Vice City- A Written Response to Neuromancer 2 PDF

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Essay on Neuromancer the novel...

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Colby Russo 8/24/18 ENGL 5830 Paisley Rekdal

Vice City: A Written Response to Neuromancer Part I: Neuromancer, by William Gibson, follows the perilous life of the protagonist, Case, a washed up computer hacker turned hustler. Gibson writes in a style that keeps the reader slightly confused and full of questions. This form of writing intrigues the writer and creates a desire for them (the new “inclusive/diversity” way to refer to people in a gender neutral way)to keep turning pages. One can deduce that Neuromancer takes place in a dystopian future where humans and technology fuse to create cosmetic enhancements and a virtual reality known as “the matrix.” Two main cities where the plot takes place include Chiba City and the BostonAtlanta Metropolitan Axis, also known as “The Sprawl.” These cities contain various similarities, but also juxtapose each other in certain ways. Chiba Ccity, located on a port in Tokyo Bay, houses a sprawling nightlife filled with drugs, sex, and crime. Chiba Ccity, seeminglys to be mainly inhabited mostly by drug users and, drug dealers, hustlers, pimps, and business owners, is a technology haven. Additionaly visitor include Furthermore, sailors and Sprawl “heavies,” who” visit the city to indulge in its pleasures. Gibson does not n’t offer many specifics on the legal system of Chiba City , . Hhowever, he does highlights that it is’s a “deliberately unsupervised playground for technology itself” (Gibson, 11). This Gibson suggests that law enforcement does not impose laws regulations restricting the use of the matrix or body modifications. Chiba City’s economy relies on commerce, whether it be legal or illegal, and tourism. The culture in Chiba City feels dark and demented. The city comes alive at night, and it is ’s unclear if regular day-to-day life resumes during the daytime. Other inhabitants of Chiba City include characters such as Ratz, a local

bartender. Case (who is Case?) describes Ratz as a very ugly human, which surprises him since beauty can be bought cheaplyat little cost. Ratz’s features include a

prosthetic arm; “a Russian military prosthesis, a seven-function force-feedback manipulator, cased in grubby pink plastic” (Gibson, 4). Case also mentions that his teeth are a “webwork of Eastern European steel and brown decay” (Gibson, 3). Ratz speaks in casual English, using abbreviated words such as “biz” for business. Gibson does not describe Ratz’s clothing, but one can assume he dresses casuallyinformally. Ratz has is an attentive, attitude since he regularly answerings Case’s questions about who has frequentedbeen in the bar. One also notes Ratz’s consideration for Case’s wellbeing, which suggests he has a good-natured attitude. It is’s unclear where the next prominent character, Molly, is originally from or where she currently resides, but one could argue Chiba City. Simply put, Molly is a badass. She dresses in all black, has reflective lenses built into her face, and her fingers contain retractable blades. Molly speaks English and exudes a serious, down- tobusiness attitudedemeanor. This attitude presents is reflected, for example, when itself when she says “’you try to fuck with me, you’ll be taking one of the stupidest chances of your whole life’” (Gibson, 25). Molly feels a strong sense of pride and dedication to her job as a hacker, and seems to accept the underlying danger associated with it. Gibson also creates a city named Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis (BAMA). Firstly, BAMA differs from Chiba City in that it contains an underground metro that Molly and Case use to get around the city. Case notes how there is “nothing [in BAMA] like the electric dance of Ninsei” (Gibson, 46). BAMA, unlike Chiba city contains crowds during the daytime who peruseing the malls. Gibson also repeatedly describes the some “concrete” aspects of the city. This suggests the ambiance is more natural and the inhabitants are more grounded in reality compared to their Chiba City counterparts. Gibson does notn’t specifically comment on the legal systems of BAMA, but the residents here also engage in criminal activity. One main difference between BAMA and Chiba City is that most people in BAMA spend their time immersed in the matrix, a virtual reality simulation. Some inhabitants of BAMA include characters such as Armitage. Armitage gives Molly and Case their orders. He extorts Case by injecting him with sacks of toxins that

only he can prevent from deteriorating and killing Case. This action suggests Armitage has a manipulative attitudepersonality. In the novel, Case describes Armitage as

having “broad shoulders and military posture” (Gibson, 45). Armitage sports a fancy Italian suit, which fits his character as a mobster. He is’s attractive, but only due to cosmetic modifications. Throughout the novel, Gibson portrays Armitage as a shady character who is actually a reprogrammed version of a Colonel named Corto. Chiba City and BAMA are similar in that they both house criminal activity. IHowever, in Chiba City, the crime occurs in the physical world, whereas in BAMA it mostly occurs in the matrix. One prevalent theme in Chiba City is the presence of artificial light. In contrastOn the other hand, natural light characterizes BAMA. In describing Chiba City, Case uses the phrase “neon forest” (Gibson, 31). The word “neon” is used comes up numerous times as Case describes aspects of Chiba City. Neon, a form of artificial light, mirrors the time its inhabitants spend in fake realities fabricated by drug use. In contrast, upon arriving in BAMA, Case notices the “filtered sunlight” (Gibson, 46) hitting the faces of a multigenerational crowd. Here, the sunlight and different generations of inhabitants suggests BAMA follows a more natural flow of life compared to Chiba City. Another distinction between Chiba City and BAMA is their association with darkness and whiteness. Gibson uses imagery that revolves around darkness to describe Chiba City. Conversely, Gibson associates rooms and objects in BAMA with the color white. For example, Gibson highlights how “the last Case saw of Chiba were the dark angles of the arcologies. Then a mist closed over the black water” (Gibson, 39). Here, the words “dark” and “black” standout as concrete imagery for the reader to picture Chiba City. In contrast, Gibson uses phrases such as “white light” (Gibson, 48), “white folding chairs” (Gibson, 48), “white plastic” (Gibson, 48), and “white velcro border” (Gibson, 48) to describe elements of BAMA. The white imagery serves as a symbol for of purity that BAMA, unlike Chiba City, possesses.

Part II: FirstlyMostly, Neuromancer reminds me of a TV show called “Altered Carbon.” The main character in Altered Carbon, Kovac, was a trained killer for the military....