Conclusions of Neuromancer

At the end of Neuromancer, William Gibson concludes Case and Molly’s relationship. Throughout the novel, the reader can never be sure if Molly and Case actually love each other, or whether their relationship is just a convenience. They might have been together simply to have a companion to talk to while they were whisked away on a questionable mission. Eventually Molly leaves Case, saying, “it’s taking the edge off my game” (257). The reader gets the sense that Molly did not see the relationship lasting long, therefore confirming the suspicions about her true feelings toward Case.

Case’s ‘homesickness’ is also resolved. As he was working with Armitage and Molly, he would continually see reminders of his home in Chiba City, Japan, such as the color of the Chiba sky within the Matrix or his vision of Ratz on the beach. When he actually gets the chance to return, he finds that the people of Chiba and the city itself have forgotten him. By not being tied down to this city and his old life there, Case can finally move on to the cowboy life he dreamed of. However, Gibson does not make it entirely clear if Case is truly happy back in the Sprawl with a new job and a new girl.

Molly and Case finish the job they set out to do, but the reader cannot be sure of the consequences. Case claims “Wintermute had won, had meshed somehow with Neuromancer and become something else” (258). The motive for the computer to ‘kill’ itself is somewhat revealed when it’s discovered that Wintermute had evolved into something better. Case encounters the new-and-improved Wintermute (again in the form of Finn) who claims “I’m the matrix” (259). But then the book concludes with Case seeing the distant figure of Neuromancer, Linda Lee and himself in the matrix. If Wintermute had combined with Neuromancer, how is Neuromancer still a separate entity? When Case sees himself alongside Linda Lee and Neuromancer, is it a memory the computer has used or is it an alternate self? Maybe it was an imprint of Case left behind from his trip to the beach. Case then hears “the laugh that wasn’t laughter” referring to the inhuman sound of the construct of McCoy Pauley (261). Was Dixie really erased or was he preserved somehow through Neuromancer? Finally, the very last line states that Case “never saw Molly again” (261). This suggests that she could be standing with the ghost figures in the matrix or maybe it is just a separate conclusion for Case’s relationship. Neuromancer might have ended, but Gibson leaves just as many questions unanswered as we had at the beginning of the novel.

Frameworks of Neuromancer

“There was a kind of ghostly teenage DNA at work in the Sprawl, something that carried the coded precepts of various short-lived subcults and replicated them at odd intervals” (57).

This passage shows the framework of behavioral patterns in Neuromancer. It describes how a certain culture or clique of society can be replicated and repeated in the next generations. If this is true, then what may seem to be the unique personalities of one group is actually a continuation of the past. It suggests that people have become predictable, because they are basing their qualities on past fads, instead of making up their own. There is no more room to alter, tweak or improve because there is already a template to go off of. And to suggest that this continuation is somehow imbedded in people’s DNA, takes away the idea of individual choice. People are left with no choice but to follow this pattern because it is derived from the fundamental, biological coding established way before consciousness.

“A few letter-writers had taken refuge in doorways, their old voiceprinters wrapped in sheets of clear plastic, evidence that the written word still enjoyed a certain prestige here. It was a sluggish country” (84).

Within the technological advanced world of Neuromancer, there is always new technology available, another new model or new edition being introduced. Therefore, anything used previous to the new fad becomes out-dated. Just like the Apple products in our society, the iPod mini cannot compare to the 3^rd generation of iPod nano’s or the new Shuffle that is voice activated. The “voiceprinters” described in this passage are an older technology used to transform speech into text. Along with the technology, the “written word” itself is old-fashioned. There is no longer a need for things to be written down because everything is digital. Even just using pen and paper for writing is no longer applicable. What is more unusual is that something as advanced as a “voiceprinter” in our reality, is an older model in Neuromancer. Through these ideas, the vast difference between modern day and the future becomes tangible.

The Settings of "Neuromancer"

Neuromancer begins in Chiba, Japan, which is geographically close to Tokyo. The main character, Case, describes the city as being separated from the ocean port by another kind of underground city, called Ninsei and nick-named Night City. This place is run-down and almost grungy, setting the mood for it’s black market economy. Separated from Chiba, Night City is shut in it’s own world of drug deals and hustlers. And from this futuristic society, we see an over-kill of technology. Any out-dated models seem to be discarded randomly. When Case jumps from the window in the arcade, he lands on a pile of circuits and wires, further strengthening the idea of a city filled with tech-waste. The people of Night City are really diverse, probably because of the near-by port. There are native Japanese, but also Spanish speakers and people from the Sprawl, which I assume to be somewhere on the Western hemisphere (maybe even the United States). Night City is truly the city of the night. During the day, the place is deserted. Shops are shut down and few people are seen in the streets. But at night, the city comes alive. It’s noisy, loud and chaotic, illuminated by holograms and neon signs.

The Matrix seems to be like a digital collection of data. Almost like the World Wide Web in physical form. It could contain government secrets, technology information or bank accounts. Either way, it appears that only a select few can enter, such as Case. To Case, the Matrix is a weightless experience because the mind becomes separated from the body, free to roam this digital expanse. The Matrix has some characteristics of a drug. Case is addicted to it, and is constantly searching for it’s familiar scenery. Even his suicidal outlook can be interpreted as withdrawal symptoms.

Both of these places seem bleak and barren. Night City has imagery of a “television sky” and the Matrix is described as a “colorless void” (6, 5). However, in Night City, you are bounded to your body’s limits, as opposed to in the Matrix where you are cut from any Earthly ties. And we start to see a difference in 'class'. Night City is a place for the dregs of society, while only an elite group can enter the Matrix.

Moments of Transition in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

Around the end of the fourth paragraph in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, the point of view shifts from the 3^rd person objective to the 3^rd person limited. By beginning the story with 3^rd person objective, the stage is set up for the rest of the narrative. The reader gets a sense of the what, where, when and who before any specifics are added. Since this change in the point of view happens within a section of the story, it is almost unnoticeable so that the reader can be eased into the plot. The 3^rd person limited point of view offers the reader a chance to hear Peyton Farquhar’s thoughts: is he accepting his fate or is he overwhelmed by despair? When Farquhar mentions his hopes for escape in the sixth paragraph, Bierce is foreshadowing the illusion of his escape later on.

Part II of the narrative goes back in time to describe how Farquhar ends up with a death sentence. The point of view is still in the 3^rd person limited, but now the main character has a name and a background story, therefore a personality the reader can identify with. The shift in time builds up anticipation for what will happen next because Bierce leaves off at a cliffhanger at the end of Part I.

The last sentence shows another transition in the point of view from the 3^rd person limited back to the 3^rd person objective. The reader can no longer know Farquhar’s thoughts because a shift back in time reveals that Farquhar is dead and hanging from the bridge. This confirms that the previous passage was an illusion of Farquhar’s last effort to avoid death. However, the abrupt and sudden change of events brings the reader back to reality with a sense of finality and hopelessness. Through these techniques, Bierce gains sympathy for his character and increases interest in his story.

Poetry in Pop Culture

In the movie Dennis the Menace, released in 1993, Mrs. Wilson recites the poem "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" by Eugene Fields. An excerpt can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZqvcncq76c&feature=PlayList&p=F561EEFD27C102E0&index=4

The poem emphasizes the child-like innocence of Denis as he causes mischief throughout the neighborhood. Since Mrs. Wilson is remembering the poem from when she was a little girl, the movie's message that 'there is a kid in everyone' is more pronounced.

I also found Shakespeare's Hamlet written in a "facebook style", which can be found at:

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/antwerplettuce/hamlet.html

After reading the play, this parody is really entertaining and comical. It brings Shakespeare's characters to the modern world of technology by simplifying the complex language into short comments anyone could understand.

“All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”

“I like to think” is how Richard Brautigan begins his poem, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, which immediately introduces the notion of wishful thinking. Whatever Brautigan would like to think, it is not the truth, otherwise he would be writing a more confident statement, such as, “I think”. From this opening statement, Brautigan’s poem takes on a more anti-technology position than what is inferred from the poem’s comforting title.

The first two stanzas are devoted to the union of nature and technology, two drastically different concepts. Brautigan creates a world where “deer stroll peacefully / past computers” and there is a “cybernetic forest / filled with pines and electronics”. This imagery shows the wish for a balance between technology and nature, as if the two could live without distinction. However, Brautigan adds lines such as “right now please!” and “it has to be!” contained within parentheses and followed by exclamation points, that emphasize how far-fetched the idea of a world where nature and machines co-exist is. These comments imply that Brautigan is looking for reassurance that he has nothing to fear, when his faith in technology would be undisputable if it were true.

In the third stanza, Brautigan’s side comments appear more as denials as they grow more desperate. Also, in this last stanza, Brautigan is no longer creating a balance between nature and technology, but a desire for the human race to completely turn away from society and be “joined back to nature”. This would mean moving backwards, away from technology and civilization, and back to the wild. This can be interpreted as an escape, and a way to avoid the advance of the machines that are still watching over. There is negative connotation with the words “watched over”, as if the human race is being monitored by the machines, or analyzed from a distance.

Yet the style in which Brautigan presents his idealistic world leads to the idea that this could be an attainable future. Words such as “harmony”, “mutually”, “pure” and “free” suggest an utopia in which man-kind is no longer obligated to work because technology has solved all problems. Brautigan describes nature as being untainted by the addition of technology, to the point where people would be encouraged toward the use of machines.

However, I believe Brautigan intended his poem to be anti-technology. There are arguments against this, but nothing as strong as the side comments slipped into the poem between parentheses. To me, those conveyed the most doubt for a world living along-side technology, and expressed an almost dire warning for a dependency on machines.

Imagery In Poetry

“This Living Hand”

John Keats

This living hand, now warm and capable

Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold

And in the icy silence of the tomb,

So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights

That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood

So in my veins red life might stream again,

And thou be conscience-calm'd—see here it is—

I hold it towards you.

Imagery

-A human hand: alive and warm vs. cold and dead, reaching/grasping

-Tomb: nighttime, “icy silence”, inanimate, corpse

-Heart: organic, muscle, center, but “dry of blood” so useless?

-Blood: red, flowing, streaming, veins, life source

The image of the human hand in John Keats’ poem is described as being “warm and capable”, beginning the poem with the idea of life (1). As mankind has evolved, life has been shaped around the uses of hands. We can write, draw, paint, play instruments and throw a ball. Though the hand has also made it possible to simply grasp, hold or feel. With these actions in mind, Keats’ imagery of moving and flexing hands embodies the concept of life and purpose.

This is reinforced by his images of the heart, blood and veins. All are essential for the body to survive. Blood becomes the life-source in Keats’ poem, streaming through the veins that connect a web of tissue, muscle and consciousness. He uses the imagery of flesh and blood to point out the beauty of organic life.

However, the idea of life is greatly contrasted by the imagery of death. Keats’ hand is no longer alive and healthy, but cold “in the icy silence of the tomb” (3). This presents an image of a corpse, only a remnant of what was once living. The hand is not only capable of holding a pen to paper, but of hitting, striking and killing. There is also the impression that the narrator of the poem has been murdered and brought back to haunt his killer with the hand as a weapon that can take life away. Keats writes that “thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood / So in my veins red life might stream again”, showing how overwhelming guilt could cause the desire to give one life up for another (5-6). Keats also suggests something larger than life that could cause a remorseful person to become “conscience-calm’d” or guilt free from whatever crime had been committed (7). A picture is formed of hands folded in prayer, asking for forgiveness in a handshake.

Words to Live By

For those of you who don’t know, “Just Keep Swimming” is a quote directly from the fish Dori in Finding Nemo (only the best animated Disney movie ever). As the scuba mask sinks slowly down into the depths of the abyss, Marlin watches as his last chance for finding his son disappears. The gloom appears to rise up and crush any hope of reunion. After fighting off sharks and avoiding exploding ‘balloons’, Marlin’s luck has finally run out. What is a lone fish to do?

When the last glimmer of fluorescent green plastic is swallowed up in the darkness, Dori plunges down after it with no hesitation. “Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills,” she says to start off her song. “When Life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!”

As a fellow swimmer, I have found that I can apply this philosophy not only in the pool at the last leg of a race, but in everyday life as well. Whether it is surviving the few days left until the weekend or the never-ending search for the misplaced car keys, I know I cannot give up. I have to keep fighting for what I want out of life. Now that I have started college and find myself swamped with reading history textbooks, writing papers and trying to comprehend that last physics lecture, I cannot help but think back to Dori’s famous song as I give my blog a title.