1. DO NOW – JOURNAL Should civilization make laws against using science to pursue certain technologies? Why or why not? Some examples of controversial technologies: Artificial Intelligence, human cloning, cloning of extinct animals, genetic manipulation, stem cell research

2. JURASSIC PARK NOTES

3. JURASSIC PARK – The Basics Written by Michael Crichton Published in 1990 Science Fiction novel About an amusement park that features cloned dinosaurs Well received by audiences and critics alike Probably most famous for spawning a Steven Spielberg film of the same name that has grossed over $1 billion dollars, one of the highest grosses of all time (19 th all time) There is a sequel called The Lost World

4. The Author – Michael Crichton American author (the only non-British author we’ll read this year) One of the best-selling authors of all time (sold over 200 million books) Many famous works, including: Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Sphere, Congo, The Andromeda Strain, all of which have been made into films His novels often have themes dealing with humanity’s relationship with technology, especially biotechnology He died at 66 from lymphoma (cancer)

5. PLOT OVERVIEW The novel takes place primarily on an island called Isla Nublar where an amusement park has been constructed with cloned dinosaurs as the central attraction. The dinosaurs have been cloned using preserved DNA found in samples of amber (petrified sap) The characters of the novel are quickly put in danger when the animals escape captivity.

8. CENTRAL THEMES The dangers of biotechnology The dangers of becoming reliant on computer technology Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Technology, Man vs. Man Chaos theory - When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future. The hubris (excessive pride) of humanity Similarities of dinosaurs and birds (unknown at the time but now widely accepted to be relatives)

9. MAIN CHARACTERS Dr. Alan Grant – protagonist of the novel. A paleontologist brought in to approve the park. Ellie Sattler – a graduate student studying paleobotany under Dr. Grant. Dr. Ian Malcolm – a mathematician who specializes in chaos theory. Predicts the downfall of the park. John Hammond – cold and eccentric billionaire, founder of InGen and Jurassic Park. One of the antagonists.

10. Lex Murphy – John’s granddaughter. A sporty young girl who loves baseball. Tim Murphy – John’s young grandson. A computer nerd a dinosaur expert. Dr. Lewis Dodgson – works for a corporation that rivals InGen. Tries to steal Jurassic Park’s technology in order to create their own dinosaur embryos. One of the central antagonists. Dennis Nedry – tries to steal dinosaur embryos for Dodgson. Causes the animals to escape. One of the central antagonists.

11. OTHER CHARACTERS John Arnold – the park’s chief engineer. Donald Gennaro – the park’s lawyer. Dr. Harding – the park’s veterinarian. Robert Muldoon – the park’s game warden. Dr. Henry Wu – the park’s chief geneticist Ed Regis – the park’s publicist (written out of the film)

12. FILM DIFFERENCES Certain characters die in the novel but survive in the film, and vice-versa. The book prominently features a subplot about the dinosaurs escaping the island, which is absent in the film. Tim and Lex have their ages swapped, and Lex is instead the computer nerd. The entire scene taking place in the aviary is dropped. John Hammond’s negative traits are largely removed, making him less of an antagonist. Several characters are rolling into one, the lawyer, Donald Gennaro. In the book, he is very different. The movie contains fewer people on the island and fewer species of dinosaurs, such as the Procompsognathus (compy) dinosaurs, which are small and chicken-like.