A man who opens a theme park has to have ambition as one of his top five traits. Walt Disney spent a couple of years transforming Disneyland from a dream into reality (source). And that creepy old dancing man probably faced many challenges when opening Six Flags theme parks across the United States. However, John Hammond in Jurassic Park really takes the prehistoric cake. He doesn't just want to open a theme park—he has to bring an entire species back to life in order to do it. For him, ambition is his number one quality…and his number one downfall.
Questions about Ambition
- What is John Hammond's ultimate goal? Scientific discovery? Opening the best theme park ever? Something else entirely?
- What does Hammond neglect in his attempts to get his park off the ground? How do his oversights end up damaging his vision—and leading to the deaths of others?
- Does Hammond deserve to be punished for the mistakes he makes, mistakes that put his own ambitions over the safety of other people?
- Both Dennis Nedry and John Hammond are ambitious in their own ways. How are the two men similar? How are they different? How does their conflict lead to the destruction of Jurassic Park?
Chew on This
Hammond only abandons his selfish ambition when his own grandchildren are in danger. Were it not for them, he'd probably open Jurassic Park and put other people's children's lives at stake, no problem.
Anyone who thinks of himself as a god is ambitious at best, and arrogant at worst. John Hammond is a man who is playing god, and he walks the line between both of these traits.