Analysis Of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain

460 Words1 Page

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton is strongly driven by the theme: Preparation is a good thing if man’s ignorance does not ruin it. Crichton displays this through the characterization, foreshadowing, and mood. In The Andromeda Strain, a satellite had fallen out of orbit and killed almost everyone in Piedmont, Arizona, the town to the east of its landing. A few years prior a superior team of scientists was selected in case of a biologic emergency such as the andromeda strain. This “Wildfire” team was taken to an underground laboratory in rural Nevada. They studied the dead lab animals, the satellite, the two survivors, and the virus itself for five solid days. However, on the fifth day the virus mutated and ate all of the plastic in the lab. This finally answered the question for the Wildfire team. The virus had mutated and was no longer harmful to live creatures. …show more content…

“ Old Doc Benedict...he looks er over real careful, like it was his patient, and then he allows as how it might be a thing from space, and it might be one of ours, or it might be one of theirs. And he says he’ll take care of it…”(Crichton 289). This display of characterization shows the theme because the people of Piedmont were ignorant and brought the satellite back. Dr. Benedict should have not messed with it. The correct thing for them to do would have been to call the police and allow them to get ahold of whoever was responsible for taking care of

Show More
Related

  • The Andromeda Strain Summary

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Military space probe seeking new weapons” as described in the book. It kills off the entire small town of Piedmont in western Arizona After it comes to earth, for the exception of a newborn baby and an old man. The Andromeda strain threatens to wipe out any and or all living creatures in its path unless one is vaccinated to protect themselves from it is produced.

    Read More

  • Monster By Walter Dean Myers Analysis

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    I recently read a book called Monster by Walter Dean Myers, in which a sixteen year-old boy named Steve Harmon was arrested for being accused of shooting a drugstore owner, and watched a documentary titled Murder on a Sunday Morning about a fifteen year-old Brenton Butler being charged with murdering a woman at a motel. I found that the book and the documentary had many similarities and differences. I thought this because both cases are about a young African-American boy who is in custody for something that they did not do. Both police investigations didn't go thoroughly and just rushed through to arrest the boys immediately and are centered around a white defense attorney who tries to convince the jury that the male teen did not committed the crime by giving out evidence.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of the Themes of Blade Runner and Brave New World

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Comparison of the Themes of Blade Runner and Brave New World ‘Humanity likes to think of itself as more sophisticated than the wild yet it cannot really escape its need for the natural world’ Despite different contexts both Aldous Huxley within his book Brave New World and Ridley Scott in the film Blade Runner explore the idea that humans feel themselves more sophisticated than the natural world, yet are able to completely sever relations between humanity and the nature. Through various techniques both texts warn their varied audiences of the negative ramifications that will come from such disdainful, careless opinions and actions. All aspects of the ‘New State’ within Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World indicate a belief that humanity is more sophisticated than the wild.

    Read More

  • Hawthorne's Jewels of Life

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Deadly and helpful, science is a dual-edged sword. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the first to emphasize this through his literary works. “Rappaccini's Daughter” and “The Birthmark” are two of his works where he teaches this lesson through the trials of his characters. Focusing on the motif of the “mad scientist”, Hawthorne brings to light the points that people struggle with humanity, learning to love themselves and others, and that science can be more harmful then helpful.

    Read More

  • The (Un)Typical Alien Story: Book Review

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    In summary, one will find this book to be an exciting read. There was an original plot, a female lead, and character development to appeal to all types of readers. After reading this science fiction novel, one will know to keep their friends close and their enemies closer.

    Read More

  • Motaba Virus In The Film Outbreak

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1995 film 'Outbreak' directed by Wolfgang Petersen a deadly virus has appeared in different parts of the United States. A team combining of the Center for Disease Control and Army Medical Research Institute of Infection Diseases took the lead on the Motaba virus. Sam the Colonel of the institute took his team to a village in Africa where the disease had been located. The disease wiped most of the village out in a matter of two to three days and they found the possible host. Returning back to the United States Sam and his team came to the conclusion the disease is not airborne and cannot spread. The disease was created 27 years before but destroyed the Army decided to bomb the whole infected area.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Freak Of Nature

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    This fictional story, Lusus Laturae, is written by Margaret Atwood. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the origin of the Lusus Naturae is from Latin and the meaning is “freak of nature.” That is direct enough to assume the story is about a monster figure that will be a symbol of the story. According to the book “Freak of Nature,” the history of freak of nature to scientists and philosophers is an unfortunate, grotesque creature because it is odd or abnormal such as a conjoined twin which has two heads and shared a body (Blumberg 5). The criterion of being odd or abnormal starts from the visual difference seen by people. In the story, through the narration and point of view, character, symbol and figurative language, plot, and setting, it is revealed that the society and even the family ostracizes the protagonist who is defined as a monster due to her different appearance from others.

    Read More

  • The West Fertilizer Plant Explosion

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    On April 17, 2013, the community of West, Texas, suffered a devastating and heartbreaking event in the evening hours. After a fire broke out inside the West Fertilizer plant, a massive explosion leveled the facility, caused millions of dollars in damage to surrounding buildings, and took the lives of over a dozen people. Sadly, the majority of those killed were volunteer firefighters who had responded to the fire and were unable to retreat to a safe distance before the explosion. Nearly 200 injuries were also reported to have been treated at local hospitals (Wood, 2013). The explosion was said to be caused by the combination of the fire and large stores of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at the plant.

    Read More

  • Oryx and Crake: A Modern-Day Frankenstein

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel Oryx and Crake, and the classic Frankenstein, the main characters share very similar characteristics. Both Crake and Victor Frankenstein try to create a new human race which eventually leads to disaster. Also, they childishly refuse to take responsibilities for their mistakes. Even though the two books were written almost 200 years apart, it goes to show that the same problems that affected Victor in 1817 are still affecting the society of the future in which Crake lives in. The embedded Frankenstein story in Oryx and Crake suggests that Crake is a Dr. Frankenstein who refuses to take responsibility for his creations.

    Read More

  • Virus Among the Navajo

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Samples of tissue from patients infected with the mysterious disease were sent to the CDC Special Pathogens Branch for analysis. After a few weeks and several tests, the virologists linked the disease with an unknown type of hantavirus. Because other hantaviruses were known to be transmitted to people by inhalation or ingestion of rodent feces or urine, our next task was to collect as many species of rodent in the area as possible in order to pinpoint the source of the virus (AMNH). While trapping rodents, we decided that it was worth the risk to not wear protective clothing or masks so as to avoid alarming residents of "The Four Corners" region (CDC). After testing approximately 1,700 rodents we had found a link--the prevalent deer mouse carried the unknown type of hantavirus. But why was this mouse suddenly infecting people in this region? I was becoming frustrated, my years of work in medicine were failing me and I couldn't figure out why these people kept getting sick.

    Read More

  • Environmental Issues In Silent Spring

    2441 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Carson used the era’s hysteria about radiation to snap her readers to attention, drawing a parallel between nuclear fallout and a new, invisible chemical threat of pesticides throughout Silent Spring,” (Griswold 21). She described radiation as the creation of human’s tampering with nature, and warned that similar dangers would become inevitable with the continued use of pesticides (Carson 7). Carson also knew that a large percent of her audience would be housewives, who she could use as example of those who found poisoned birds and squirrels in their gardens. She angled much of Silent Spring towards this audience, which helped her book become the catalyst for environmental change (Griswold

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelly

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is an old classic that has been enjoyed by many generations. Despite the fact that the novel was written over a hundred years ago, it is not only beautifully written but also enthralling and well composed. At the young age of eighteen, Mary Shelly raises questions about education and knowledge to which are answered through the well written characters in the novel. The Monster, who is a creation of another character, is highlighted as an individual who goes through an intellectual change.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Science In The Birthmark And Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne in his short stories “The Birthmark” and “Dr. Heidegger 's Experiment” capture the original sin humans have within them, and expresses them in each of his stories similarly, such as loving science more than humanity or their very wife.

    Read More

  • The Fault In Our Stars Theme Analysis

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Augustus Waters always used to say, “The world is not a wish granting factory” (Green 214). In The Fault in Our Stars, both Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster are dealt a far-from ideal situation for life. At the young age of thirteen, Hazel was diagnosed with nearly incurable stage four thyroid cancer with metastasis forming in her lungs. By some miracle, she survived; but, she does not thrive at all. In fact, she struggles severely, carrying around an oxygen tank wherever she goes, and even still she has to get fluid drained out of her lungs every so often. Gus, on the other hand, was diagnosed with 85% curable osteosarcoma and had to get his leg amputated. This ended his promising basketball career, and even still the cancer ended up taking more of his life; in fact the whole thing. Though Augustus and Hazel would have both wished for easier lives, sometimes what is real is not ideal; and in their case, what was real wasn’t even close to being ideal. As Augustus’s life came to an end, he always spoke about it being his personal dream to be remembered and not dying in vain. He needed to feel like his life had a purpose, which all individuals search for along with hope and truth. Augustus died and left the “sequel” to An Imperial

    Read More

  • Monkeypox Assignment

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e Orthopoxvirus genus. It is generally thought to be the parental virus of the modern genus, since it also contains all of the genes that can be found in other species of this genus. It is thought that reductive evolution occurred causing some viruses, such as the variola virus, to narrow their host range. This leads to a marked increase in both morbidity and mortality. Monkeypox virus is of particular interest because it can infect a wide range of reservoirs as well as humans. Since it has a longer genome than the Variola virus it is under surveillance. Additionally, due to its similarities to Variola virus, Monkeypox virus has the potential to be used for bioterrorism. This could potentially be devastating, since the disease has a 10% fatality rate, and most of the population is not currently vaccinated against this emerging disease (Shchelkunov, 2013).

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain

Open Document