Cloud Atlas

Content Warning: This section of the novel and the guide depicts slavery and discusses death by suicide.

Adam Ewing is an American lawyer who writes a journal while sailing across the Pacific Ocean in the mid-19th century. He describes his first meeting with Dr. Henry Goose, “surgeon to the London nobility” (3). In his first entry, he recalls how Goose searched for teeth spat out by the Indigenous people of a Pacific island, who are supposedly cannibals. Goose is traveling to escape salacious rumors concerning his behavior that have caused him to be “blackballed from society” (4). He plans to use the human teeth to make dentures as a means to combat those rumors and embarrass the marchioness who has been spreading them.

Ewing is traveling aboard The Prophetess, while Goose is traveling aboard The Nellie. Because The Prophetess needs repairs, Ewing and the crew are forced to stay ashore. There, Ewing and Goose strike up an unlikely friendship. While walking together on a beach, they see a group of enslaved Indigenous people, one of whom is being whipped. He makes eye contact with Ewing, who notes that the man has “the serenity of a martyr” (6). He sympathizes with the man but is told to leave. The establishment where Ewing is staying functions as a brothel, where The Prophetess’s white crewmates hire local women for sex work. Ewing and Goose don’t approve. Ewing insists that he’s “a husband & a father” (7). While he and Goose are attending church, they’re invited to a meal at the home of Mr. Evans. There, they talk about the nearby islands and their people. Ewing learns about the conflict between the Māori and the Moriori peoples. The Moriori have endured many “misfortunes” at the hands of the white colonialists.

Evans visits Goose and Ewing one morning; Evans asks Dr. Goose for his assistance because a neighbor has fallen sick. While Goose is away, Ewing writes an account of the local Moriori people who lived on Chatham Isle and held an unusual religion. Any member of the group who killed another person, Ewing writes, was immediately banished. This practice eradicated war among the people. However, their way of life slowly eroded after white Europeans arrived on the islands. When a group of Māori arrived on the island, the Moriori people were conquered. While talking to other people staying in his establishment, Ewing learns that many dislike Indigenous or “mixed-race” people. Ewing is disgusted. He believes that white people have an obligation to “civilize” other races. They should be converted to Christianity, he believes, rather than killed. Goose, however, believes that other races should simply be exterminated. When Ewing voices his objection, he’s reminded that America still permits slavery. Ewing is bothered but struggles to explain why.

The captain of The Prophetess by the ship’s captain, Molyneux, invites Goose aboard. Ewing is pleased, as he considers his new friend an “exemplary healer.” While venturing out on a “grueling climb” in the countryside the following day, Ewing falls into a crater. He finds evidence of human activity, seeing “hundreds of faces” (20) carved into all the trees. Then, he spots “a human heart” (21) hanging from a tree, covered in insects. Ewing escapes the crater but tells no one about the Indigenous shrine. He worries that the shrine will be pillaged for valuable artifacts. Later, he reveals to Goose that he has had an unknown illness. Goose wonders whether Ewing might have contracted a tropical parasite.

When The Prophetess finally sets sail, Ewing isn’t pleased with his small room but is pleased that Goose, who can treat the potential parasite using his “formidable talents,” is aboard. The crew excitedly discusses the Gold Rush in California and asks Ewing to help them locate “the best veins” (24) until their plans are halted by the intimidating first mate, Mr. Boerhaave. Later, Ewing is surprised to discover a stowaway in his room: the Indigenous man he saw being whipped on the beach. The man, named Autua, pleads for Ewing’s help, holding a dagger to his own throat and saying that Ewing’s refusal to help would be comparable to a death sentence. When news comes down from the deck that a man has died, Ewing steals food for Autua and listens to his story. He goes to Molyneux, recommending that the captain hire his “uninvited cabin-mate” (33). After a grueling challenge, Autua demonstrates his worth and is hired. However, Molyneux refuses to pay him any wages.

Goose confirms that Ewing has a parasite. He recommends a difficult treatment but tells Ewing to keep it secret from the crew, who may take advantage if they learn that he’s weak. The treatment makes Ewing very weak, but Goose feels positive. Meanwhile, Autua thanks Ewing for saving his life. Ewing writes about his experiences with the crew, particularly a young boy on his first voyage named Rafael. As The Prophetess approaches land, Ewing’s condition worsens. Goose insists that this means the treatment is working. When Ewing reads a Bible passage to the crew, his recollection of the events in his diary is cut off midsentence.