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First Iteration: Almost Paradise
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Jurassic Park, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chaos, Change, and Control
Sight and Insight
Flawed Human Nature
Technology
Summary
Analysis
In Puntarenas, the local doctor assures Mike and Ellen Bowman that Tina will survive the attack, despite the alarming swelling and labored breathing she suffered on their drive back into civilization. They found her covered in saliva and dozens of tiny animal bites. To identify the animal that attacked her—and of which Tina has drawn a picture—the doctor has collected samples of its saliva and asked a local biologist, Dr. Marty Guitierrez to consult.
Tina’s reaction to the animal bites—and the fact that the doctor has asked for a biologist to consult—suggest that the attack is unlike anything he’s seen before. The bitemarks, saliva, and drawing are also all vestiges (traces of something that is no longer present), and an expert should be able to interpret correctly.
Themes
After confirming the family’s description of the animal—a green and brown lizard, about a foot long, walking on its hind legs—Dr. Guitierrez assures them that Tina encountered a non-poisonous, striped basilisk lizard. Lizard bites are common—recently, a lizard bit an infant in her crib about 60 miles away. He glances at Tina’s picture, which confirms his suspicion, even though he notes that Tina has incorrectly given it a long neck and three toes instead of five. Mike and Ellen trust their daughter’s drawing as accurate, since Tina is an observant child. Still, everyone else trusts Guitierrez’s identification enough to stop trying to analyze the saliva, although the hospital forwards a sample to the nearest university.
When the expert arrives, he selectively looks for the evidence that will confirm his theories; despite Tina’s parents’ assurance that Tina accurately drew what she saw, he rejects it as incorrect because it doesn’t align with his expectations. While his blind spot to the possibility of living dinosaurs is understandable, this encounter still points to the dangers inherent in overconfidence. This leaves people vulnerable to the unexpected, and this kind of limited vision threatens humanity’s ability to adapt and survive in a changing world.
Themes
In the morning, when the doctor discharges Tina, she notices that he changed his shirt—but not his tie—after his overnight shift. This confirms her observant nature, so the doctor asks her again how many toes the lizard has. She insists on three—not only because she saw them on the animal but because they matched the tracks in the sand. The doctor reports this conversation to Dr. Guitierrez, who admits that he’s no longer so sure that she encountered a basilisk lizard and asks to be notified of any other lizard bites.
The brief episode with the doctor independently confirms Tina’s observant nature, allowing readers to understand anew Dr. Guitierrez’s foolishness in discounting the evidence of her drawing. To his credit, in response to Tina’s repeated insistence, Dr. Guitierrez models the proper, unbiased spirit of scientific inquiry rather than falling back on his own assumptions.
Themes
