The Will to Power as a Determinant for the Future of Mankind: David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” (Part 3)
The mirror chapter “Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After” paints an utmost pessimistic future for mankind: warfare has decimated most of the world’s population, but destruction will not simply end there. If history is anything to go by, the cycle of bloodshed and butchery will continue turning for as long as the earth is still orbiting the sun. Meronym claims that “fleas ain’t so easy to rid,” referring to humans’ thirst for blood. This claim is proved to be true as we reach the end of the chapter and travel back in time via the second halves of each of the five story-lines. The impression the reader gets while doing so is one of a never-ending cycle. There are instances of déjà vu, of faintly familiar recollections. The reader has been there before. Another aspect of Nietzsche’s philosophy, one related to the will to power, now comes into play: eternal recurrence. This concept is not unknown to those well-versed in Hindu or Buddhist teachings. Time is, c...