ARCHIVES
VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 (2025)
Mapping the narrative web: Exploring intertextuality in David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas
Authors
Heba Fatima
Abstract
This paper argues that David Mitchell’s Cloud
Atlas is a quintessential example of a postmodern narrative whose
meaning is generated not in isolation, but through a complex web of
intertextual relationships. Moving beyond a simple catalog of allusions, the
study employs Gérard Genette’s framework of transtextuality—specifically
architextuality, paratextuality, and hypertextuality—to map the novel’s
intricate dialogue with other texts and genres. The analysis demonstrates how
Mitchell’s six nested narratives systematically engage with and subvert
specific literary antecedents, from the seafaring journal of Robert Louis
Stevenson and the epistolary novel of Bram Stoker to the dystopian visions of
George Orwell and the post-apocalyptic tropes of science fiction. The findings
reveal that this deliberate intertextuality is the primary mechanism through
which the novel constructs its central themes concerning the cyclical nature of
power, oppression, and the resilience of the human spirit across time. The
paper concludes that Cloud Atlas functions as a meta-narrative,
using its palimpsestic structure to illustrate how all stories are inevitably
built upon and in conversation with those that preceded them, ultimately
challenging the myth of artistic originality and positing storytelling itself
as an act of relational survival.
Download
Pages:1-3
How to cite this article:
Heba Fatima "Mapping the narrative web: Exploring intertextuality in David Mitchell’s <i>Cloud Atlas</i>". World Journal of English, Vol 1, Issue 1, 2025, Pages 1-3
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.