Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - Essay Example

? Cloud Atlas Introduction “Cloud Atlas” is a novel written by an English David Mitchell in 2004, and has different stories interconnected to each other. The novel has six stories interlaced with each other. And these stories occur at different time and space but get intricately related to each other as the stories get narrated. The six stories are abruptly cut off in the middle and the first half of the next story take over. Then when the reader go through the next half of the story he finds the protagonist watching or reading the first part of the text. Each story climaxes with the protagonist finding the first part of the following story which is printed after it. The stories are interlocked which each other and also could be read as a separate ones, and this the visible uniqueness and beauty of this book. Summary of the Novel The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing: The time period of this story is set in the 1850s, and location is in the Pacific Ocean. The story is all about the voyage of an American person, Adam Ewing who is traveling back home from a remote location called Chatham Islands which is located in east part of New Zealand. His journey is recorded in a journal and explains about the tribe of the island and events he faced during his presence there. The character of the next story finds this journal on the book shelf and then second story starts by this event. Letters from Zedelghem : In this story the Robert Furbisher an English man, finds the journal of Ewing in a book shelf. He is a person who is aloof from his family and do not have a worthy behavior. He correspond the story of Ewing to his lover Sixsmith who is also his friend. Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery. : In this third story we meet Sixsmith who is in an older stage and she encounters Ray, whose occupation is a detective in a lift... In this story the Sixsmith dies and while investigating her death Ray finds the letter of Furbisher written to Sixsmith years ago c containing the story of Ewing. In an attempt to end the corruption of a nuclear plant, Ray dies. As the story moves the next character Cavendish arrives in the scene and later reader finds out that the story of Ray is a script for his novel The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish: This story is set in the 21st century in United Kingdom and we understand the Ray is just a character in the book of Hillary V. Hush. Timothy Cavendish is a publisher and is attempting to escape from the brothers of his client who is a gangster and spending time in prison. The next character is said to be watching the dramatic version of the story of Cavendish. An Orison of Sonmi~451: This fifth tale take place in Korea, and the main character in this is a cloned identity of the name Sonmi – 451.This clone is a server in the eatery named Papa's song and is being interrogated before her execution ordeal is passed. The following character is watching the tale of sonmi in a device which is supposedly to be invented in future technological world. Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After : This story which is set in future where Sonmi is perceived as a goddess by the tribes of Zachry .This tribe is existing after the fall of peak technologically civilized world and projects a different story altogether. After the sixth story we get to know the narration can be reversed and the end of the end of the story can be found as just the beginning. Integrating Forces in the Novel 1)A Global Element : Here the first story begins with the journey details of an American man Ewing from Island of New Zealand. Then the second story starts as the character Furbisher, who is an English man discovering this journey of Ewing and passing it on to his lover Sixsmith .Here we can see a mention of America, New Zealand and English background in the story. The author is trying to add people from different culture to his story in order to give a global outlook to it. By giving this kind of various cultural elements to this story, readers can get a sense of globalization and united feeling. Even the fifth story is presented to be happening in Korea which is the Eastern part of the world. The story is taking readers from western end of the world to the Eastern corner of the world which is Korea and to Hawaii which is again the west side of the world. 2)Evolution of technology The story starts from the 19th century with the journey of the American notary Ewing, which is then read by English man Furbisher and passed on through letter to his lover Sixsmith. Here we can understand that the writing process has been progressed from scroll to postal system as Furbish is living in a much advanced time than Ewing. Later story of Ewing is been passed on to Ray who is in reality character of Cavendish novel .So in Cavendish times, printing press and publishing has established. Later the character of the fifth story is a Robot Sonmi – which represents a much evolved technological world. So the progression of technology is a very evident factor in the whole novel. 3) Anticipation: The story give rise to an ample amount of anticipation and anxiety in the reader’s mind and this indeed is a very vital force which connects all the six stories. Each story in this novel ceases in the middle and the next story begins from the ended point. The reader is experiencing much thrill as each story stops abruptly. The readers are persuaded to read on, in a quest to know the final culmination of each stories. According to (Anderson)“Cloud Atlas is made up of half-a-dozen disparate but artfully interwoven narratives that propel the reader forwards through time and genre, from the distant nineteenth to the not-so-far-off twenty-second century”. The novel smoothly takes the reader from 19th century to twenty-second century and it is definitely is a roller coaster ride for the reader. 4) Tribal Group: The very evident element of the story is the presence of the tribal group .In the beginning of the story, the American man Ewing confronts with tribal group in the island of Chatham in New Zealand. He has to put up with adverse nature of the Moriori tribal group in this area. The author explains the Morion tribe to be aggressive and outrageous in their behavior. In the sixth story also the presence of tribal group along the valley is vividly described. This leaves a very visible connection in the story from first to last and also when the story is viewed in reverse mode. The ending of the story and the beginning of the story has the presence of tribal people. Disintegrating forces in the story 1) Time Span: The time period of the story is creating a separation possibility among each story in the novel. The first story of the American man occurs in the 19th century. The second story where Furbisher gets hold of the journal of American man Ewing happens in the beginning of the 20th century. The third story in which the lover of Furbisher that is Sixsmith meeting Ray happens in the end of 20th century. The fourth story is happening in even more advanced period of time with Cavendish as a publisher... Gradually the fifth story unravels in a time where technology has developed enough to employ a robot in an eating outlet as a server. Finally it ends in such a period of time where the human generation has wiped out to an extent that only a tribal group is shown to exist. These changing time spans has helped in disintegrating stories in to different section. 2) Personality of the Character: The characters involved in the novel are changing one after another. Each story from first to last is different. There is not one person in the story which Remains till the end of the novel. Also each person has a very distinctive identity in the novel. The character of the first story is an American notary, the character of second story is a musician, third one is a detective, forth one is an author, and fifth one is robot named Sonni - 451 who is a server in a restaurant. As per (Crook)“She is a ‘fabricant’, created in an artificial womb and destined to serve at Papa Song’s fast food outlet for her twelve working years, before being sent to her retirement in Xultation” Conclusion The novel “ Cloud Atlas “ is exceptional one with the use of experimentalism and modernism in the stories .The writer David Mitchell have made use of great intelligence and creative talent in intricateness six of his stories in this book. Mitchell here is attempting to cut off a tree and trying replacing it with a look alike of a tree. His prose can be described as something magnificent and straight forward. His intricate six stories crosses the span of time and space of continents and take the readers to another realm explain the basic condition of human beings. The story initiates and ends in such a place where human existence is minimal and also delivers a warning message to people about the times to come where there are chances of human destruction. The first story starts in the mid – nineteenth century and the last story ends at a time where there are no people but some particular tribe who has survived the destructive phase of earth. References Anderson, H. "Time and emotion study." Guardian Newspaper. Guardian, 2004. Web. 12 May 2011. . Crook, L. " Cloud atlas - discussion guide." Website for purchase . Amazon, 2004. Web. 12 May 2011. . http://www.damaris.org/content/content.php?type=1&id=215 1 -http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/feb/29/fiction.davidmitchell Read More