Mentor Text Work: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

The novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton said a lot about my big question, what is the human experience. The novel, a thrilling tale about an attempt to construct a prehistoric zoo that ends in several people trapped on an island with many escaped and angry dinosaurs, demonstrates the rawest of human emotion, which is a critical component of the human experience. Surprisingly the themes in this novel are very similar to those in both the novel Shockwave (Clive Cussler) and the film Pterodactyl, that theme being that to survive you need both knowledge as well as fitness.

Reading Jurassic Park helped me understand my big question much better. It helped, along with the other sources, show me that a major part of the human experience is simply survival and the effort to learn the skills necessary for it. I would recommend this book to any one who is considering reading it, the subject of a major motion picture it is definitively a very thrilling read.  There is not a slow part in the entire novel, it will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Mentor Text Work: Shockwave by Clive Cussler

The adventure novel Shockwave by Clive Cussler delivered a message that was closely related to my big question (What is the human experience?). Throughout the book the main characters clearly show what the human experience is for them. For some it's adventure, for many it's greed and for others it's love. Through these examples what Shockwave and Cussler are saying about the human experience become abundantly clear. The human experience is about individuality yet at the same time cohesiveness, the human experience is about our struggle to retain a certain uniqueness and individuality (this demonstrated by the different motivations of the protagonist and antagonist) while at the same time being together and one with our fellow man.

The book was a huge help when it came to understanding my big question, through its theme it showed me a possible answer I could never have conceived before. Although I would certainly add and change some aspects of the book's answer to the question it helped me greatly none the less. I would recommend this book. Although it may not be an award winning piece of writing it certainly captivates the reader and easily entertains them for many hours. The characters are charismatic and their dialogue and the interactions between them are very fun to read. Along with this the action scenes that comprise the vast majority of the novel are gripping and keep the reader guessing. All in all Shockwave, by Clive Cussler, was a very entertaining book with a very interesting message.

Other blogs

Nate wrote about the popular TV series and, recent big screen success, called Jackass and its influence on its audience, particularly teenagers. This could make for a very interesting metaphoric world if TV completely controlled the minds of its viewers.

Chase wrote about Private Military Companies (or PMC's) and their place in the modern political and diplomatic landscape as well as discussing the lengths to which the should be regulated. An interesting story would be if these private companies became more advanced than those controlled by nations and became the sole fighting force.

Kyle wrote about Global Warming and whether it is being caused by humans, the enviroment, or both. An interesting story would be if it was the other way and the globe was cooling, like if the solar rays were blocked completely from reaching the surface of the earth by gases.