Pattern Recognition Theme/Motif Brainstorm

Mystery and/or Spy Genre of Fiction

Pattern Recognition, seems at many times to be mystery/spy novel, or at the very least, incorporates many mystery/spy elements into its story. We see this when the main character, Cayce, is forced to investigate several suspicious events. Foremost of which is when her, or rather Damien's, house is broken into. Although there are no obvious signs of entry, Cayce finds a web page in her computer's browser history which she had never visited. She also notices that a roll of tape which she had placed on a counter before leaving, is now on the floor. This leads Cayce to come to the conclusion that someone had broken into the house at some point, and, upon investigating the phone, that this vagabond was in the employ of her enemy Dorotea. This observation-conclusion type investigation that occurs here is really characteristic of many mystery type stories where the investigator first notices that something is wrong, and through further observation, is able to deduce what happened.

The “break in” further gives the story a mystery/spy feel, because, although we know that Dorotea was behind it, we still don't know anything about the actual trespasser. Will he strike again? What are his capabilities? What will he do if there is a next time? Cayce barricades the apartment, will that be enough to stop him? All these questions are not only asked by the main character, but by the reader as well. Overall, events like the “break in” create a mystery for us to ponder throughout our reading of the story, as well as a feeling of suspense as we wait for the next “break in” to occure.

Globalization commentary

In Pattern Recognition, there seems to be a lot of globalization commentary throughout the story. This becomes clearly apparent when Cayce receives two emails from her friends. One email is from a friend who's in Russia, and details his experiences in that country to date, while the other is from one of her forum buddies who is writing from Japan. Just the fact that Cayce gets these two emails at the same time, from two places in the world, is a form of globalization commentary. Although its not explicitly saying it, the origin of both the emails implies that although these people are physically very far away from Cayce, they are still in close contact with her because they can still communicate instantly by virtue of the internet being simultaneous.

Globalization can also be seen with the existence of the Fetish:Footage:Forum. The forum's admin is from Seoul. One of the daily contributors to the site is in Japan. Cayce is from New York, but is currently residing in London. Again, we have an instance in the story where there are many people conversing with each other on a daily basis regardless of the tremendous distance between them.

On the whole, Pattern Recognition seems to constantly be commenting that, in on our globalized world the distance barrier between people has been removed by institutions such as the internet. In other words, it's commenting that nowadays, being far away can't really separate you from everyone else.

Perspective Switch on “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner

When talking about, “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, it is easy to see that the stories point of view is of extraordinary importance. If we consider what the story would be like if written from the views of either Tobe (Emily's servant) or Homer (Emily's sweetheart) then we would undoubtedly get two very different story.

If the story were told from Tobe's perspective then, rather than being held in dark for the majority of the story, we would have an insiders view of what happens in the house. As well as not knowing anything about Emily's distant past (As the narrative would likely begin at the commencement of his service to Emily), we would know immediately that she killed Homer. This seems to rather defeat the purpose of the story, or, at the very least take a lot away from its meaning as the main revelation that ties everything together comes from when we finally learn of Homer's murder.

Likewise, there probably wouldn't be much of a story anyway if it were told form Homer's point of view. Aside from also not learning about Emily's past, or future for that matter, the story would abruptly end when Emily kills him. We wouldn't even be able to speculate as to why she does this if all we has is Homer's view. I mean, if he knew she was going to kill him, he probably wouldn't have come to her house. The only thing we could possibly gain from Homer's point of view is the intimate details of his and Emily's relationship.

Ultimately, if told from either point of view, the meaning of the story would most definitely change. From Tobe's point of view, we wouldn't know why Emily did what she did, only that she killed Homer and, at most, how it effected Tobe. And from Homer's point of view, we would probably be as puzzled as he was when he finally died of arsenic poisoning, leaving us with no meaning besides, maybe, that you shouldn't trust reclusive southern women.

Rise of the Machines, Brautigan style

When first reading Richard Brautigan's poem “All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace,” it initially appears to contain a fairly weak anti-technology sentiment. In the second stanza, the author describes a spot where “deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers,” (13-15) giving the impression that, despite it being “peaceful,” the computers have replaced all flowers. This, and the fact that computers rend to lack the same muted ascetic beauty of flowers, paints a picture of a lifeless, mechanical forest. This mechanized view is further reinforced by the repetition of the word “cybernetic” in the third line of each stanza, which continues to bring forth a view of an unnatural landscape distorted by encroaching machines.

In contrast to the weak anti-technology sentiment, there seems to exist a strong pro-technology view. Lines such as “mammals and computers live together in... harmony” (4-6) suggest that animals and machines can live together happily. Furthermore, the author appears to insist that they are reflections of each other in the line stating that they are, “like pure water touching clear sky” (7-8). Later in the poem, the living together idea is taken to a new level in the third stanza where machines have made humans, “free of... labors and joined back to nature.” (20-21) Yep, life is good in this peaceful, work-free paradise where machines watch over frolicking humans and cute animals alike with a “loving grace.” (25)

However, after rereading the poem several times, the pro-technology images of tranquility and harmony begin to take on an uncharacteristically ominous tone. The phrase 'too good to be true' comes to mind as lines such as “mammals and computers live together in... programming harmony,” (5-6) begin to speak less about a mutual peace, but more about a “programmed” stability garnered solely through the absence of free will. Like a beautiful melody descending into dissonance, this wonderful mechanical paradise starts to takes on an oppressive atmosphere as we have only been “joined back to nature” (21) and our “mammal brothers and sisters” (22-23) because we have forgotten everything else ever since the machines have made us “free of our labors” (20) and essentially taken over. More and more, it seems, the vision of this “cybernetic ecology” (20) changes from one of happiness, to one of depression. For now we live in a statistically tyrannical realm where the machines will forevermore rule and “watch” over us with a mechanically precise “grace.” (25)