Quarter 1 (Pages 1-142): Characters

Cloud Atlas has an overwhelming number of characters who live throughout different periods of history. Although the novel lacks chapters, it is divided into sections. In the first 142 pages the reader is introduced to three different stories. The three main characters: Adam Ewing, Robert Frobisher, and Luisa Rey, all seem to share a key similarity. They all appear to have their own contradictions and could be described as hypocrites to a certain degree.

The novel begins with Adam Ewing, an American visiting Chatam Islands. The islands are what we now know as the New Zealand archipelago. Ewing observes the harsh relationship between the violent Maori who were brought to the island by the British and the peaceful, native Moriori, first hand when he watches a Maori master beating his Moriori slave. In a miraculous series of events the slave, named Autua, is snuck aboard the ship that Ewing is traveling upon. Ewing manages to save Autua from certain death by demonstrating to the Captain his worth as a hand aboard the ship. Ewing appears to believe in a certain degree of equality for all races. During a discussion of the goal of colonization he “‘[…] protest[s], to civilize the Black races by conversion should be our mission, not their extirpation, for God's hand had crafted them, too’” (16). The British men in the tavern respond properly to Ewing’s protest calling him out on the fact that “‘[… the British] abolished slavery in our empire-no American can say as much’” (16). Ewing shows pity for Autua and speak as though he believes in a state of partial equality, but his thoughts prove otherwise. While walking through a village on the island Ewing notes that a woman "[…] has a tinge of black blood & I fancy her mother is not far removed from the jungle breed" (6). It would be ridiculous to argue that Ewing truly believes in equality. Ewing reflects the actions of his country the United States. Ewing and the US may flaunt ideas such as the statement that all men are created equal, but in reality only rich white men are of acceptable status. Rich, white, men like Dr. Henry Goose who warns Ewing, “‘It’s one thing to throw a blackie a bone, but quite another to take him on for life! Friendships between races, Ewing, can never surpass the affection between a loyal gundog & its master’” (37). Advice that Ewing would abide by as it would be outrageous for him to consider the slave Autua a friend. Ewing is a perfect representation of the United States (in this time period) as he may act as though he believes in equality, yet, at his core it is clear that he is racist.

Robert Frobisher introduces himself as “[…] a Caius Man, teetering on the brink of destitution” (44). Yet, Frobisher manages to afford travel from England to Belgium where he seeks employment as an amanuensis for an aging composer. Along the way he declines an offer to sell cutlery kindly “[…] confess[ing] [he]’d rather swallow cutlery than ever have to sell the stuff” (46). He also buys a large batch of pastries, which he shares with a witch and “[…] another pastry with five thousand pigeons, to the envy of the beggar, so I had to give him one too” (48). Considering how Frobisher has stated that he is “[…] teetering on the brink of destitution” (44), it seems slightly suspicious that he would decline a promising job offer so quickly and would buy so many pastries and share them so generously. It becomes apparent that Frobisher is truly not like the “Whiskered mandarin ducks [that] honk for bread, exquisitely tailored beggars […]” (54) which he believes are “[…] rather like [him]self” (54). Frobisher manipulates his audience like he manipulates the people around him. He tries to win the reader’s sympathy; however, many of his thoughts make you question his true feelings. Frobisher is hired by Vyvyan Ayrs to work as his assistant, recording Ayrs new works onto paper allowing Ayrs to continue to compose. Yet, Frobisher is not satisfied with the credit Ayrs pays him. During a rant Frobisher says to himself “I’m his bloody general and he’s the fat old Turk reigning on the memory of faded glories” (83). Frobisher does not hold proper respect for Ayrs’s work as a composer, and he has betrays him by sleeping with his wife. The one thing about Frobisher that always holds true is that as he “Assure[s] [Ayrs’s wife] I’ve really never loved anyone except myself and have no intention of starting now […]” (85). Although Frobisher may say this in a joking manner to Jocasta, Ayrs’s wife, the statement is startlingly true. Frobisher acts as though he is deserving of the reader’s sympathy; however, he is truly a cunning manipulator who cares only for himself.

Luisa Rey is a reporter pursuing the cover up of a major design flaw in the Swannekke B nuclear reactor. Luisa is relentless in her questioning of the events surrounding the case. Even when her boss warns her that her “[…] article on this unsubstantiated cover-up at Seaboard will, frankly, leave [her] old, sick, and weak” (109), she does not let the case go. When Robert Sixsmith, the man who was going to give her his report on the reactor, is found dead and the police release a statement saying that it was suicide, Luisa refuses to believe such a claim. She says “He was getting ready to go public […] This is what the truth cost him” (114). Luisa’s uncompromising approach to her investigation of the Swannekke B reactor is valiant; however, I was surprised at how quickly she trusts the people she meets with during her investigation. After a late night with Isaac Sachs, one of the scientists who worked with Sixsmith, Luisa is very close to possessing a copy of Sixsmith’s report. Yet, the following morning Joe Napier says to Luisa “‘Isaac Sachs sends his sincere apologies, but he’s got to stand you up’” (133). Although Luisa is dismayed that Isaac is gone, she fails to realize the danger that she is in. She trusts that Joe Napier’s excuse for Isaac’s absence is legitimate. When Fay Li, a receptionist at Swannekke, says to Luisa “‘If there comes a time when you want to discuss matters weightier than how many French fries the Swannekke engineers consumer per annum […] such as the data on the HYDRA reactor as compiled by Dr. Sixsmith, purely for example, I guarantee you’ll find me much more cooperative than you think’” (137). Luisa believes Fay Li immediately and even wonders to herself “What level of deceit is permissible in journalism” (137). Clearly Fay Li is deceiving Luisa as she “[…] searches Luisa Rey’s room swiftly as the sun sets” (135) before she meets Luisa for dinner. Luisa’s refusal to believe the cover up of the Swannekke B reactor is admirable; however, her immediate trust in the people she meets during her investigation contradicts how critically she inspects the other elements of the case.

Cloud Atlas’s format forces the reader to consider the characters in a unique manner. Without knowing the conclusions to the stories of these three characters, it makes it difficult for the reader to understand how each character changes. It forces the reader to draw connections between the Ewing, Frobisher, and Rey, that would not be as apparent if all of the stories were told from start to finish.  Ewing, Frobisher, and Rey all appear to have their own contradictions. These contradictions could possibly disappear as they develop in the concluding part of their stories.