The Hot Zone Themes
- Limitations of Human Knowledge. The majority of the main characters in the book are highly-trained scientists and medical personnel with significant experience with hot agents.
- Power of Nature. ...
- Chance. ...
- Bureaucracy. ...
- Fear. ...
- Selfishness. ...
- Human Error. ...
Full Answer
What is the hot zone?
What does Richard Preston emphasize in The Hot Zone?
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Limitations of Human Knowledge
The majority of the main characters in the book are highly-trained scientists and medical personnel with significant experience with hot agents. Yet, as Preston reveals, their knowledge of filoviruses is woefully incomplete, especially when it comes to their ability to create a preventative vaccine or cure.
Power of Nature
The power of nature is a recurring theme in Preston's descriptions of the various outbreaks of Marburg and Ebola. While human beings may consider themselves to be "master of the earth", Preston argues that nature has the ultimate power, even to the point of determining the course of human evolution.
Chance
Chance plays a significant role in determining how a virus spreads and which characters fall victim to it. In every case, the virus strikes indiscriminately, regardless of age, occupation, or personality. This is particularly clear in the scene with Nurse Mayinga and Dr.
Bureaucracy
Particularly in "The Monkey House" and "Smashdown," Preston highlights the various obstacles caused by bureaucratic considerations in dealing with the outbreak at the Reston facility.
Fear
Fear is the one common denominator between all characters in the book and takes on many forms over the course of the narrative, from fear of death and fear of exposure to fear of the unknown.
Selfishness
Over the course of the book, Preston describes several characters who are fundamentally selfish when faced with a filovirus. Nurse Mayinga, Tom Geisbert, and Peter Jahrling are all potentially exposed to Ebola, but each character chooses to deny the possibility for selfish reasons.
Human Error
From the use of dirty needles at the Yambuku Mission Hospital and the hospital at Maridi, to the negligence of Hazelton Research Products in knowingly purchasing infected monkeys from the Philippines, human error can be directly connected to the majority of the outbreaks described in the book.
What is the theme of the hot zone?
Probably the most prevalent theme in The Hot Zone is the humans' fear of death. In fact, the power and appeal of this book come from the fear evoked in the reader. The gory, horrific deaths of Charles Monet, Nurse Mayinga, and Peter Cardinal set the reader on edge in anticipation and dread of what will happen if the virus at Reston jumps into the human population.
How many pages are there in The Hot Zone?
This Study Guide consists of approximately 41 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Hot Zone.
Human Error and Fragility ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Human Error and Fragility appears in each chapter of The Hot Zone. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
Human Error and Fragility Quotes in The Hot Zone
Below you will find the important quotes in The Hot Zone related to the theme of Human Error and Fragility.
What is Richard Preston's hot zone?
After deciding to expand the article into a book, he wrote The Hot Zone, which quickly became a bestseller . Since then Preston has continued to focus on scientific issues, and has written books about the eradication of smallpox, the Redwood Forest, and the steel industry. The Hot Zone returned to the bestseller list in 2014 as a result of the devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Preston, too, resumed his focus on Ebola during this time, participating in many interviews about the disease and writing articles about it for The New Yorker.
What was the impact of globalization on the world?
With globalization also came the rise of worldwide epidemics. The most notable of these is HIV/AIDS, which came to prominence in the 1980s and has since claimed about 39 million lives. Recent events, however, have made The Hot Zone ’s discussion of Ebola even more relevant. In 2014 the Ebola epidemic that Preston prophecies in his book came to pass, infecting over 28,000 people in West Africa and killing over 11,000. Cases were also reported in countries such as the UK, Italy, and the US, and the spread of Ebola to these nations was undoubtedly the effect of globalization. In July 2015, scientists began testing an Ebola vaccine that has thus far proved extremely effective in combating the virus. This cure, however, has come far too late for the tens of thousands of West Africans who were victims of this disease.
What is the hot zone?
In The Hot Zone, Richard Preston chronicles the incredible medical and technological advances of the 20th and 21st centuries. Yet he also makes clear that human curiosity and advancement can go too far, and can in fact end up aiding destructive diseases such as Ebola. While human innovation is useful and life-saving, human hubris—excessive self-confidence, in this case involving innovation and curiosity—can be destructive and deadly. The Reston Primate Quarantine Unit provides a perfect…
What does Richard Preston emphasize in The Hot Zone?
Throughout The Hot Zone, Richard Preston emphasizes how globalization has made worldwide pandemics a real and present danger for the human race. When Charles Monet falls ill at the beginning of the book, he boards an airplane, an act that could easily have spread Ebola throughout the world. Although Mayinga N. knows that she is sick, she still travels all around a populated and crowded city, another instance in which a pandemic could have…
