Quarter 2 (Pages 143-236): Style

The multitude of stylistic devices that David Mitchell uses in Cloud Atlas truly makes the novel one of a kind. In the section titled “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish,” the main character, Tim Cavendish, directly addresses the reader throughout the section as well as sharing many of his sarcastic observations. This allows the reader to gain a more personal connection with Cavendish, causing the reader to feel greatly distraught when poor Tim finds himself trapped in a retirement home. When the story transitions to “An Orison of Sonmi-451,” the story is told through an interview. I was skeptical how the story could capture my interest, being told in such a flat format; surprisingly the interview allows the reader to explore each detail of Sonmi’s tale. Yet each section ends without a conclusion drawing the reader into the following section to discover new characters and connections.

The manner in which Cavendish directly addresses the reader allows for a personal connection to be developed with his character. Rather than attempting to hide embarrassing pieces of his “ghastly ordeal,” he discusses his embarrassments with a sarcastic tone trying to draw a laugh out of the reader. Even the title is sarcastic. Cavendish agrees that it“[…] is a sappy title,” (147) as his story is more unfortunate than it is ghastly. When Cavendish’s home is being invaded by only three men he says “[…] the door [flies] in off its hinges! I was thinking al-Qaeda, I was thinking ball lightning, but no” (153). His sarcasm is amusing as well as the manner in which he directly engages the reader by noting intriguing elements of his tale. He states how “(You’ll notice, I am always attacked in threes” (153). Mitchell’s use of these techniques draws the reader closer to Cavendish, which strengthens the reader’s reaction to his imprisonment in the Aurora home. The three angry men seek a piece of the fortune that Cavendish reaps after their brother murders a harsh critic. The murder draws a great deal of attention to his novel. In his flight from the three brothers Cavendish encounters a series of unfortunate events. The train that he is riding breaks down, forcing him to look for places to stay. He subsequently searcher for alternative ways to reach what he believes is a safe place his brother has found for him to stay. After reaching the “hotel” Cavendish collapses and immediately falls asleep; yet, he “[... awakes] to discover a not-so-young woman with a pageboy haircut rifling through [his] personal effects like a bargain hunter” (173). He exclaims “‘What the ruddy hell are you doing in my room, you pilfering warty sow” (173). The woman “[…] put[s] down [his] jacket without guilt. ‘Because you are new I will not have you eat soap powder. This time. Be warned. I do not stand for offensive language in Aurora House’” (173). Unfortunately, Cavendish finds himself stuck in a retirement home, where his attempts to escape cause him to be slapped and whipped. His tone transitions from sarcastic to depressed, as he tells the reader “You will not apply for membership, but the tribe of the elderly will claim you. Your present will not keep pace with the world’s. This slippage will stretch your skin, sag your skeleton, erode your hair and memory, make your skin turn opaque so your twitching organs and blue-cheese veins will be semivisible” (180). The harsh end to Cavendish’s story leaves the reader feeling dismayed but not hopeless, which drives the reader to read further into the Cloud Atlas.

Within the first question of Sonmi-451’s interview the reader is caught by her character. The archivist who is interviewing her to record her story before her execution simply states “On behalf of my ministry, this isn’t an interrogation, or a trial. Your version of the truth is the only one that matters;” yet Sonmi answers “Truth is singular. Its ‘versions’ are mistruths” (185). Sonmi’s bold response to a simple statement by the archivist draws the reader to explore her character. Sonmi’s distinction that “Truth is singular” (185) displays her confidence and it sets the tone for the section. Sonmi’s confidence may come from the fact that she is a fabricant, a clone designed to work in a restaurant. Her ascension allows her to develop strong opinions, which would likely conflict with the goals of the ruling body Unanimity. After the statement that “Popular wisdom has it that fabricants don’t have personalities. [Sonmi says] This fallacy is propagated for the comfort of purebloods” (187). In a society with the ability to engineer any type of human through coding of the genome, Sonmi threatens the hierarchal structure determined by the perfection of one’s genes. The archivist understands her significance and tries to draw a clear picture of her development into a sentient being through questions; however, many of Sonmi’s most powerful statements come in response to simple things the archivist states. Mitchell uses the archivist as a springboard for Sonmi’s story to begin from, but Sonmi’s deviations from the set questions display key qualities of her character. Sonmi’s internal conflicts confuse her but when she asks her friend Hae-Joo “[…] how [she] might remedy them. [Hae-Joo] replies ‘You don’t remedy them. You live through them’” (233). Sonmi’s struggle to understand what it means to be a human highlights key questions about the nature of humanity. The manner in which David Mitchell uses a nonhuman character to challenge what it means to be human truly displays the intricacy with which he took in constructing the novel.

Each section of Cloud Atlas has its own unique style. Cavendish’s sarcastic humor differs greatly from Sonmi’s serious tone. Yet, they are both trapped without any hope for escape. The division of the novel into sections causes the reader to see parallels between characters separated by time and location. Although Mitchell’s division of the novel into six separate stories is the most obvious stylistic technique, I felt it would be better to address the connections between the characters and their stories at a later point in the novel.