Michael Crichton Essay Research Paper For almost

Michael Crichton Essay, Research Paper

For almost three decades, Michael Crichton has written novels that appeal to his

reader`s imagination and take a firm hold of their pocketbooks. Crichton`s

writing stands out as much as his 6=9 frame. He has become one of the most

widely read and bought science fiction authors of the past three decades. From

his first novel The Andromeda Strain, which he published while in medical

school, to his most recent Airframe, Crichton has captivated his readers and

left them craving more. What makes Crichton`s novels unique are their topics.

Criction`s fiction novels have topics that range from little known historical

events to indistinct scientific topics, such as cloning and primate

communication. Crichton`s novels intertwine factual information with his own

fictional ideas to produce stories that sell. Crichton`s research is very

accurate and detailed. This fact can be traced to Crichton`s extensive

education, both formal and informal. Born John Michael Crichton in Chicago,

Illinois, he was raised in Roslyn, New York. Crichton graduated from Harvard

University, were studied to become an English major, but converted to studies in

anthropology. After graduating summa cum laude, Crichton taught anthropology for

one year at Cambridge University in England. After his tenure at Cambridge,

Crichton attended Harvard Medical School, where he earned his doctorate.

Crichton also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute in

California. (Jaynes 1) Crichton`s writing experienced a dry spell in the early

eighties, when he said, A Writing was very difficult for me. Instead of writing

Crichton traveled the world. Being an anthropologist, Crichton explored

civilizations that are hard to reach. He traveled from Malaysia to Pakistan. He

also made a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, and spent time in the South Pacific. (Jaynes

2) Crichton has had many experiences and gained enormous amounts of knowledge,

which he employs in his novels, and uses to create stories that climb the best

seller list quickly. Crichton also experimented with psychic phenomenon and

became a professed spiritual pilgrim. Crichton admits to participating in

practices such as acupuncture and Aaura-fluffing. (Jaynes 2) Crichton himself

says, A Sometimes I thought, You`ve been in California too long, and you`ve gone

from a perfectly O.K. doctor to a guy who lies on a couch while someone puts

crystals on him and you actually think it means something, but it`s nothing but

a lot of hippie-dippy-airy-fairy baloney. (qtd. in Jaynes 2) Crichton has

explored the landscape of the mind and the planet, and uses what he has

discovered to create stories that sell. Michael Crichton is the author of eleven

thrillers under his given name. All eleven of these novels have made the

best-seller list, and earned Crichton a notable reputation. Crichton`s first

novel The Andromeda Strain was written as a means of income for Crichton while

he was in school. When the novel was published Crichton experienced minimal fame

around the Harvard campus. More importantly, however, this novel established

Crichton=s reputation as a writer. The novel itself is about an alien virus that

lands in the remote New Mexico desert, and the scientists that study and

ultimately get rid of the virus. This novel contains subtle hints comparing it

the alleged alien landings in Roswel, New Mexico and alien studies conducted in

Area 51 in Nevada. Crichton puts his own creativeness into this work using the

general public=s curiosity concerning alien matters, only this time the invader

is a virus. Another aspect of this novel that makes it so compelling is as

Richard Shickel of Harper=s Magazine states, AMr. Crichton has spared no effort

in his attempt to make us believe that The Andromeda Strain could happen here.@

The factual information and even the fiction aspects of this work are a product

of Crichton=s exposure to the medical field at school. Crichton uses computer

printouts, biological references, and fictional government documents to lend

authenticity to this story. (Marowski 1) This is the first of many instances

where Crichton uses his knowledge and experience to excite his readers. Another

Atechno-thriller@ that Crichton is more popular for is Jurassic Park. In an

article for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Andrew Ferguson stated that

Jurassic Park=s Areal virtue@ is A its genuinely interesting discussion of

dinosaurs, DNA research, paleontology, and the chaos theory.@ This work does

indeed display an acute knowledge of the scientific fields mentioned above.

Crichton incorporates factual information into his story of cloning actual

dinosaurs. Crichton writes, A Y in 1953, two young researchers in England, James

Watson and Francis Crick, deciphered the structure of DNAY.@ (Jurassic Park)

This event is used to grasp the reade

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