Michael Crichton October 23, 1942 Present

1
Michael Crichton(October 23, 1942 Present)
The Pioneer of Techno-thrillers
2
The Beginning

• Born in Chicago, Illinois
• Grew up in Roslyn Long Island, New York
• Two sisters and a younger brother
• His father, John Crichton, was a writer
• At 14, he wrote and sold articles to the New York
  Times travel section
  

3
College

• In 1964, graduated Harvard University summa cum
  laude, and Phi Beta Kappa
  
• Became the Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellow
  1964-1965
  
• Also a visiting lecturer of Anthropology at
  Cambridge University, England 1965
  
• In 1969, Got an M.D. from Harvard University
• Went on to post-doctoral fellowship study at the
  Salk Institute for Biological Studies at La
  Jolla, California 1969-1970
  
• In 1988, Visiting writer at the Massachusetts
  Institute of Technologies

4
Jurassic Park

• Published in 1990
• Biological tinkering
• Unable to control chaotic systems, such as life.
• Theme Potential Dangers of Technology

5
His Writing Style

• Scientific jargon
• Scientific breakthroughs are uncontrollable
• Particular use of foreshadowing
• Uses an author surrogate in many of his novels
• Literary technique-- False document
• Man vs. Nature

6
Timeline

• Published in 1999
• Quantum Physics, Time Travel
• Use of unstable machinery and scientific theory
• Theme (and again) Potential Dangers of Technology

7
Prey

• Published in 2002
• Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence
• Attributing machinery with the ability to adapt
• Theme Potential Dangers of Technology (again)

8
Famous Fictional Novels
9
Similarities in Crichtons Story Lines

• Characters
• Usually experts in their field of study
• Usually not very impulsive, cautious
• Think themselves through problems
• Teach audience what they know
• Sciences
• Scientific breakthroughs are the key subjects
• Involve worst case scenario

10
His Novels Compared to Other Thrillers

• Differences
• Motif Loss of control for chaotic systems
• Uses his own style of foreshadowing
• Author surrogate

• Similarities
• Great deal of research on the specific topic
• Large use of foreshadowing
• Intense focus on character building
• False documenting

11
His Use of Foreshowing

• Reader learns about the main characters past
  through setting and other characters
  
• Teaches the reader basics of the technology as
  plot line builds
  
• Problems occurs
• Reader uses what they know to predict the outcome
  of the story

12
What Does That Look Like?
Major conflict
Climax
Reader uses what they learned to help predict the
outcome
Character building
End
Learning about the science
Story Line
13
Point of his Novels

• Criticism of the overuse of science
• Humans should not have nor can they have complete
  control of their surroundings
  
• Writing cause people to think
• People can cause their own extinction
• Should people really have that much control over
  nature
  
• If so, what will the overall purpose of living
  come to