today, with technology gaining greater and greater power, we mu...
Gallagher, Edward J. “The Thematic Structure of ‘The Martian Chronicles.’” DISCovering Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 March 2011.
The Golden Age of Science Fiction featured many of Science Fiction’s greatest and most prolific authors. American author Philip K. Di" (1928 - 1982), active from 1952 until his death, was one of those who helped shape science fiction during the three decades during which he was active (Behrens and Ruch). Throughout his career, Di" wrote more than forty novels, one hundred short stories, as well as numerous essays. Amongst the author’s numerous works, eight short stories and four novels were eventually adapted to the silver screen (such as the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968) which became Blade Runner (1982) and the short story “Adjustment Team” (1954) which was loosely adapted to eventually become The Adjustment Bureau (2011) (Kimbell). Nevertheless, something was eating the author away despite his success.
Through this sympathetic faculty, a writer is able to give flesh, authenticity and a genuine perspective to the imagined. It is only in this manner that the goal of creating living beings may be realized. Anything short of this becomes an exercise in image and in Kundera’s words, produces an immoral novel (3). The antithesis of liv... ...
The advancement of industrialism, economic growth, science and medicine, and wars all donated to the contributions of many writers during the Romantic Movement. This is true of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, short story, “The Birthmark”. The obsession with perfection is just as evident today; as it was back in the 18th and 19th centuries. The detrimental effects of amplifying science and romance are clearly defined between the relationships of Aylmer, his wife Georgiana, and Aminadab -his assistant in his lab. Romantic literature puts a higher significance on the value of intuition and imagination instead of fixating on objective reasoning.
Schwarz, Fred. “Not our Stars but Ourselves.” Naitonal Review Vol. 61, Nov 3 Feb 23 2009: 22-4.
In literature there are over 20 different genres of reading, and each of them contains many similarities and differences. Science fiction, arguably one of the most popular genre’s, is also one of the hardest to understand, however there are certain elements/characteristics that can easily determine if a book is or is not science fiction. The characteristics that make up science fiction are, advancements in technology and the application of advanced technology. In books such as The Veldt and Fahrenheit 451 both technological advancements and there application play a crucial role on determining that these books fall into the science fiction genre.
Mary Shelley expresses various ethical issues by creating a mythical monster called Frankenstein. There is some controversy on how Mary Shelley defines human nature in the novel, there are many features of the way humans react in situations. Shelley uses a relationship between morality and science, she brings the two subjects together when writing Frankenstein, and she shows the amount of controversy with the advancement of science. There are said to be some limits to the scientific inquiry that could have restrained the quantity of scientific implications that Mary Shelley was able to make, along with the types of scientific restraints. Mary Shelley wrote this classic novel in such a way that it depicted some amounts foreshadowing of the world today. This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry and how this novel ties in with today’s world.
...reader to gain inside thought into how bad the mental condition is affecting him as his behavior allows for further indication of craziness as a result from the schizophrenia. The evidence presented in this play for the scientific explanation of this literary classic is quite prominent as it gives an insight into what a schizophrenic acts, thinks, and behaves like.
A Sun, Staff C. "SPACE CHIMP HAM RETURNS A HERO." The Sun (1837-1988): 1. Feb 02
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment.
Tiptree, James Jr. Houston, Houston, Do You Read?: Science Fiction: The SFRA Anthology. Ed. Warrick. Green Bay, WI: Harper Collins, 1988. 434-474.