A Study Of William Gibson's Matrix Trilogy In The Light Of Cyborg Theory

With the progress of science and technology, great changes have taken place in people's life and even on themselves, and the science fictions that tend to predict the future tendency of society begin to draw more and more people's attention. Cyberpunk is a contemporary science fiction genre noted for its focus on'high tech and low life'. It gives prominence to advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics. William Gibson, one of the primary representatives of cyberpunk, is called father of Cyberpunk movement because of his great contribution in successfully creating the conception of cyberspace, an informationized virtual online world. William Gibson's'Sprawl Trilogy'are famous early cyberpunk novels which can be seen as prominent examples of the cyberpunk style and theme. With technology as one of its most distinctive features, cyberpunk novels reveal the changes of human body and the expansion of space brought about by the application of high-tech, which corresponds closely with Haraway's cyborg theory. Donna Haraway is a famous theorist who has had a deep study of the body, gender and identity issues caused by new technology. Donna Haraway defines"Cyborg"as"a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction."She also emphasizes that the cyborg myth is about transgressed boundaries, potent fusions, and dangerous possibilities. This paper researches the people's changes brought about by high-tech in William Gibson's'Sprawl Trilogy'in the light of Haraway's Cyborg theory.This paper is constituted by the introduction, the body and the conclusion.In the part of introduction, the focus will be on the brief introduction of William Gibson and his'Sprawl Trilogy', Haraway's cyborg theory, the previous studies on Gibson's'Sprawl Trilogy', the research method and the research purpose.The main body of this paper consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the exterior reform of human body brought about by the application of high-tech is analyzed. The author first adduces some cyborg images that are exteriorly reformed in Gibson's novels and divided them into three kinds, the combination of man and computer, mechanical aids, and AI. The author then points out that these images are also cyborgs that are hybrids of machine and organism according to Haraway's Cyborg theory, and specifies that their generation manifests the boundary breakdown between organism and machine.In the second chapter, this paper studies the inner changes of human body of the characters in Gibson's'Sprawl Trilogy', that is, the genetically modified people. In addition to the mechanical cyborgs in Gibson's novels, there are also genetically modified characters. The author exhibits this kind of innerly changed cyborgs from two aspects, the genetically modified men and clone men. These kinds of creatures possess both the features of natural men and artificial men, while you can't decide definitely which kind they belong to. These creatures of transgressed boundaries and potent fusions are cyborgs. The author then demonstrates that the innerly changed creatures possess the feature of the transgressed boundaries between natural and artificial.In the third chapter, the paper gives a careful analysis of the spatial turning. The cyberspace, another space besides people's living space, is a virtual world existed in computer networks. As cyberspace is the most significant feature in Gibson's novels, the author then gives a detailed description of the generation and features of cyberspace. Through the analyzing of the cyberspace in Gibson's novels, the author then discusses that the generation of cyberspace has obviously blurred the boundary between virtual and reality.In the part of conclusion, this paper points out that William Gibson succeeds in shaping various kinds of cyborg images which challenges the dualisms because of their features of transgressed boundaries and potent fusions. Gibson in his novels not only predicts a highly advanced world full of cyborgs but also attempts to arouse people's reflection on the influences of science and technology.