Lex Murphy Character Analysis in Jurassic Park

Lex Murphy is John Hammond’s granddaughter, whom he brings to the park along with her brother, Tim. Seven or eight years old, Lex is athletic and energetic. She speaks her mind and whines when she doesn’t get her way. When the tyrannosaurus attacks her and the others in the ride vehicles, she panics and temporarily reverts to a more child-like state, calling the creature “aminals” instead of “animals.” Dr. Alan Grant rescues her and Tim from that situation and keeps them safe as they travel back to the visitor center. Although she bickers with and teases her brother, she follows his lead when necessary.

Lex Murphy Character Timeline in Jurassic Park

The timeline below shows where the character Lex Murphy appears in Jurassic Park. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Murphy feels anxious watching his grandfather (Hammond) argue with Gennaro. He and his sister Alexis (“Lex”) argue about who must introduce themself first until Ed Regis steps in. Tim forms chaotic... (full context)

...temporary enclosure, near the visitor center. While they wait for the control room to open, Lex and Regis play catch on the lawn while Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and Tim go to... (full context)

...them around the island. Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and Gennaro take the first car, leaving Tim, Lex, and Regis to ride in the second. Each car contains a display screen, CD-ROM player,... (full context)

Near the vehicles, Gennaro plays catch with Lex while asking Malcolm how the sick stegosaurus fits into his theories about the island. Malcolm... (full context)

...prepare to return to the visitor center in the second vehicle, while Regis, Tim and Lex climb into the front car. To assuage Tim’s frustration at not being allowed to ride... (full context)

...the radios, the parties in the two vehicles agree to stay put in the cars. Lex becomes agitated over the thunderstorm—she doesn’t like lightning—and increasingly complains of hunger. But without power,... (full context)

...and flees the car in a blind panic, leaving the door wide open. Tim tells Lex to close it, but she’s too frightened. As Tim radios the other car to let... (full context)

...repeatedly until it manages to break through the windshield. As the animal batters the car, Lex hits her head and falls unconscious. When the dinosaur realizes that it can’t reach its... (full context)

...and Grant realize that the lead car has disappeared, although they think they can hear Lex screaming faintly. The tyrannosaur stands in the road in front of them. Malcolm flees the... (full context)

Tim finds Lex huddled in a drainage pipe, chewing on her baseball mitt, weeping, and banging her head... (full context)

...least, he can’t until he realizes he’s covered in giant, disgusting leeches, and he hears Lex calling Dr. Grant in the distance. Regis takes control of himself and prepares to resume... (full context)

A relieved Grant checks Tim and Lex for injuries. Hers are minor; his are more serious, but both children can still walk.... (full context)

Lex complains about being hungry, but Grant silences her. Ed Regis stands in plain sight near... (full context)

...still alive. Muldoon and Gennaro abandon the search for the others—even though Malcolm confirms that Lex survived the initial attack—in favor of getting Malcolm back to base for immediate medical attention. (full context)

...Gennaro found Malcolm, badly injured, near the crumpled Land Cruisers and that he thinks Grant, Lex, and Tim are still alive but lost in the park. Dr. Harding, the closest person... (full context)

It’s getting late and Lex asks Grant to carry her, complaining about getting tired. The paleontologist and the children are... (full context)

Lex still quakes at the sound of any “aminal” in the distance, but when the trio... (full context)

Grant wakes up, sore and stiff, in the soft light of dawn. He finds Lex feeding hay from the maintenance building’s stores to a baby triceratops that has stuck its... (full context)

...its head above the tree line. A gigantic, prehistoric dragonfly lands on Tim’s arm. Grant, Lex, and Tim approach the nearest sensor, but it seems to be offline, so they strike... (full context)

In the apatosaur paddock, Lex catches a foul odor on the breeze just a few seconds before panic seizes the... (full context)

...to tell Muldoon that he needs to go investigate the situation. In the field, Grant, Lex, and Tim see the stampeding dinosaurs from a very different vantage point as they crouch... (full context)

Huddled in the tree with Lex and Tim, Grant suddenly finds himself face to face with a hadrosaur grazing on the... (full context)

...topographical map of the island and a tranquilizer gun. As they approach the dock, he, Lex, and Tim hear snoring. The tyrannosaur, full after its hadrosaur feast, sits in the shade... (full context)

...The adult, intent on protecting its rightful prey, splashes back to shore. As it retreats, Lex taunts it. Angry and exhausted, Grant throws down the paddles in consternation, but, caught in... (full context)

As the jungle river becomes narrower, it runs faster, carrying Grant, Lex, and Tim back towards the base. Lex, still hungry, wants to try berries from trees... (full context)

...to these areas will disappear from the computer’s sight. He guesses that Grant, Tim, and Lex might be following one of these unmonitored sections, the river, which provides a direct path... (full context)

In the aviary, Lex judges the incomplete lodge a “dump.” There’s no phone and dinosaur droppings cover every surface.... (full context)

When the raft drifts out of the giant aviary enclosure, Lex cheers. As they ride the river’s increasing currents, Tim asks Grant why he asked Wu... (full context)

...think what to do, the tyrannosaur approaches through the forest, distracting the dilophosaurs. Grant tells Lex and Tim to lie down in the bottom of the boat as they slide past.... (full context)

The river carrying Grant, Lex, and Tim back towards the resort buildings moves so fast now that it feels like... (full context)

...he manages to pull himself and Tim from the water quickly, but he can’t find Lex, whose bright orange lifejacket dangles from the tyrannosaur’s jaws. After an agonizing moment, though, her... (full context)

Lex worries that the dinosaur might have seen them ducking behind the waterfall while Grant inspects... (full context)

Lex and Tim are waiting for Grant to return when the tyrannosaur’s head bursts through the... (full context)

...completely, and then the door to the maintenance shed pops open. Grant beckons Tim and Lex inside. (full context)

Grant, Lex, and Tim race through the underground tunnel in the electric car, carrying the tranquilized juvenile... (full context)

...Once he’s there, Wu will talk him through restarting the generator. Grant wants Tim and Lex to stay in the visitor center; because Lex complains of hunger, he directs them to... (full context)

...like vegetables, steaks, and milk, before he locates the freezer. As he opens the door, Lex frantically whispers, “something’s here,” and when he steps back into the kitchen, he can hear... (full context)

...door; if it hits the interior handle, the door will open. But just in time, Lex helps him lock the door from the outside. They have trapped the dinosaur. (full context)

In the visitor center, Tim and Lex search for the control room, where Tim hopes to find a radio. The doors are... (full context)

...everyone who knows the system has died. Tim decides to try on his own, despite Lex’s vote of no confidence in his abilities. Her concerns seem warranted when he’s unable to... (full context)

Lex pokes at the screen, turning the cameras back on Images pop up on the control... (full context)

As Tim struggles to navigate the confusing computer interface, he tries to ignore Lex’s needling questions. Pushing buttons on the “Setgrids” menu, he figures out which grid will power... (full context)

...glass. But inside, they confront another set of locked doors separating them from Tim and Lex…and the raptors. (full context)

...he felt the touch of reptile skin. But it’s just the baby raptor: he and Lex have stumbled into the nursery. The scared baby jumps into his arms, chirping and squeaking... (full context)

Grant tells Gennaro that he has a plan to dispatch the raptors and pushes him, Lex, and Tim, through a nearby door. He hopes it will allow them to access the... (full context)

...with its remaining poison into the beast’s tail. Once the danger has passed, Grant, Gennaro, Lex, and Tim head back to the control room. (full context)

...the main power button again and again, until finally, mercifully, the lights flicker back on. Lex yells; Grant says something that Tim can’t quite hear; over the radio, Malcolm swears. Tim... (full context)

After gathering weapons, Ellie, Grant, Gennaro, and Muldoon head to the garage, where Lex plays with the juvenile raptor Grant captured the previous day. She helps them put a... (full context)

...the woods where he breaks his ankle tripping on the vegetation. In the control room, Lex and Tim fight over the computer controls after realizing that they can broadcast recorded dinosaur... (full context)

...the jungle, listening to the tyrannosaur roar. After a few minutes, he hears Tim and Lex over the loudspeakers and realizes that they’re playing with the park systems. He curses them... (full context)

...it lands, the dinosaurs scatter. Soldiers rush to escort Grant, Ellie, and Gennaro onboard. Tim, Lex, and Muldoon are already strapped in. Muldoon tells the newcomers that a second helicopter took... (full context)