56 pages 1 hour read

Michael Crichton, James Patterson

Eruption

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

Man Versus Nature

Content Warning: This section features graphic depictions of death. The source text includes offensive portrayals of Indigenous Hawaiian people.

Man Versus Nature is a popular literary theme that explores humanity’s frailty when struggling to survive in the natural environment. This theme is central to works such as Moby Dick by Herman Melville and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. In Eruption, the Mauna Loa volcano acts as the primary antagonist and challenge that humanity has to struggle against and overcome. This theme appears in other Crichton novels such as Jaws (1974). The authors develop the theme in Eruption through the focus on the overwhelming might and strength of the volcanic eruption and its contrast with the futility of human efforts in controlling it.

The protagonist Mac and the members of his team are explicit in describing the indomitable power of Mauna Loa, “the largest volcano in the world” (30), and volcanoes generally. As the text notes, “[Mauna Loa’s] eruption in 1984 wasn’t particularly large but it produced enough lava to bury Manhattan to a depth of thirty feet” (69). In addition to being enormous, the volcano is also unpredictable.

Related Titles

By these authors

Study Guide

logo

1st to Die

James Patterson

1st to Die

James Patterson

Plot Summary

logo

Alex Cross

James Patterson

Alex Cross

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Ali Cross

James Patterson

Ali Cross

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Along Came a Spider

James Patterson

Along Came a Spider

James Patterson

Plot Summary

logo

Ambush

James O. Born, James Patterson

Ambush

James O. Born, James Patterson

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Becoming Muhammad Ali

James Patterson, Kwame Alexander

Becoming Muhammad Ali

James Patterson, Kwame Alexander

Study Guide

logo

Cross Down

James Patterson

Cross Down

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Eaters Of The Dead

Michael Crichton

Eaters Of The Dead

Michael Crichton

Plot Summary

logo

Four Blind Mice

James Patterson

Four Blind Mice

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Holmes, Marple & Poe

James Patterson, Brian Sitts

Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century

James Patterson, Brian Sitts

Study Guide

logo

I Funny

James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein

I Funny: A Middle School Story

James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein

Plot Summary

logo

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

James Patterson

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Chris Tebbetts, James Patterson, Illustr. Laura Park

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Chris Tebbetts, James Patterson, Illustr. Laura Park

Plot Summary

logo

Nevermore

James Patterson

Nevermore

James Patterson

Plot Summary

logo

Roses Are Red

James Patterson

Roses Are Red

James Patterson

Plot Summary

logo

Sam's Letters to Jennifer

James Patterson

Sam's Letters to Jennifer

James Patterson

Study Guide

logo

Sphere

Michael Crichton

Sphere

Michael Crichton