Dr. U.A.Patil

CYBERPUNK PERSPECTIVES IN THE SPRALL TRILOGY OF WILLIAM GIBSON Minor Research Project By Dr. U. A. Patil (department of English) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY William Gibson is known as Post-Modern Science Fiction Writer in the realm of American Canadian Science Fiction Literature. His novels explore the impact of emerging technology on human life. The present study treats cyberpunk as sub-genre which is generally believed to have existed in the early 1980s. The study proves how the novelist occupies the major place in the history of Post- Modern Science Fiction because his use of innovative advanced technology in his fictional world. He is one of the prominent authors of the Science Fiction genre and his Sprawl trilogy contains cyberpunk perspectives. The present study probes into his literary crafts and kaleidoscopic world of cybernetics and cyberspace and their impact on human race. It comprehends cyberpunk perspectives in the light of it's motif in the select novels of William Gibson. It investigates the near future world which is dominated by corporation and ubiquitous technology presented in The Sprawl Trilogy. The study explores cyberpunk as sub-genre of post-modern science fiction. It probes into a timeline of relations between popular culture and emerging technologies. It discusses the technologies which are used today only as fragments of dreams not even one hundred years age. It discusses new emerging technology under the highly developed microscopes of the scientists today is none other than technology and nanotechnology. It explores the field of popular culture and science fiction imaginaries. It investigates the way in which they influence the public perception of technology and investigates relations between the new emerging technology and literature. The study focuses on the new emerging technology and its impact on society. It also discusses how Cyberpunk made certain breaks from the tradition of Science Fiction literature. This break consist not so much of creating new, original things but rather making new use of old styles. It investigates how cyberpunk strives to be artistic and stylish in the use of their imagery. Especially with regards to technology we can see how this is used to create new aesthetic expressions. Both are very pre-occupied with aesthetic dimension as an alternative to reason. It studies post-modernism, modernity's view of reason as something totalizing and ultimate. It discusses reaction against the use of technology in Science Fiction as necessarily logical and extrapolative. Present Study is a textual analysis of William Gibson’s sprawl Trilogy. It Probes into techno Savvy world. It depicts mind machine links, emerging machine intelligence and global information space. It explores the world of cybernetics and cyberspace technology. William Gibson’s sprawl Trilogy focuses on high-tech and oxymoronic tensions between possessive & possessed world. Gibson’s sprawl Trilogy builds a powerful symbol which gives technologically possessive world. His sprawl trilogy explores that cyberpunk society have eroded surroundings. Gibson’s sprawl Trilogy depicts post-industrial hybrid culture. It delineates with technologically enhanced bodies, interactive information technology, and omniscient corporate power. It expounds the fundamental role of technology. It also discusses the depiction of futuristic society by William Gibson. It sought to analyze Gibson’s issues relating to cyberspace, the post-human and the change of culture and history through the advancement of information and technologies. It focuses on techno-vision of Gibson. It presents hegemonic power which is controlled by multi–national corporations. It points out the highly- digitalized milieu in our society. It emphasizes on cyber punk perspectives which paves ways to high technological society and global environment.

Gibson’s novel Neuromancer illustrates this by placing the characters in a surrounding where the atmosphere has deteriorated and society has mutated in to black markets. Second novel from the sprawl trilogy ‘Mona Lisa Overdrive’ depicts the connection of characters with cyberspace which reflects symbolic meaning to them. The entire trilogy leaves plenty of enigmatic questions through which we come to know the fragmented nature of cyberspace.

Third novel from Sprawl Trilogy count zero introduces the motif of death and rebirth. It opens with a technophilic body which is the product of various degrees of aesthetic and functional transformations. The study proves Gibsons Sprawl Trilogy is highly dystopian visions. It discusses cyborg-governed processes of technology and its cyberpunk work. The study also investigates Cyberpunk perspectives and its motifs in the light of Gibson’s literary construction of technologies affect the ideas of subjectivity a identity. The substance of the study also discusses motifs like AI (artificial intelligence), cyberspace, cyber-tech orbital society and post war society.

From the analysis of three novels it could be concluded that William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy brings out the effect of advanced technology on human deals with world dominated by corporations and ubiquitous technology. In brief it can be concluded that his novels deals with post human, dystopian, post industrial, post-war world is possessed and possessive by advanced technology.