Jurassic Park: Seventh Iteration: Hammond Summary & Analysis

In the dense vegetation of the jungle, Hammond sits down to catch his breath. The hot and humid air makes it hard to breathe, and his swollen, painful ankle forces him to hop slowly up the hill towards the path. He finds it hard to catch his breath and fight off the dizziness that washes him over in waves. He assures himself that he’s not in danger—the bungalow must sit close by—but he feels tired and frustrated. Still, he has many reasons left to live, like opening other parks and creating other wonders.

A chittering sound in the undergrowth interrupts his thoughts. A flock of compys converges on Hammond where he sits in the dirt. They don’t look dangerous, but he knows that they have a venomous bite that they use to kill crippled animals. While the implications of that fact sink in, he tries unsuccessfully to shoo the small creatures away. From an animal handler who got bit, Hammond knows that the venom isn’t painful—it’s more like a narcotic that makes its victim feel peaceful and happy. But, unwilling to die, he hauls himself to his good foot and resumes hopping up the hill. Suddenly, one compy jumps onto his back, knocking him to the ground. Another dashes forward and nips his hand. He scrambles away on all fours as a third bites him on the back of the neck.

Hammond rolls onto his back, overcome with a sense of detachment. But he rests assured of Malcolm’s error. Hammond made no mistakes with the park. His efforts to defend himself from the compys become halfhearted, and he feels only the slightest discomfort when a compy jumps to his chest and begins to chew though his neck.