State of the World

I found it hard to not like the main narrator Evans. As the novel progresses through his point of view, it is easy to realize he is just along for the ride but believes he knows what is going on. Morton only gives Evans bits of information but confides in him, and leaves him with encrypted instructions after his death. I found it was very easy to relate to Evans especially when he is given different assignments but does not quite know what he is getting into. I can think of plenty of times when I have been given instructions but do not quite understand what my boss or professor is wanting me to do so I just nod my head and figure it out as I go. Evans I would label as ‘the clueless one’, I see him as an educated citizen who is fairly confident that he knows what is going on, but his convictions are ‘wishy-washy’. For example, when Jennifer Haynes interrogates him he starts to almost doubt what he believes. Evans always seems to get pushed around and he just goes with it.

As I was reading in the beginning, Part 1, I kept getting the sense that the Author was holding back information (I understand Crichton had to captivate the audience), but there were constantly questions running though my mind as I tried to find connections between characters and piece together different parts of the book. There was always an undertone of discomfort; things are not as safe as the characters perceive them to be, which is evident by the number of innocent characters are killed quickly, like the wave scientist and the guy who helps move the wires. I predicted Morton’s death when he had Sarah buy an identical Ferrari to one he already owned. Also, it was hard to decide whom Evans should trust. I found myself reading this novel skeptical of all the characters and facts, and looking for ulterior motives.

By Part II I loved Kenner, he is informed, powerful, can be condescending and confident; a stark contrast to Evans. One of his quotes that struck me was on page 236,

“Remember African killer bees? There was talk of them for years. They’re here now and apparently there’s no problem. Remember Y2K? Everything you read back then said disaster was imminent. Went on for months. But in the end, it just wasn’t true.”

We as a society appear to be convinced easily and this theme seems to be what Crichton is chipping away at, and one of the best ways is by scaring people. The misconception that we are informed can be damaging. Naïve Evans is called out by Kenner for not knowing the facts to support his beliefs. Especially now in the days of social media and google searches at our fingertips it is easy to be persuaded by large numbers of people supporting a cause. One of the things that this book reinforces is to search out the data and facts, ask questions and figure out what is behind different perspectives. “Are you sure of your facts?” (Page 527). There can be a lot of politics and rhetoric behind an argument that can transform your beliefs to be swayed one way. The buzzword to correlate with this was ‘parameterization’ (Page 236); a way to disguise what is actually just a simple guess. It is amazing how much more convincing one word is from the other. “A prediction can never be proof” (page 532).