Cloud Atlas

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2004

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

Eternal Recurrence

Content Warning: This section depicts slavery and discusses racism.

Vyvyan Ayrs titles his last major symphonic work Eternal Recurrence, “in honor of his beloved Nietzsche” (84). In Nietzsche’s conception (explored in The Gay Science and later in Thus Spoke Zarathustra), eternal recurrence is the hypothetical idea that time repeats in an infinite loop by which events occur in exactly the same way, over and over, for the rest of time. In Nietzsche’s version of eternal recurrence, the idea is first horrifying and then liberating. In Cloud Atlas, the idea of eternal recurrence is evident in the subtle repetition of ideas, images, and media over time. Characters are wildly different, but their similarities echo through the ages in an eternally recurring manner. Ayrs’s composition is an embodiment of this theme, in which the powerful authority figure attempts to subsume and manipulate another person and—in the process—is challenged. The aging composer builds his composition on Frobisher’s work, pilfering it without credit. This dynamic echoes across generations, as Ewing is poisoned by Goose, Cavendish is extorted by gangsters, Luisa battles powerful corporations, Sonmi and the other fabricants are exploited and cannibalized, and Zachry watches his brother dragged away by enslavers. These dynamics recur in an eternal pattern, as seemingly weak figures challenge powerful embodiments of the status quo and rebel against anyone who wishes to infringe upon their liberty.

One of the key signifiers of eternal recurrence is the comet-shaped birthmark that certain characters share. Frobisher, Luisa, Cavendish, Sonmi, and Meronym all refer to or describe having a comet-shaped birthmark. These birthmarks distinguish them in some way. Frobisher uses his to refer to how little he appreciates women “dabbling with [his] skin” (85), turning the birthmark into a demonstration of his prickly attitude toward his lovers. When Cavendish reads about Luisa comparing her birthmark to Frobisher’s, he disparages her desire to connect the two, joking that “no lover ever compared [his own birthmark] to a comet” (373). For Sonmi, the birthmark is particularly notable. She’s a clone, so her birthmark causes her “embarrassment” because it distinguishes her from the other versions of Sonmi. Even though Sonmi was manufactured in a laboratory, the power of the eternal recurrence left the birthmark on her skin. Meronym never mentions her birthmark; it’s described by Zachry, who considers it an auspicious gift from “Lady Moon.” Amid the chaos of the universe, the birthmark shows how ideas and images repeat even among very different people at very different times. While not quite Nietzschean in specificity, a broader, more abstract recurrence hints at the reincarnation and perseverance of ideas.

Ultimately, the more nebulous nature of this eternal recurrence in Cloud Atlas resembles an echo. Thoughts and patterns of ideas echo across centuries. For example, Ewing’s chapter explicitly mentions cannibalism, and Cavendish references it again when he shouts, “Soylent Green is made of people” (178); Sonmi, too, references it when she realizes that fabricants are recycled into food, and the Kona attack on Zachry’s family explicitly depicts cannibalism. In Luisa’s chapter, cannibalism is more abstract: The greed of the corporation consumes everything and threatens the world. These echoes form a cohesive whole, in which the past, present, and future all intertwine in an ever-repeating cycle.

Slavery and Freedom

In every story in Cloud Atlas, slavery and freedom are important themes. Ewing’s journey toward becoming an abolitionist most clearly portrays this theme with regard to a contemporary understanding of slavery. Not only does Ewing live in an era when slavery is legal, but the white people who enslave others share ideological justifications for the system of enslavement that empowers them and robs freedom from others. Ewing’s story is split in two; in the first part, he abides by the ideals of the status quo, but in the second part, he challenges these ideals. His experiences with Goose, Horrox, and Boerhaave show him that white people are far more violent, cynical, and inhumane than the non-white people he meets, such as Autua. Through his experiences, Ewing resolves to dedicate his life to abolishing the legal system of slavery that still exists in his society. The abolitionist movement he theoretically joins is—in historic terms—successful given that slavery was abolished in the ensuing decades. After Ewing’s story, the theme becomes more abstract.

The stories of Frobisher, Luisa, and Cavendish depict slavery in less explicit turns. While a legal system of enslavement has been abolished, the characters have their freedom removed. Frobisher is trapped and exploited by Ayrs and lacks the financial resources to escape. Cavendish is trapped inside a retirement home and must plot a daring escape. Luisa’s relationship to freedom is the most abstract. She’s a reporter who wishes to publish a story about the dangers of a nuclear power plant. Her freedom to print the story is undermined by the corporation that seeks to kill her. She’s captured, threatened, and forced into hiding but eventually finds justice. In addition, Luisa is trapped by the memory of her successful father, whose reputation casts such a long shadow across her actions that she’s not wholly free to dictate the course of her life. These more abstract depictions of freedom and slavery operate relative to Ewing’s change of heart. Once slavery is abolished in a legal sense, it turns into a more nebulous concept. A fundamental desire to dominate and exploit doesn’t disappear from the human character. Instead, people find new ways to explore and enact this desire. Slavery becomes less an explicit economic system based on exploiting others and more of a broad embodiment of mankind’s inhumanity. Although this inhumanity is perpetual, the stories suggest, so is the desire to challenge it. The quest for freedom is endless.

The stories of Sonmi and Zachry take place in the future. In these very different futures, slavery has returned. For Sonmi, slavery pertains to the fabricants bred to spend their lives working in menial positions. Her ascension casts off the shackles society imposes on her and foreshadows a rebellion against the dystopian government that robs fabricants of their freedom. In Zachry’s world, the Kona kidnap and enslave people in a way that resembles the stories of warfare told over the dinners that Ewing attended. Zachry’s brother Adam is enslaved, and a narrative inversion of Adam Ewing is part of the dominating, enslaving group. A man named Adam (significantly, the name of the first man in Christianity) is portrayed in relation to slavery twice: once as an enslaved person and once as the enslaver. The variation—as well as the portrayal of Sonmi’s nascent revolution—hints again at the infinite nature of this power dynamic. The desire to dominate never truly disappears from the human character, but the desire to fight enslavement and strive for liberty is equally as fundamental.

Authority and Greed

While every protagonist in Cloud Atlas shares a love of freedom and a desire to challenge the status quo, each antagonist abuses a position of power because of greed—often with disastrous results. Greed occurs at the individual and the institutional level. Henry Goose is willing to poison Ewing for money, but Horrox invents elaborate ideological justifications for the institutionalized slavery and oppression that enrich him. Throughout the novel, personal greed motivates antagonistic characters, even if they’re making only a relatively small gain. Luisa fights against the Seaboard corporation, and Sonmi fights against her dystopic government, both of which greedily exploit their authority for profit. In contrast, Cavendish battles a small-time gangster and the staff at a retirement home. The gangster is demanding money, while the staff is taking advantage of Cavendish’s brother paying for his residency. Even Vyvyan Ayrs exploits the talented young Frobisher because he’s greedy for the success that marked his earlier life but now seems to have passed him by. In each story, antagonists go to extraordinary lengths to greedily wield their authority to exploit others.

Greed isn’t limited to the antagonists, however. Cavendish is greedy for the same financial success that motivates his antagonists, while Frobisher has a voracious appetite for luxury that he can’t afford. Similarly, Luisa is greedy for success and to prove herself against her father’s reputation. These examples of protagonists’ greed are distinct from antagonists’ greed because they lack the backing of institutional power. Frobisher is alienated from his family and has no money of his own. He lacks the resources to pursue his greedy ambitions in the same way that his antagonist can. Cavendish is similarly down on his luck. He may be greedy for financial success, but his greed stems largely from his having been relatively unsuccessful throughout his life. Luisa’s greed for a good story isn’t motivated by financial concerns but by personal ambitions. Neither she nor Cavendish are willing to wield the power, violence, or authority that defines their greedy antagonists. The protagonists’ motivation is closer to desire than genuine greed, as they lack the means to turn their greed into violence.

In a broader sense, the novel criticizes greed as a fundamental flaw in the human condition. Throughout Sonmi’s chapters, the portrayal of the dystopian version of Korea is based on a rampant form of corporatism. The members of society are willing to overlook the enslavement and abuse of the fabricants because the existence of an underclass of human clones allows them to satisfy their greedy desires. They’re free to consume to their hearts’ content, deliberately ignoring the abuse of the fabricants because it permits their lifestyle. Greed dictates their moral conception of the world and perpetuates the consumerist nature of their society. Later, Meronym tells Zachry that the same greed that fueled Sonmi’s dystopia eventually brought about “The Fall.” The postapocalyptic world is shaped by a massive population decline and the prevalence of plagues that can’t be stopped. When Zachry asks about the world before, he’s told by Meronym that humanity’s greed and consumerism brought about this downfall. As such, Cloud Atlas portrays greed throughout the past, present, and future, charting how this negative characteristic—when married to institutional authority—has the power to bring about the end of the world. Greed becomes an antagonistic force in its own right, something to be challenged by the protagonists at all times.