The Importance and Place of Technology in the Novel Neuromancer - Literature review Example

Neuromancer Interaction is a fundamental human feature that has pioneered the development of the world throughout the history of man. However, as the same history recounts technology has remained an equally potential aspect of the interactions often providing efficient and reliable ways of communication. The novel Neuromancer centers on the importance and place of technology in the modern society. In the novel just as is the case in the modern society, people use the internet to communicate with each other besides employing the mobile telephony in enhancing communication owing t the ability of such technologies to overcome the numerous geographical barriers that hinder communication. This way, he novel portrays that human interactions and relationships are often fraught and mediated by technology as the essay below portrays. Employment is one of the most important forms of relationships in the novel. People search for jobs and work in order to make a living. As such, people perfect their skills thus increasing the profitability of their crafts. Employees and employers develop special relationships reliant on the importance of each other in the relationship. In the novel, the communication industry is a major economy hub with people using numerous communication technologies to undertake different functions (McCaffery 44). Henry Dorsett Case is a professional computer hacker. He works diligently and impresses his manager owing to the level of his skills. The author develops the first conflict in the novel by portraying him stealing from his employers. Theft is a social vice and a feature of the human interactions in any ideal society. The author thus portrays the essence of technology in the different aspects of interactions and relationships including job and theft. He thus manages to portray the personal qualities of the different characters and the guiding principles in Chiba City, Japan, which is the society in which the author places the actions in the novel. Additionally, the author understands the role of conflicts in any story. He therefore develops appropriate conflicts using technology to accentuate the conflict thus not only portraying the role of technology in human interactions but also portraying he conflicts in personality features of humans through the few characters in the novel. As a punishment, the people use mycotoxin to damage Case’s central nervous system. This portrays the people’s response to conflicts and their attempts to resolve such. By damaging his central nervous system, the people believe that they will incapacitate Case enough to discourage the manifestations of criminal acts thus making the society safer. The people leave Case destroyed and incapacitated but still alive. This leads to secondary conflicts in the novel as most actions center on Case’s sorry state despite his hacking genius. The World Wide Web had become a significant aspect of his life which he misses wing to the incapacitation. He therefore considers suicide and becomes a drug addict owing to his despair. This portrays the importance of technology in human interactions. The people become personally attached to the trending technologies in the society since such technologies influence their relationships besides giving meaning to their lives as was the case in Henry Dorsett Case’s life. He for example cannot engage in any other profitable economic activity since he had perfected his sills in hacking among other aspects of cyber space. By disabling him and rendering him unable to access the internet, the people depress Case leaving him either to search for a cure for his condition or to digress into despair. He chooses both, he embraces suicidal thoughts and plunges into drugs while searching for a possible cure for his condition. Case’s help come in the form of Molly, a mercenary and street Samurai who works for Armitage, a former military officer. The former soldier promises to cure Case’s condition. The subsequent actions do not only portray human’s reliance on technology in their interactions but also the nature of human conflicts. Armitage is greedy and seeks to use both Molly and Case to satisfy his greed. He plans to benefit from Case’s technological genius by blackmailing him. He uses efficient technology by ensuring that Case recovers from his condition. He provides a technology he had developed to a hospital in exchange of the hospital’s services in treating and reversing Case’s condition. Both the transaction and the treatment are successful thus assuring him of his financial gains. Surgery is an important medical aspect that just as the scene portrays relies on advanced technology to develop reliable diagnoses and treatment. The hospital uses advanced technology in reversing Case’s condition. The payment for such services is equally expensive as Armitage uses an expensive technology to reimburse the hospital expenses. Using an advanced technology that neither Molly nor Case understands, Armitage introduces particles of poisons used in harming Case during his first robbery in in his blood stream advising that he will only remove the poisons when Case satisfies him and that in case he betrays him, the poison will dissolve back into his blood stream thus incapacitate him. Such is an advanced technology that Case had not considers. The ear of losing everything and plunging back into the hopelessness grips him thus making him susceptible to the greedy and malicious Armitage who uses both Case and Molly to satisfy his self-interests. This way, the author of the novel portrays the nature of human relationships and the essence of technology in the development and sustenance of such (Gibson 187). Humans mistrust each other a feature that compels Armitage to use an advanced technology to gain complete control and loyalty of the computer genius, Henry Dorsett Case. Molly and Case on the other hand become close owing to the nature of their roles and through the efficient and reliable use of technology. The two are for example in constant communication using numerous technologies including electronic mail and mobile phones among other contemporary technologies. The reliability of such technologies assures the two of efficient communication throughout thus providing them with an effective platform to share their feelings and interests. Case for instructs Molly to launch secret investigation on Armitage in order to determine his weaknesses and competitive advantages they can use to leverage themselves from his greed. Just as Armitage, the two se to use efficient technologies in monitoring Armitage in order to discover his dealings that they can use to escape his hold. This portrays humans reliant on technology as it provides solutions to varied situations. The two main characters use Case cyber genius to develop efficient technologies that will assure them of both an interrupted communication between them and effective surveillance of Armitage. On the other hand, Armitage begins using the two to satisfy his greed as he sends the two characters to different errands within the city. Their first assignment for example is to steal a computer memory with important data including the technology used in constructing Case’s central nervous system. As the two engage in the recovery of the ROM from a renowned commuter guru within the city, they carry out a seamless and efficient investigation of Armitage thus discovering his past names and criminal activities thereby lunching a potential revolution against him. In retrospect, the author develops relevant and reliable conflicts by analyzing the nature of human interactions and relationships in the contemporary society. Technology has become a fundamental feature of the human relationships in the society thereby validating the claims in the plot of the novel. The author for example develops a series of relevant conflicts based on the importance of technology in human lives and in influencing the nature of relationships. Works cited Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace, 1994. Print. McCaffery, Larry. Storming the Reality Studio: a casebook of cyberpunk and postmodern science fiction. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1991. Print. Read More