(4)Symbolism

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.