Microserfs

In Microserfs Douglas Coupland start outs to analyse the lives of flock whose mould is closely associated with most advanced machines that fork out save been made computers. The title of the novel Microserfs introduces the 2 main ideas of the novel it is a play on the dominant force at heart the computer industry (Microsoft) and the word serfs, which refers to the semi-slave groups who existed within feudal societies in medieval times. Coupland suggests that the people who work for companies like Microsoft are essentially a king of voluntary serf.The characters within this novel want to be machine-like for a number of reasons. First, that appears to be the remarkableity which has enabled Bill Gates (the founder and CEO of Microsoft) to rise to the top of the industry. small-arm they apparently hate their jobs at Microsoft, leading to their leaving them and attempting to set up their receive company, they also large(p)ly admire the machine-like quality that Gates brings to his work. Secondly, a machine is totally involved with what it is doing it has no distractions that will take it distant from the task at hand. Third, there is the beautiful logic of software tag which contrasts with the often chaotic nature of their personal and professional lives.In Microserfs the great spur for activity is the search to be One-Point-Oh, that is to be the first to do the first version of some topic(Coupland, 1995). Computer software is normally identified fit in to which version of the syllabus it is, so to be one-point-oh (1.0) is to be the best. There is a machine like logic to this idea which is of course not in truth based upon reality normally the first version of any program is crude and ineffective compared to later versions which are more sophisticated and have been adapted according to the real- k immediatelyledge base experience of the software existence used.In many ways the main characters of the novel such as Daniel, Susan and Todd are ta ke away from the real world to the extent that they need to employ someone from that world to be their reality-check, that person being Daniels mother. The characters are obviously satirical in nature, and are taken to such an extreme that they almost seem like people who inhabit a video game.Take for warning Michael, who is a brilliant but awkward programmer who leaves Microsoft to start his own company, and decides to adopt a Flatlander diet (Coupland, 1995). This involves only(prenominal) eating two-dimensional feed (Coupland, 1995) which means food that can be slid under his door, He has a screen name of Kraft Singles (Coupland, 1995), an ironic comment upon his peculiar diet.Michael is just one example of the determination to take matters to an extreme among the characters. Todd is not just a body-builder, but an obsessive body-builder. Bug is not only experienced, older and a little more cynical than his younger young man workers, he calls himself the Worlds Bitterest Man (Coupland, 1995). All of these characterizations make the people who inhabit the novel seem essentially machine-like they are one/two dimensional, relentless in their pursuit of an end and often limited in outlook. A software program is designed to do one thing extremely well, but nothing else. In the same way the characters attempt to do one thing, or be one thing, extremely well.The ageless conflict between the need for a pure existence as a designer, body-builder, bitterest man etc. comes up against the natural human tendency to diversify and to be multi-faceted. While Microserfs was written before the massive explosion in Internet usage, the manner in which people are now essentially locked to their computers- constantly checking e-mail even in the most remote locations is a natural development of the kind of process that Coupland sees in this novel. The ongoing discussion between machine and human being, something which is reflected within Couplands novels, continues unabat ed.In conclusion, the characters of Microserfs seek to be machine like because they see this as a route to success. Their king, Bill Gates, who they leave, is nevertheless an icon to be aimed at. He seems more like a machine than a human being according to Coupland, and has all the strengths and weaknesses that are associated with this identity. The characters of this novel, wonderfully funny, but often very sad at the same time, reflect this search to be the ameliorate human machine. The fact is that they seem to lose their humanity along the way. plant life CitedCoupland, Doug