Next by Michael Crichton (Entry 4)

Next by Michael Crichton     (Entry 4)

Carl Jeong

English 11

June 2 2012

       This story arc is about a bird named Gerard that is given genes to allow him to talk and have the same brain function as a human. It turns out that his ability to talk, learn, and to act as a human was all caused by genetic testing. He has genes that allow him to act like The scientist who created Gerard, Mrs. Gail Bond, loved Gerard, more than just a test subject, rather a companion. They became great friends, until her husband hated Gerard for getting into his wife. One day, he took Gerard in a cage and set him free into the wild, however, because he has the special genes that if dispersed, Gerard could reproduce and can spread his genes, potentially making talking birds with capacities that of a human, but if this spreads out into the news, the scientists may have to deal with issues with the media and the government. He then gets taken in by another man in California who wants to show Gerard to his aunt, but he irritates the man to the point where the man leaves Gerard in the middle of the desert. He breaks free and flies around desert until he comes across a plaza in California. He then gets found by one of Mrs. Gail Bond's friends and is brought back later on.

       Gerard's persona is described as a funny talkative bird with an attitude. His character from a genetic test subject into a bird with knowledge of movies and references to funny shows makes him a great character in the novel. This novel has a lot of science, ethical values, and we can debate whether what scientists did to Gerard is considered beneficial or unethical. I really like Gerard for his silly attitude for a parrot, and how he is a great example of is bioengineering transgenic tests like this morally right or is it wrong. He no longer can be counted as a normal bird, because he can't communicate with other birds with his human voice. He is funny for bringing up references and sometimes even songs of certain poems. Him being funny, sassy, and being the main idea of what humans can do with science.

       Overall, this book is a great book. This book is all about how companies can own your genes and you don't know about it. This story brings the idea of genetic testing that can affect human behaviour and make animals act like humans. This novel is about changing science for the better of the world, but maybe the cost of morality will be an issue. I definitely recommend this book to everyone and if people want to know about company's rights to property and how the world is rapidly enhancing because of biochemical studies, this book is the first choice.

Next by Michael Crichton (Entry 3)

Next- Michael Crichton    Entry 3

Carl Jeong

June 1 2012

English 11

       Another story arc is where BioGen takes blood cells from a man named Mr. Frank Burnet. His cells contains genes that suppress and fight cancer cells, tumors, and can be extracted to make medicine. However, Mr. Burnet makes the mistake of allowing BioGen to take his cells by right. This gives the company authority to take Mr. Burnet's cells any time, that eventually gets the company to think that they also have privileges to take or kidnap him, or his biological children from anywhere and take a blood sample from them. Mr. Burnet's daughter, Alex Burnet, a lawyer and her son Jamie Burnet (Frank's grandson) become targets of BioGen's agents for blood samples and this is the story of a mother and child becoming fugitives and have to run for their safety. The story goes further where Alex Burnet and Jamie Burnet are running from home and into California from the agents who are trying to get their blood sample.

       This story arc focuses the parallelism of the events of this story and in real life. There are companies out in society who trick people into signing into their resources. In the real world, there are people out there who are fooled into thinking that some companies would aid them into their personal services, instead they end up as fools, paying money and getting tricked into what companies want. In the story, when Mr. Burnet was fooled into allowing BioGen to have rights to take his blood, he was trapped into BioGen's thinking.

    This part of the story is about the company demanding more blood samples to study. That made me ask myself whether companies have the right to take more blood samples, sometimes getting drastic enough to kidnap someone for blood even if that someone was willing to donate some blood for science. The question is raised into how would we feel if some scientists or businesspeople took our blood samples and when they want more of it, they find ways to grant rights to own our cells and blood samples. The sad part is that it is true in real life. There are companies out there who want to control people and their rights for the money. This story arc does tell us that companies should not interfere in human rights through scientific research.

Next by Michael Crichton (Entry 2)

Next-Michael Crichton    Entry 2

Carl Jeong
May 30 2012
English 11

     One of the story arcs, is about an orang starts talking in French in the jungle of Sumatra. This story goes with people keep hearing the Orang cussing out vulgar language out to the visitors. This breaks it to the news and hundreds of people worldwide soon travel to Borneo, in Sumatra Jungle all to hear the orang talk, but when they do, the orang insults the people in French. The scientists at the institute want to learn further about this orang that speaks, leading them to eventually to kidnap the orang from the jungle and proceed to tests and find out what makes the orang talk. They perform tests on the orang with genetic testing. There were genes in the orang, modified human genes that allowed the orang the ability to speak. It turns out that the orang has throat and larynx structures of a human, and not of an ape. The news breaks out and people are shocked to hear about this.

      This story arc presents a lot of analysis or exegesis of the talking orang. The narrator has added in fictional newspapers advertisements about bio genetic engineering based on real life. I can say that he has made a detailed interpretation into new discoveries. By making an analogy of real life research and the story's, we are extremely close, in terms of how we are advancing further in to the future, how we test our test subject, and our wanting to find out new discoveries and breaking that to the news around the world. This story of the talking orang further explains in detail about how willing we are to learn further about amazing things of our own planet.

      This story arc of the novel starts out shocking, I did not expect a talking ape to appear. I believe that Michael Crichton wants the reader to believe that this is how scientists and the media work. They discover an interesting species, but proceed to perform unethical tests and study it so they can send this to the social networks and become data worldwide. However, the real question they should be asking is, how or where did the orang get such an ability to talk? There are even fictional newspapers based in real life and is added in the story to make the story seem serious. This story arc leads readers discussing about what can cause such amazing discoveries to appear.

Next by Michael Crichton (Entry 1)

Next- Michael Crichton Entry 1

Carl Jeong
English 11
May 29 2012

        The book Next by Michael Crichton is a science fiction novel based about how biochemical engineering and medical studies for genes can affect people's daily lives. The story begins with two CEOs, Rick Diehl and Jack Watson, who have been working at their company "BioGen", on gene patenting and genetically splicing genes on different animals. however, the story reveals further debates about whether bioengineering science does benefit the world or is unethical to animals and raises issues. It turns out later that BioGen later takes blood samples from patients with special genes that can suppress diseases and viruses and BioGen fools the patients into allowing the company to take more blood cells, eventually, owning their genes. This raises the question, can you own a gene? There are other companies who actually want to steal some of BioGen's data and this leads to spies from both companies attacking each other in the story.
 
        The story has a lot of exposition. The events between the people talking each other in the story are interesting in that something new has happened but because these scientists have genetically changed the name of science and this could get the media's attention. Meanwhile, there is a dark shady story of a 16 year old girl selling her eggs and reproductive body structures to companies for cash, when the mother finds out about this, she is furious about this. The question is, even though the girl has rights and she can sell her own eggs to companies, what about the mother?, she thinks this is wrong, so what can be done? The main idea of the novel is that the future is changing and humanity is advancing greatly, but what are the consequences of new laws and new scientific studies that can make new laws.

         I do like the beginning section of the book. There are many story arcs in this book, all relating to genetic studies and how do companies having access to human genes and how do experimenting with the natural course of life can actually be a serious issue to society. I like the narrator's way of showing that the world is like this because of how companies are trying to take over everything. Cloning, Genetic biochemistry, medical research, and even law, Michael Crichton did a good job on how we are close to entering the future of science of the 21st century and how we need to be careful.

The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Entry 4

February 25th 2012
Book Pages(212-280)


Entry IV:
Stories: The Engineer's Thumb/Red-Headed League

    In this adventure, a young hydraulic mechanic Mr. Victor Hatherly, lost his thumb to a machine, which Dr. Watson came by and treated him, Holmes was there with Watson. At the hospital, a mechanic chief, Colonel Stark, offers Mr. Hatherly a job, he agrees, but Holmes becomes weary. One day, Colonel Stark was locked up in a shack, and the new facility was burned down by an imposter of Colonel Stark and other henchmen. Luckily, Holmes and Watson were nearby and managed to save Hatherly, but runs away later in fear. Holmes realized the story, there were criminals who wanted Hatherly's job, but failed to make the cut, so they planned to destroy the facility. This case may be solved, but Holmes failed to stop the criminals in this story.
   In this last adventure, a red-headed man, Mr. Wilson, tries to get himself a job in a bank, but turns out to be in line with red-haired people like him. Holmes and Watson are contacted once more to inquire about the red-haired style like Mr. Wilson's. Holmes learns of the case and claims that the "league of red-heads" was a set-up by bank robbers who plan to rob a nearby bank, but their choice of disguise was a red-haired person. Incidentally, their choices were all same by coincidence. They were arrested in the next day.
   This book is full of dramatic insight and adventures that bring the reader to wonder how mysteries can be solved. The novel has turned suspenseful and difficult enigma into a series of episodes of logic that can be solved by Sherlock Holmes. The stories are interesting to what Holmes truly thinks and determines how the criminal tried to perform an act of impossible. This book takes the idea of a set of riddles and turns it into a set on how to solve them.
    I really believe that everyone should read this book. Especially those with a taste of solving puzzles or mysteries and how ancient forensics were used and criminal motives could be used today. This book brings great tales and teaches us how to use our brain power for any issues and how what criminals demand from their acts. I like the novel that a mercenary detective and a known doctor try to save lives, but how they interact and their cooperation with other people and how to solve the case at hand. I recommend this book to everyone.

The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Entry 3

February 22 2012
Book Pages(126-211)


Entry III:


Stories:  Priory School/Beryl Coronet
    In this adventure, Dr. Huxtable, the principal and founder of the Priory School hires Holmes and Watson to locate a kidnapped student and the student's father grants rewards money if his son is found. During their search, they ask people when was the last time they've seen the missing boy. They continued their trail by help of certain people who told Holmes where the boy went. The trails lead to an inn at the other side of the country. Inside the inn, there was a cock fighting match. However, it turns out the father made it to his boy in time as well while Holmes and Watson have been searching for the boy. The story was, the boy secretly made an agreement to the kidnappers to make a wager on which rooster would win in a fight. The boy wanted to prove his worth by gambling, and the kidnappers fled while the son and father regrouped. Nevertheless, the son was found.
   In this adventure, a banker keeps certain jewels and the Beryl Coronet, one of the most precious jewels in his storage room, until the next day, they vanished. Holmes and Watson are hired once more to investigate who took the jewels. Because it was winter, Holmes could track the criminals by their footprints. By asking the people and workers of the Coronet jewel place, Holmes learned of the banker's niece. Apparently, the niece stole the coronet and other goods and escaped to make her own jewel store and make her own wealth in dishonesty. She got away, but Holmes has other plans. He did tell the banker of the niece's treachery, but the niece doesn't know of her uncle's data, so he can contact her, then trap her for her incarceration.
    The dialogue in these set of stories are another interesting factor in this book. They always talk about the important matters at hand and make a possible deduction that allows us to wonder if real life detectives think the same way they do. The book seems more focused into more of the story than what the narrator has to day. The narrator (John Watson), is more focused in communicating with Holmes as if this book is in real life, and no narrator is talking to the reader. Sometimes the dialogue can be hard to follow and I forget who's saying what to who. The text is probably 1900s British, there are terms that are seen as a polite manner in this book.
   These stories in the book appear to go from mysterious and suspenseful to more dramatic to making us feel what the criminals want and their motives. This book does bring the idea of what's called the 'motus operandi', to what the criminals motives are and their psychology behind their acts. Criminals do appear like civil beings but even though they challenge Holmes and other police, they still are citizens in our standers and that leads us to understand how detectives try to reason with others with psychology.

The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Entry 2

February 20 2012
Pages: (59-125)


Entry II:


Stories: Black Peter/Golden Pince Nez
     In this next story, an old inspector and acquaintance of Holmes, inspector Stanley Hopkins joins Holmes to investigate a murder incident in a shack. The three investigators studied the shack and thought that the crime was more of an act to steal, and murder was not anticipated. They realized who the killer was and set up a plan for an ambush. It was successful and the killer was one of the crew Patrick Cairns, he wanted to steal all the captain's data records, information, and prove himself the true sailor, he never meant for murder. This case is now solved.
           Another murder occurred at the office in the city of Yoxley. Sherlock investigates a murder scene in an office room.  A secretary officer was murdered and their only clues were a golden set of pince-nez glasses. By fingerprints and traces of skin, the suspect may have been a female, also the witnesses knew of a woman who wore pince-nez glasses. That's not all, Holmes also inspected a large amount of burnt cigarettes in the trash can of the crime scene. Holmes found an open bookcase that is in fact a hidden room. Holmes had learned the story. It turns out, the woman with the glasses came into the secretary office to steal some sort of key, but was caught by the secretary person. She defended herself with a wax-knife and killed the secretary by accident and lost her pince-nez glasses during the brawl. She accidentally knocked over a trash can of cigarettes and knew about the hidden room in the bookcase. This was the story of the woman with pince-nez glasses, now the police are searching for her.

       The diction in the stories portray to be descriptive and appears to make the reader understand the story more clearly. Their word choice for certain clues they search for are detailed and are able to make the reader's mind display more easily. "The mark of which the key was examined upon the brass work of the right hand side of the key-hole, and extended for about four inches". In other words, the key was checked on the keyhole for confirmation in our terms. This novel makes the stories clear for us to understand.

The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Entry 1

February 20th 2012,
Book Pages(1-58)

Entry I:
                     The story is in the perspective and narration of Dr. John Watson and he explains the details on how detective Sherlock Holmes solves every mystery he comes across. There are eight stories in total in the book.

Story: The Solitary Cyclist/Charles August Milverton.
         In one of his adventures, he comes across one of his clients, Miss Violet Smith, asks Holmes about a solitary cyclist. The Smiths live in a poor place, and Miss Smith is a music teacher, her boss, Mr. Cruthers pays her 100 pounds a year. However, every night, a cyclist rides and keeps her distance and follows her. One day, Holmes and Watson sets a trap to find out the cyclist. However, Lady Smith was kidnapped from elsewhere. Holmes and Watson chase after the cyclist, after that, the cyclist explains himself. The cyclist reveals himself as Mr. Cruthers, the boss. Some group of criminals were after Miss Smith and Mr. Cruthers acted as the cyclist in the dark to watch after her, to guard her from the criminals. He admits his love. Realizing that they share the same goal, they stop the criminals and save Miss Smith. Then, after the case is closed, Mr. Cruthers was not seen as guilty.
           The next adventure was that he was hired by Eva Blackwell who asks him to stop Charles Milverton. The reason was of blackmailing. Holmes and Watson disguise as plumbers and are asked to enter while Milverton leaves the house. Then, the investigation begins. They look for letters, notes, anything that proves that he's a blackmailer and threatens Miss Blackwell. No evidence appears to be found, until one day, when they are hiding in the household, Eva invades Milverton's house angrily and shoots him with a gun. The two detectives escape and decide to drop the case. One day,  a detective hires and asks to join forces with Holmes and study the case of Milverton's death, Holmes promptly declines and this investigation was forgotten.

           The stories involve Watson's point of view on Holmes' behaviour and compares a detective to a normal citizen. The characterization in this story is well made, because of how one character describes the protagonist clearly and makes us learn more about him. Holmes thinks of highly as himself and sometimes has erratic habits towards others. Watson on the other hand explains about Holmes actions, he also comments on how Holmes' actions are crazy compared to his own.

           The stories portrayed in the book were shocking and made me feel dramatic about this book. I tend to think myself to investigate and explore on what's going on and how to solve mysteries and puzzles. This is a book I can relate myself into because of Holmes' actions to observe, study, and act. I also feel the same for Watson. As a noble doctor, his specialty for autopsies, medicine, and his own method of finding clues and trying to challenge Holmes gives me the idea that there's someone that can try to outsmart Holmes in investigating.