Language in Cloud Atlas

While reading Cloud Atlas, I have consistently been struck by the ways in which language grows and changes throughout the novel. While this is a small detail to the book as a whole, I find it interesting that in order to represent the changing times, Mitchell puts a great deal of thought and effort into changing the ways that characters speak, and the meaning of words which are said. When the book opens, the reader finds a representation of the 1800’s through literature. Usage of words, the way that sentences are cobbled together, are both familiar, yet foreign. “Our noble Cpt. Molyneux today graced the Musket to haggle over the price of five barrels of salt-horse with my landlord” (17). While this sentence is understandable, it is still markedly different from how one would be expected to write, or talk today.                                              

In the next section, in Belgium of 1931, words and phrases become much more familiar, making the story easy to follow, and changing the overall flow. The tone is more familiar, as Frobisher writes to Sixsmith through a series of letters. This too creates a different atmosphere. Still, the sentences are generally short, often times leaving incomplete sentences: “Cause for minor celebration” (65), or “Said I was flattered, but protested that I couldn’t possibly accept a garment of such sentimental value” (67). These sentences seem to speed the story along because of their often “missing” pieces.

As the story progresses, language does as well. The stories of Luisa Rey and Timothy Cavendish are told in language which is most familiar to that of the present day. Words are all relatively normal and relatable, though there are some phrases which are used to relate to character profession and behavior in order to give them more life. It isn’t until the reader reaches the final two sections, on Sonmi-451 and Zachry, that language begins to change again.

In some ways, the language of these two sections might be considered to have degraded over time. In “The Orison of Sonmi-451,” words such as disney and nikon have come to take on a larger meaning, movie and picture. They are no longer the specific words they once were. As society has changed and technology has advanced so far, it is an interesting juxtaposition to see language seem to disintegrate. Still this happens with slang fairly frequently in our own, every day.

Finally, Zachry has the most markedly different language. Society seems to have fallen into chaos, and even language itself seems to have fallen with it. The “g” in words ending in “ing” have been dropped completely. While the sentences and phrases are understandable, they are very far from what one would consider normal. This difference can be seen in the first sentences of his section: “Old Georgie’s path an’ mine crossed more times’n I’m comfy mem’ryin’” (239).

I find all of these differences interesting because they are not only helping to define the world the characters live in, but they can be seen even in the world today. In my free time, I even found an article talking about the possible realism behind the change in language within this book, which only furthered my interest in the author’s intent. It is impressive alone to write a novel, but I think it’s something else to work so intently with language, as Mitchell has within Cloud Atlas.

Article: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/49505623/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.VP7-Ivx4pTY

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