411-502 of PREY
This week I read the last section of PREY titled PREY, and finished the book.
In this last section of the book, Jack has just finished destroying a rogue colony of insect like machines, only to find that there is another colony that has infected his wife and boss that posses enough intelligence to have the intent of taking over the world. Jack manages to team up with some of his co-workers, formulates a plan for eradicating the second colony, and eventually does so, killing his wife and his boss, and blowing up the manufacturing plant in the process.
After further thought into what themes are present in crichtons writing, I have come to find that one of the most prominent themes is change. He uses drastic change in his writing as a tool to help give it the thrilling effect that it has. Crichton uses a lot of technology in his writing, which is a perfect base for the theme of change. Technology being as dynamic a thing as it is, is one of the most frequently changing things in the world today. Further the prominence of the types of technology used in Crichtons writing makes his writing all the more relevant to peoples lives. I think that I could write a paper with an argument to the effect that the relevance of the subject covered in Crichtons books is such that just the subject alone is grounds for calling him a great American Author. Michael Crichtons use of drastic change relevant to todays world makes him an important figure in the literary world.
In regards to symbolism in Michael Crichtons writing, I see a lot in reference to the change that he sees in the world, symbolized by drastic change in his writing that takes place with a technological backdrop. In Crichtons books, he often uses change with a despairing sense of un-predictability. I think that he sees this un-foreseeable type change often enough in a world where man kind fancy themselves to have figured everything out, to where he uses his books almost as a way to show people just how un-predictable a place the world can be.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
(3)Mid-winter Break
140-408 of PREY
Over mid-winter break I read The sections titled DESERT and NEST of PREY.
Beginning in the section titled DESERT, Crichton sets aside Jacks previous worry about his wife's possible dalliance with another, and focuses on a much more interesting and captivating section of the plot. In the section DESERT, Jack is asked by his Wife's business partner to act as a consultant for her company, and to help them fix problems with the quickly evolving insect like machines that they are manufacturing. Once Jack gets to the manufacturing plant, he is told that some of the machines have escaped into the wild, and have begun to reproduce, and kill off wildlife in the area. He is faced with the task of eradicating the machines before they evolve to the point of being a real threat the outside world. In the next section titled NEST, Jack is simply faced with the task of discovering the nest of the machines and destroying it so that they will stop reproducing, which he successfully does by the end of the section.
Thus far in the book we find that Crichton has done an amazing job at keeping the story very captivating by continuing with the amazingly descriptive writing that he had used before, but at this point adding a fascinating plot to accompany it. All of this makes Crichtons writing a spectacularly easy read, the likes of which I have only experienced in such books as the Harry Potter series, The Da vinci Code, and a very few others. At this point I have found that Crichtons writing resembles the type of plot and style that we see in the movies more than ever. I think that I may be able to write my paper on something to effect that Michael Crichtons writing is the first to bring the movies to literature. Literature has been molded to fit into cinema ever since the beginning of cinema, but Crichton is a pioneer in the field of bringing the style of cinema into literature. Part of what gives his writing this style is his heavy use of dialogue.
"Jack you've got to come back in.
I can't just yet.
Below seven knots, the swarms can move.
Okay...
Ricky: What do you mean, okay? Jesus, Jack, are you coming or not?"(328)
Over mid-winter break I read The sections titled DESERT and NEST of PREY.
Beginning in the section titled DESERT, Crichton sets aside Jacks previous worry about his wife's possible dalliance with another, and focuses on a much more interesting and captivating section of the plot. In the section DESERT, Jack is asked by his Wife's business partner to act as a consultant for her company, and to help them fix problems with the quickly evolving insect like machines that they are manufacturing. Once Jack gets to the manufacturing plant, he is told that some of the machines have escaped into the wild, and have begun to reproduce, and kill off wildlife in the area. He is faced with the task of eradicating the machines before they evolve to the point of being a real threat the outside world. In the next section titled NEST, Jack is simply faced with the task of discovering the nest of the machines and destroying it so that they will stop reproducing, which he successfully does by the end of the section.
Thus far in the book we find that Crichton has done an amazing job at keeping the story very captivating by continuing with the amazingly descriptive writing that he had used before, but at this point adding a fascinating plot to accompany it. All of this makes Crichtons writing a spectacularly easy read, the likes of which I have only experienced in such books as the Harry Potter series, The Da vinci Code, and a very few others. At this point I have found that Crichtons writing resembles the type of plot and style that we see in the movies more than ever. I think that I may be able to write my paper on something to effect that Michael Crichtons writing is the first to bring the movies to literature. Literature has been molded to fit into cinema ever since the beginning of cinema, but Crichton is a pioneer in the field of bringing the style of cinema into literature. Part of what gives his writing this style is his heavy use of dialogue.
"Jack you've got to come back in.
I can't just yet.
Below seven knots, the swarms can move.
Okay...
Ricky: What do you mean, okay? Jesus, Jack, are you coming or not?"(328)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
(2)Favorite Passage
Pages 1-140 of PREY
So far I have read the introduction and first segment of PREY titled HOME. So far in the book, all of the main characters have been introduced, including a man named Jack, the man who's perspective that we see all of this from. Thus far we are confronted with Jack being a stay at home father after losing his job, and having to deal with his own suspicions of his wife having an affair, as well as what he believes is a deteriorating marriage. From what I have read so far I think that I may well be able to argue Michael Crichtons importance simply from his ability to use descriptive writing to keep a reader captivated with an otherwise dull story. "... as I replayed the mornings conversation in my head, I felt uneasy for other reasons. A lot of her comments sounded like she was building a case against me. Laying it out methodically, step by step.
You are shutting me out, keeping me away from my children.
I am here, you just don't notice.
I'm a good mother, I balance a very demanding job with the needs of my family."(87-88)
He squinted at the desolate landscape and shook his head. "How long you been out here?"
"About sixty cases," Grant said. When Morris looked surprised, he explained, "we measure time in beer. We start in June with a hundred cases. We've gone through about sixty so far." (Jurassic Park 33)
As we can clearly see in the above passage, one thing that Michael Crichtons writing is not with out is humor. He is quite good at taking very funny seemingly unrealistic circumstances and weaving them seamlessly into the plot of a story without making the reader think twice. He does not often use humor, and from what I have seen never uses it once he gets into the thick of a story, but occasions to use it in the beginning of a story to keep readers interested. His usual style of writing involves copious quantities of description that build very powerful settings for readers. This I believe is due in part to the fact that Crichton is not only a writer, but a director as well. This at times makes his books seem almost like movie scripts, as if they were written with the intention of being turned into movies.
So far I have read the introduction and first segment of PREY titled HOME. So far in the book, all of the main characters have been introduced, including a man named Jack, the man who's perspective that we see all of this from. Thus far we are confronted with Jack being a stay at home father after losing his job, and having to deal with his own suspicions of his wife having an affair, as well as what he believes is a deteriorating marriage. From what I have read so far I think that I may well be able to argue Michael Crichtons importance simply from his ability to use descriptive writing to keep a reader captivated with an otherwise dull story. "... as I replayed the mornings conversation in my head, I felt uneasy for other reasons. A lot of her comments sounded like she was building a case against me. Laying it out methodically, step by step.
You are shutting me out, keeping me away from my children.
I am here, you just don't notice.
I'm a good mother, I balance a very demanding job with the needs of my family."(87-88)
He squinted at the desolate landscape and shook his head. "How long you been out here?"
"About sixty cases," Grant said. When Morris looked surprised, he explained, "we measure time in beer. We start in June with a hundred cases. We've gone through about sixty so far." (Jurassic Park 33)
As we can clearly see in the above passage, one thing that Michael Crichtons writing is not with out is humor. He is quite good at taking very funny seemingly unrealistic circumstances and weaving them seamlessly into the plot of a story without making the reader think twice. He does not often use humor, and from what I have seen never uses it once he gets into the thick of a story, but occasions to use it in the beginning of a story to keep readers interested. His usual style of writing involves copious quantities of description that build very powerful settings for readers. This I believe is due in part to the fact that Crichton is not only a writer, but a director as well. This at times makes his books seem almost like movie scripts, as if they were written with the intention of being turned into movies.
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