An Analysis Of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas
RATIONALE
I chose to write a narrative that continues the story of the Archivist from the novel written by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas. This character originated from the story An Orison of Sonmi~451.
I selected a minor character from the text that had enough influence on the readers to make him a relevant subject. However, he also was not too much of an irrelevant minor character. As that would have left too much potential for a narrative that ignored the tone, subject matter, stylistic features and themes.
Some of the creative choices I made depended on the features mentioned above. These were subject matter, themes, tone, stylistic features and structure. To effectively connect my text and the novel Cloud Atlas, I attempted to keep the subject matter and themes similar. In Cloud Atlas, these include a dystopia, dictatorship, …show more content…
civil unrest, the power of an individual to save the world, nuclear war, the realisation that individuals are created artificially and fight for power. Each of these themes and subject matters was prominent in Cloud Atlas. Consequently, I reflected these in my narrative and developed some further.
To incorporate the tone found in An Orison of Sonmi, I made the interview being in a similar way. Implying that each Archivist speaks the same. It also signified how Ji-Won had a similar change of beliefs like Sonmi. As shown in using her quote to answer the first question “no other version of the truth has ever mattered to me”. Moreover, to maintain the tone I used a similar level of formality.
The names illustrate the stylistic features as a result of their meanings.
The name of the protagonist and former Archivist is Ji-Won. This is because it means purpose, which is the main goal throughout the story, to find his own purpose in the world. His name also means will and determination. Relevant because after the interview with Sonmi~451 he develops an immense amount of will and determination to fight for the similar outcomes she wished to see through. The name of the Union, Gi-Beom, means to rise and stand up. Representing how the movement created a way for individuals to rise and stand up to Unanimity. It also means rule and law, which signifies how they wanted to destroy the rule and the law also existing and develop their own.
Additionally, I utilised some of the same names and characters from Cloud Atlas. One of these was the name of the person who conducts the interviews, the Archivist. For the name represented a career, not an individual. A character I chose to also incorporate into my story was Hae-Joo Chang. As he inspired and developed Sonmi’s passion for change and I chose for him to continue this within my
story.
The structure influenced my choices as the physical structure was the same and the structure of the questions was similar. This is because they start by asking the same questions and then aim to establish the basic facts about the individual being interviewed. Asking more interruptive questions when appropriate to maintain the flow. Also, both stories conclude when the protagonists reach a point of satisfaction.
Cloud Atlas also influenced the language and voice within my creative. First, the main language feature is that the novel replaces a word spelt with an ex is by only an x. For example, execute, was spelt execute. Accordingly, I integrated this feature consistently. For the voice, Ji-Won in the previous story appeared to be analytical as well and knowledgeable, so I endeavoured to replicate this within his responses. Additionally, regarding voice the Archivist in my narrative whilst shares similarities is more rigid and formal. Suggesting that he is a new replacement to Ji-Won and whilst they once shared the same job they are still individuals who possess different qualities and voices.
I chose to write a narrative that continues the story of the Archivist from the novel written by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas. This character originated from the story An Orison of Sonmi~451.
I selected a minor character from the text that had enough influence on the readers to make him a relevant subject. However, he also was not too much of an irrelevant minor character. As that would have left too much potential for a narrative that ignored the tone, subject matter, stylistic features and themes.
Some of the creative choices I made depended on the features mentioned above. These were subject matter, themes, tone, stylistic features and structure. To effectively connect my text and the novel Cloud Atlas, I attempted to keep the subject matter and themes similar. In Cloud Atlas, these include a dystopia, dictatorship, …show more content…
civil unrest, the power of an individual to save the world, nuclear war, the realisation that individuals are created artificially and fight for power. Each of these themes and subject matters was prominent in Cloud Atlas. Consequently, I reflected these in my narrative and developed some further.
To incorporate the tone found in An Orison of Sonmi, I made the interview being in a similar way. Implying that each Archivist speaks the same. It also signified how Ji-Won had a similar change of beliefs like Sonmi. As shown in using her quote to answer the first question “no other version of the truth has ever mattered to me”. Moreover, to maintain the tone I used a similar level of formality.
The names illustrate the stylistic features as a result of their meanings.
The name of the protagonist and former Archivist is Ji-Won. This is because it means purpose, which is the main goal throughout the story, to find his own purpose in the world. His name also means will and determination. Relevant because after the interview with Sonmi~451 he develops an immense amount of will and determination to fight for the similar outcomes she wished to see through. The name of the Union, Gi-Beom, means to rise and stand up. Representing how the movement created a way for individuals to rise and stand up to Unanimity. It also means rule and law, which signifies how they wanted to destroy the rule and the law also existing and develop their own.
Additionally, I utilised some of the same names and characters from Cloud Atlas. One of these was the name of the person who conducts the interviews, the Archivist. For the name represented a career, not an individual. A character I chose to also incorporate into my story was Hae-Joo Chang. As he inspired and developed Sonmi’s passion for change and I chose for him to continue this within my
story.
The structure influenced my choices as the physical structure was the same and the structure of the questions was similar. This is because they start by asking the same questions and then aim to establish the basic facts about the individual being interviewed. Asking more interruptive questions when appropriate to maintain the flow. Also, both stories conclude when the protagonists reach a point of satisfaction.
Cloud Atlas also influenced the language and voice within my creative. First, the main language feature is that the novel replaces a word spelt with an ex is by only an x. For example, execute, was spelt execute. Accordingly, I integrated this feature consistently. For the voice, Ji-Won in the previous story appeared to be analytical as well and knowledgeable, so I endeavoured to replicate this within his responses. Additionally, regarding voice the Archivist in my narrative whilst shares similarities is more rigid and formal. Suggesting that he is a new replacement to Ji-Won and whilst they once shared the same job they are still individuals who possess different qualities and voices.