The Posthuman Subject In William Gibson’s Matrix Trilogy

William Gibson is known as a pioneer of a subgenre of science fiction,namely cyberpunk stories.His debut novel Neuromancer establishes the theme and writing style in this subgenre.The subsequent sequels Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive tell side stories.The overlapping characters and plots enrich details for Gibson’s imaginary world.Together,the three novels are generally viewed as a whole,that is,the Matrix Trilogy.The Trilogy offers a panoramic view of the human society in the post-technological era,and the image of cyborgs shaped by the novels serves as a prefiguration of the posthuman.So far,most of the technologies in the novels have become real,and the current human society is infinitely closer to the future envisioned in the novels.In this era dominated by information technology,William Gibson and the cyberpunk novels will never go out of fashion.The vibrant and chaotic near future world that the novels depict turns out a vision of the posthuman era.The complex and diverse cyborg image can also be seen as a blueprint for posthuman development.Introduction presents a brief account of William Gibson and his works,and traces Gibson’s connection to cyborg in an attempt to explore how past experiences shape his magnificent cyberpunk fantasies.This part also includes relevant literature review and the significance of this thesis.Chapter One sorts out the three paths of the development of cyborg: 1.through the changes of cyborg images in science fiction,the similarities and differences of the depiction of early cyberpunk novels are revealed,and the cultural connotation of the cyborg image is highlighted;2.by going back to the origin of cyborg,it can be seen that the transformation and reshaping of the human body by early cyborg technology has long established the basic connotation of this concept;3.by using her writings as a clue,Donna Haraway’s cyborg theory is examined to provide a longitudinal view.Chapter Two analyzes the mechanical cyborg image in Neuromancer,namely Haraway’s cyborg that breaks the boundaries between organisms and machines.Chapter Three analyzes the image of the biotechnological cyborg in Mona Lisa Overdrive,i.e.,the cyborg that breaks the boundaries between humans and animals in Haraway’s theory.Chapter Four analyzes the image of the spatialized cyborg—cyberspace in Count Zero,i.e.,the cyborg that breaks the boundaries between physical and nonphysical in Haraway’s theory.Conclusion generalizes cyborg’s impact on the perception of human identity.Cyborgs have changed human’s living space and self-perception,making it difficult to define human’s identity.In this case,the only way to move forward is to abandon the traditional subject and embrace the change of technology on human beings.Cyborgs falsify the traditional subject and give birth to a new posthuman subject.