Teeth
Show Us Your TeethThe first image we're introduced to in Cloud Atlas is Dr. Henry Goose digging on a beach for teeth. He explains that "these base molars [...] shall be transmuted to gold" (1.1.2)....
Matryoshka Dolls
Nesting InstinctMatryoshka dolls are pretty cool. They're those Russian dolls, usually made out of wood, that have one big doll holding a bunch of smaller dolls inside it. You can get them in all s...
Nietzsche
The Will to PowerIf Cloud Atlas were a simmering stew, Nietzsche's philosophies would be the spices. Quite a few characters name drop Nietzsche and a few use the phrase "will to power" verbatim—a...
Savagery
Truly, Madly, DeeplyThere's a lot of talk of savagery in Cloud Atlas. Before we can analyze it, though, we have to define savagery. Meronym is nice enough to do that for us about halfway into the b...
Soap
Mr. Bubble Has Never Been So DangerousSoap pops up a few times in the different time periods of Cloud Atlas. Both Vyvyan Ayrs and Timothy Cavendish mention people forced to eat soap. Neither of the...
Hotels
No-Tell MotelsIf we were to do a Trip Advisor review for the hotels in Cloud Atlas, we'd have to give them about one and a half stars. Pros: mostly clean, quiet, and the bellboys are ready to hop i...