Gender Role

“The girls looked like tall, exotic grazing animals …” (p. 75) Note: Women are being depicted as whores here yet again. Why must all of the females besides Molly or Linda be considered whores?




"Molly was snorting on the temperfoam….transparent cast ran from her knee to a few millimeters above her crotch…” (p.76) Note: The way that Case is looking at Molly almost brings her down to the ideology of a sexual object. From other scenes in our book, we know that Molly is a strong character. Why weaken a strong woman down to just a piece of meat?




“They sure as hell did shaft you boss.” (p. 79) Note: Case is lying down next to Molly when he acknowledges the fact that she is a woman but has the power of a boss. à Women can be in charge.




“Not enough sweetmeat.” (p. 84) Note: Finn was depicting strong, bossy Molly yet again as a thing rather than a person. Why must all these men always put poor Molly down? She plays a key role in this matrix/non-matrix reality.



“His name is Terzibashijan.” (p.85) Note: Up to this point in the book, many of the characters that are involved are just men. The only two women that were not background characters are Molly and Linda. At this point, Linda has already died, so it is a very male driven novel. The one strong woman in this novel, Molly, is what links all the guys together. Who would want to read a novel about all guys? Boring.



“In Turkey, women are still women” (p. 87) Note: Terzibashijan was referring to that fact that Turkish women play their “womanly” role in society. He finds it unusual that Molly doesn’t fit into this stereotype.


“You’re an asshole….I’ll kill you.” (p. 90) Note: Molly was upset at Terzibashijan for not having enough faith in her to finish the job. He made the move. He is just proving here that he believes that women are weak and need help from men.



“Can’t get off sexually unless he knows that he is betraying the object of desire.” (p.92) Note: This is discussing the fact that men objectify and use women for their own pleasure. If Riveria can’t get off without knowing that he is hurting them some way, obliviously he does not care about women, period.



“How about me….hike in the opposite direction.” (p. 125) Note: Molly was asking what she could do, and she was told to hike. Basically, they are representing the idea that women can’t do things like men can.


“Her leg seemed to be bothering her…” (p. 69) Note: Molly was experiencing pain but did not say anything. She is such a strong woman that she didn’t see any reason to complain about it. If she appears weak, she may not be accepted as a “strong player” in the man world of the Matrix.

"The Chat" and "Night City"

The novel “Neuromancer” by William Gibson was a story written before the “matrix era.” I found it quite hard to read at the beginning. I found myself rereading a lot of the same passages to try and understand what was actually going on. From what I have read so far, I have been introduced to the following characters: Case, Linda, Lonny, Wage, Julie, and Ratz. From what I understand, the novel is going to be based around the main character Case. Case is an illegal dealer who is addicted to acetaminophens.


I noticed that Gibson uses a lot of imagery to help breakdown the settings in each scene. In the first few pages of the novel, he depicts a place called “The Chatsubu” or “The Chat” for short. It is a bar that Case visits often. Ratz is the bartender at this bar. This bar represents a starting, central point for the novel. Immediately following a conversation that Ratz had with Case, it goes into detail about who Case used to be.


In this beginning passage with Ratz and Case, Gibson describes Ratz as an “ugly bartender.” Through the dialogue in this scene, you could already tell that Ratz would be an important informer in the novel. Most bartenders have that “awareness” aspect to them. I see “The Chat” as being a source of where information is given. Case lives in this odd world where strange things happen. I believe “The Chat” will be a major reference point in the novel.


A few pages later, the novel describes the idea of “Night City.” From what I have read, “Night City” is the world in which people do illegal selling of things. It is a type of black market. If you did not do what you should, you could have to deal with the consequences of obstructing the layout of the market. The whole idea of “Night City” is very hard for me to grasp. I do not know if it is actually a city or whether it is just a word used to represent the “black market culture.” I do not know if this has anything to do with idea of the matrix yet, but I have a feeling it does. The way that “Night City” has been depicted so far gives me a vague image of what it truly represents. Hopefully, later in the novel I will get a better idea of what “Night City” truly is.