neuromancer

Jordan Pollack Baron Kim J.T. Ferrara




 * Week One: February 26**

Jordan: Discussion Baron: Summary J.T.: Food and Questions

Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

So far in the book there appears to be three main characters, Case (Henry Dorsett Case), Molly, and Armitage. Case is a "cyberspace cowboy," which means that his profession is being a hacker. His ability to jack into the matrix was taken away from him. He roams the streets of Chiba city looking for a cure to this condition. Molly is a mecenary hired by Armitage to assist Case in the physical world during his cyberspace break-ins. She is developing a sexual relationship with Case. Also, she has retractable razor blades under her fingernails. Armitage had s surgery carried out on Case, attaching mycotoxin sacs to his major arteries that would decay over time and release the toxins. If Case complies with what Armitage wants him to do, Armitage will tell him how to prevent the toxin from being released. There is not enough information regarding the character's personalities for me to specifically hate any one of them.

__Summary__

It was the first meeting for our book on February 26, and it was pretty hectic, but productive. We all agree that the book is very confusing in its first chapters. There are many futuristic terms, characters, and concepts set on the table for us in a sense, and we have to sort them out to decipher the meaning of these first chapters. It seems like there are many, many layers to this complex, in-depth book. We all found one scene, in which Molly and Case have sex, very disturbing because of its graphic detail. But all in all, the book is pretty captivating to say the least. We talked about the characters mentioned in the book, and we got a good discussion about the unique characteristics of each person. We are all very interested to see what mysteries are revealed in the upcoming chapters, because there is a lot that is shrouded so far, for example, Armitage's past. This was a good start.

__Questions__

1. Do you think Armitage can really return Case to the way he was, or is just bluffing?

We think Armitage can return Case to the way he was, because he spent a large amount of money on Case and has control over him.

2. Why do you think Armitage needs Case so badly?

We think Case has a special ability that Armitage knows about and needs for his goals.

3. Who do you think Armitage is taking orders from?

We think Armitage is taking orders from some sort secret organization that neither Case nor Molly know about, and this organization has something very specific to complete.

4. What do you think Armitage needs Case for?

We think Armitage needs Case to go into cyberspace and carry out a mission, but we are unsure of what this mission could be.

5. Why do you think Linda told Case that Wage was going to kill him?

We think Linda cares about Case and is afraid for him, because Case does not care about himself, and therefore makes him aware of Wage’s threat.


 * Week Two: March 5**

Jordan: Summary Baron: Food and Questions J.T.: Discussion

Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

The language used in this book is nothing like any other book. William Gibson uses a combination of unfamiliar words and unfamiliar concepts. There are various made-up words throughout the book, and most refer to technology that does not exist. However, the most confusing part of the book is how the text is written. When describing certain scenes, Gibson leaves the reader out, and refers to objects and people that the reader is unfamiliar with. The reader needs to continue while confused to later find out what Gibson was referring to. The combination of the new words and confusing text makes this a difficult book to read, but with persistence, the book is very interesting. The book is told in third person and Case is the main character. Some of the language is inappropriate for school, but nothing is over the top. William Gibson creates a unique text in //Neuromancer//.

__Summary__

One fine Monday afternoon, Jordan, “The Red” Baron, and Loudmouth Ferarra sat at three desks joined together to form a table. On this table were three laptops, a book entitled //Neuromancer//, and a box of rice crispy treats, which J.T. could not eat because he gave up sweets for Lent (haha). Baron began by asking a question about the types of characters in the book. Suddenly, J.T. gave the answer. Then Baron asked another question. It continued on in this fashion with each question increasing the intensity of this discussion. A quick interruption of the group discussion came when Morone asked about the difficulty of the book. //Neuromancer// influenced the movie called __The Matrix__. Who would have guessed? I would have; that’s who. Loudmouth began his discussion assignment after the questions were answered. He wrote a few sentences about the language in the book, stopping only to ask for our input or to scrub for chips from another group. Eventually, the bell rang. There were no exciting adventures or plot twisting events of and kind. The end.

__Questions__

1. What distinguishes simstim addicts from cyberspace explorers like Case?

He's doing it for someone else's goals as opposed to his own.

2. What does Case experience about Molly's effect on other people?

She has a strong presence and he's very influential. He also goes into her body from the matrix and feels what she feels.

3. Does it seem like Armitage, like Case, is merely a hireling? Who do you think is the true force behind the mission?

The true force behind the mission is Tessier-Ashpool. An AI named Wintermute is also controlling Armitage.

4. Do you think the Panther Moderns will play a large part in the rest of the book?

Yes, because they are already finding information on Armitage and have a history with Molly.

5. Do you think the Panther Moderns crossed the line with the effects on the employees of Sense/Net?

Yes, they created havoc and caused people to go insane with distorted images on a screen.


 * Week Three: March 12**

Jordan: Questions and Food Baron: Discussion Leader J.T.: Summary

Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

It is a very peculiar reading. We cannot put a finger on the exact atmosphere, but we picture everything in black & white. It's all so technological and scientific that we just can't seem to get much emotion. Everything seems to happen at night and it all seems dirty somehow. The mood is also pretty dark and cynical, and it seems like there is a lot hiding in the shadows. It also seems that anyone can be betrayed at any time. But this adds to the mysteriousness and suspense built up in the novel.

__Summary__

We spent our book club this week mainly on clarification. Our book is very thick, and even though it is making more sense, many aspects are still confusing. We decided to look online for some help, which helped clarify. We spent the majority of the this week discussing the questions, because many of us were confused and had different thoughts on certain aspects of the book. We discussed Armitage, the leader of the operation, and figured out the role he plays and what role we think he is going to play in the future. After an in depth discussion of the questions, we talked about the discussion question, and decided that the book is very dark and grimy. Week three was another successful book club week.

__Questions__

1. Do you think that Armitage will end up being a good guy or a bad guy?

J.T. thinks the Armitage will be a good guy because he is genuinely trying to help Case re-enter the matrix, but Baron thinks that once Armitage is done with Case, he will dispose of him.

2. Will Armitage be an effective leader for Case's mission?

Armitage will be an effective leader because he is the first of his kind and was the only one to make it out of "Screaming Fist."

3. Do you think that Armitage will find out the investigation that Case and Molly are performing on him?

We think he knows about it, but he will not act on it.

4. Why did Armitage take on an alias after leaving "Screaming Fist?"

He took an an alias to go underground and to escape being captured by the Russians.

5. Do you think Armitage will ever go out into the field to help Armitage?

I think Armitage is trying to stay out of the actual process of carrying out his business as much as possible.


 * Week Four: March 19**

Jordan: Discussion Leader Baron: Summary J.T.: Questions and Food

Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

In the book a common theme is control. This control is present throughout the book in various situations and involving most people on the book. The supercomputer, Wintermute, and its second half, Neuromancer, will control the human race if they are brought together. A.I. seems to be the human version of the supercomputers because they head much of what is occurring in the book. On a lower level, Armitage controls Molly monetarily. He also controls Case because case must complete the mission laid out for him by Armitage to be able to regain access to the matrix. The supercomputer represents the all knowing being, or God. He uses the supercomputer to represent God because the computer is smarter than any human could ever be. A.I. represents the general governments ruling over people in society. They are crooked in some aspects and they are always trying to gain power.

__Summary__

Baron was summary, Jordan led the discussion, and J.T. was questions and food today for our book club meeting. Our group is starting to fight out more of the backstory in the book. It seems like there is still a lot we need to find out. We discussed the theme control in our discussion and agreed that the AI's were made specifically for that function. J.T. was a bit confused on the exact meaning of A.I. and what they are supposed to do, and we clarified the meaning for him. We are all eager to finish this book and this 4th book club meeting was very successful.

__Questions__

1. Why do you think Wintermute was orginally built?

We think the Tessier-Ashpool family probably built it to control the human race.

2. Do you think Riviera will get the password to the tuning lock?

We think he will because Wintermute says that he has some sort of "irresistable temptation" to do help him get the password.

3. Do you think if Riviera gets the password, it will be at the right time as Case's icebreaker program?

We think it will because Wintermute is very organized and controlling, so it will make sure everything gets done. Wintermute also manipulated the casino to get Case to escape and killed Armitage, showing its power to get what it wants.

4. What do you think will happen if Wintermute joins with Neuromancer?

We think they will become an overlying power of the human race, and get done what they want to get done, whatever that might be. It seems as if they will make the decisions for the human race.

5. Do you think Wintermute will have influence over Case and Molly after Armitage's death?

We think they may fear Wintermute for the power it will have if it joins with Neuromancer, but its control so far seems enough to keep influence over them. Wintermute has also given them both a job and restarted Case's life for him, so they may trust it enough to continue with their task.


 * Week Five: March 26**

Jordan: Summary Baron: Food and Questions J.T.: Discussion

Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

//Neuromancer// was an interesting read. Overall, even though it was difficult, we enjoyed this book and are happy we read it. We all agreed that we would not recommend this book for school reading. First, it is strictly a science fiction book, and not all would generally enjoy it. Also, it might not fit the curriculum, and is a difficult book to read. If we did recommend this book we would recommend it for 11th of 12th graders, due to its complexity and confusing aspects. We all said we would recommend this book to others. However, if we did recommend it, we would recommend it to people who greatly enjoy science fiction and have patience to trudge through the book. We think if others took the time to read it, they would enjoy it too. We also agreed that the topic is not discussed to the same level in any other book. The topic of this book is so unique that no other book even comes close to its intensity. We all have gained much from this book. Even though we may not have necessarily learned facts, we agree our comprehension has grown dramatically. Taking the time to read such a complex and classic book assures us that we have the reading comprehension to conquer many other books. We all are very glad that we read //Neuromancer//.

__Summary__

We started off the last book group meeting with the discussion that was written down by J.T. We had a discussion about our general opinions of the book. It was mostly agreed upon that the book was complex but an interesting read. After that, we began to run through what we got out of the book, whether or not we would recommend the book, if the book should be used in the school curriculum, and if the topic of the book was discussed better in a different book. J.T. wrote a pretty boss discussion. Anyway, from there we moved on to Baron's questions. After each question, Baron, J.T., and I discussed the answers. There is not much else to say about that. Oh wait, J.T. and Baron are having a pointless argument. Okay, now we are done. Congratulations on reading this entire thing. You have passed our test, and now we can be friends.

__Questions__

1. Did you like the ending to this book? Why or why not?

We loved the ending to this book because it was interesting and unexpected. We were actually expecting the ending to be UNEXPECTED and we got what we wanted.

2. Do you think Pauley was not erased after all in the end because of the laughter?

Yes, we think the laughter heard was Pauley because he may have made a side deal with Wintermute/Neuromancer.

3. Were you expecting Wintermute/Neuromancer to finally combine and become the Super A.I.?

Yes, Wintermute had a strong control over many characters in the book along with intelligence, so we predicted it would get its goals achieved.

4. What does it mean that Wintermute/Neuromancer has found recorded evidence of another AI on Alpha Centauri?

There are other AIs in the universe that they can attempt to combine with.

5. Do you think Molly and Case are happier without each other?

Molly and Case are better of together because in the epilogue, Case goes back to his hacking work. He was actually in his "prime" when he was with Molly, but now that he isn't with her, he may not be as happy.