Congo by Michel Crichton was an extraordinary book as well as a movie about agroup of scientists taking a journey into the heart of Africa in search of theblack diamonds, in the lost city of Zinj! While being observed back in the U. S. over satellite camera, the whole team dies within a matter of seconds by someunknown being. The scientists back home sent out a second team (Karen as theleader) to find the others and to pick up where they had started! There was onlyone problem with this plan, however.
However, there where no flights going tothis part of Africa in the next month. They then came across a group ofscientists that where taking a sign language talking gorilla named Amy. Theywhere going to the same spot because they thought that this is where Amy wasborn, and she keeps on having nightmares about this place. They team looking forthe diamonds asked them to go because the gorilla team needed more money, whichKaren could provide. Once the other team had gotten into the plane and on thereway to Africa, they started being attacked by another country because they wherecrossing over there border with out there permission. They where forced to jumpout of the airplane with Amy, to land safely on the ground.
Both teams then setout for the lost city of Zinj. On there journey there Karen had continuedstaying in contact with her boss over the satellite, until one day when Amy andPeter (Amy’s owner) where playing and Amy bumped it and caused it to break. Her boss then probably thought that she was killed too. Once they reached Zinj,they found that it sat on the top of a great volcano, but they had alsodiscovered what had killed the others! They seemed to be a mutant form of agorilla, with gray hair and mutated face with incredible intelligence. Theydiscovered them with in a temple where they would rest during the day. The firstnight there they heard rustling around their camp, coming closer and closer tothem.
They turned on a spot light right towards them, to discover about 50 ofthese gray backs staring them right at them. They started to fire at them makingthem flee away! The next day they found the found the mines that the diamondswhere in. They had not been cleaned out at all! All of the diamonds where leftand abandoned, never bothered. While Karen was crying over the diamonds Amy andPeter where looking around the city while Amy was signing “Amy scared, BadPlace, Amy not like.
Peter realized that Amy was always having nightmares of herwatching her own mother be killed by these gorillas! She would always makefinger paintings back home of something with a yellow eye. Peter asked her whatit was, and she made him follow her. They came to a temple where inside therewas a huge statue of one of the gray gorillas! He realized that this cultureused to worship these gorillas and train them to guard the mines while theycouldn’t. “That explains why they are so intelligent, and why they kill allthat come into their territory. Also why they kill by smashing ones head openwith two stone paddles, killing them instantly.
” That night they set up campat a different location and surrounded the camp with wire that is linked toautomatic machine guns that shoot towards where the line is being pulled. Theyall where armed with flashlights and pistols, and some had night vision goggles,and heat seeking views to see them coming. They thought they where all ready!That night they heard the same rustling in the brush but when they turned on thegoggles and the views they saw NOTHING! Nothing was coming up in there view atall. One of the auto machine guns started going off at the back of the camp, andall of a sudden they all came over the hill and where attacking from all sides.
All hell breaking loose, some swinging down from trees, some lifting the lineand going under. The havoc Only lasted a few minutes until the gorillas startedto retreat. Once they where all gone the turned on all of their spot lights,which revealed all of the dead gorilla bodies lying dead on the ground. Butthere was more that dead gorillas, there where dead HUMANS too! Three ofKaren’s men died all three of their skulls crushed open allowing their bloodybrains to spill out right into the dirt.
The very next day they realized thatAmy had run away after the attack, but could not stop to look for her. They allrealized that they had to get out of there that day and never return. Theystarted packing their things while peter called out to Amy awaiting her arrivalback. Once ready they set out to the mines for the last time to collect thediamonds, but on their arrival the earth stared to shake more than it usuallydid. They then knew that if they didn’t collect some diamonds quick they woulddie! They collected a few diamonds and. .
. Both of the endings are to muchdifferent so I will list both of them in the next section of Compare andContrast. Compare and Contrast Characters Amy, in the book, had a talent to talkin sign language so any one who knew how to read it could communicate throughher. But instead of just sign language, in the movie, she whore gloves thatsenced every movement of her hands and transmitted it back to a small computeron her back which verbally said the words out loud in a female computer voice!This allowing her to talk to anyone that she cared to.
Karen in the story wasonly in search of the diamonds for her company, to make a new form of energy. But in the movie she had more important things on her mind. Her husband was onthe first trip out there, which was killed. So she went in search of him andthen would get the diamonds if she could! In the movie there was another manthat helped out in the funds to get down there. He was an explorer that claimedto have traveled all around the world that would love to go to this part ofAfrica.
He really turned out to be a fake in search for the diamonds to becomerich. And in the book. . .
well he wasn’t even in the book! In the story,Karen’s boss was only interested in finding the diamonds to for his company tobecome rich while making a new form of energy, while not even caring about hisson’s death. But in the book he still cared about the diamonds but he didn’teven have a son, at least not in the business, and certainly not dead in Africa!Compare and Contrast Plot In the story, when they arrived at jungle, they wherefine until night where they attacked by mutant gorillas. They only attacked atnight because they all slept during the day while it was light out. In the storythey also found that they kill by smashing head between rock paddles, killingpeople instantly. In this case all of the gorillas died when the volcanoerupted! Peter and Karen got away in a hot air balloon, that the found inanother plane that her boss had sent (which was shot down) WITH Amy.
In theMovie, when they arrived at the jungle they where right away faced by thegorillas. In This case the gorillas attacked during the day and night any chancethey could. Amy and Peter never really witness them all die however. Karen didhowever Killed some gorillas by a laser that worked off of the diamonds, inorder to escape the temple when the gorillas surrounded them. At the every endKaren and Peter got away in hot air balloon WITH OUT Amy.
For she had decided tostay behind and live with her species of gorilla. If I had to choose whichversion of Congo was better I would have to say that the book is much better. Itgoes into more detail of everything and adds more suspenseful situations thatallow your mind to go free and create any mental picture that you want. While inthe movie you are restricted to what the present and show to you not allowingmuch detail and gore as the book did.
