Globalization

During the last few decades, the concept of globalization started to surface in conversations more and more. When one thinks of globalization enormous corporations, such as Wal Mart and McDonalds, come to mind and then only talks about its negative aspects. In the novel Pattern Recognition, William Gibson shows the audience a different side of globalization that people often forget to look at or simply choose to ignore.

Throughout the entire novel, Gibson emphasizes the massive effect that globalization has on the identity of a society or even the types of brands they use. This theme is so predominant that it can be seen within the first three pages of the novel. The narrator uses the name of the nationality in the description of objects (that Cayce notices in Damien’s apartment) to bluntly show the globalization of products. The first sentence of the novel, “Five hours' New York jet lag and Cayce Pollard wakes in Camden Town…” (1) contains the first of the many nationality descriptions. Later she notices the “German fridge” (1) and then the narrator comments on her clothes that seem to be from an “English prep school” (2) that have buttons that puzzled a “Korean locksmith” (2). The first chapter isn’t over, yet Gibson mentioned eight different objects from various parts of the world. It is even more interesting that Gibson decides to bring the concept of globalization into the novel while describing the heroine of the story. By doing this, he once again shows how globalization has an impact not only on Cayce’s life but also on the reader’s life.

Gibson used the first three pages to make sure that the reader noticed the presence of globalization and then discusses the different aspects of it in the rest of the novel. The first aspect of globalization that Gibson discusses is its effect on third world countries. When Cayce rejects a potential footwear logo, she

“briefly… imagines the countless Asian workers who might, should she say yes, spend years of their lives applying versions of this symbol to an endless and unyielding flood of footwear… Would it work its way into their dreams, eventually? Would their children chalk it in doorways before they knew its meaning as a trademark?” (12)

Large corporations often manufacture their products in third world countries because the labor force is cheaper. This is often the reason why people are against globalization. Which then brings the reader to consider that through Cayce’s thought process, Gibson might be creating an anti-globalization tone. But at this point in the novel it is too early to differentiate his true tone because later on in the novel Gibson employs specific situations to suggest otherwise.