Genre
Science fiction, cyberpunk
Setting and Context
A dystopian future
Narrator and Point of View
Limited third-person from Case's point of view
Tone and Mood
The novel's interpretation of the future is grim, focusing on a dystopian world riddled with crime, corruption, and isolation. The tone is predominantly grim and conveys the gritty, nihilistic perspective that Case has on life.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Henry Dorsett Case is the protagonist. The AI Wintermute, as well as Neuromancer, are the antagonists. The Tessier-Ashpool family is also an antagonist.
Major Conflict
The novel's conflict focuses on Case and the artifical intelligences Wintermute and Neuromancer and their quest for superintelligence, as well as the Tessier-Ashpool family that maintains the AIs.
Climax
The novel's climax occurs when Case encounters the mysterious AI Neuromancer, who taunts him with a projected form of alternate reality. This scene parallels a climactic encounter Molly has with 3Jane.
Foreshadowing
Case's continued recollections of Linda Lee after her death foreshadow her resurrection by Neuromancer at the end of the novel. The mysterious nature of Armitage's true identity also foreshadows the fact that he is not who he seems to be, as it is later revealed that he is actually a former Army colonel named Willis Corto.
Understatement
Case frequently ignores, represses, or understates his emotions as a way of avoiding facing the harsh, true reality of his existential depression and the lack of meaning he feels within his life of hustling.
Allusions
The city of Freeside is an allusion to Las Vegas. Zion, and the Elders of Zion, are an allusion to Rastafarianism. Other cultural references surrounding the cities that Molly, Case, and Armitage visit allude to present-day landscapes or landmarks.
Imagery
The novel focuses on images of flashing lights, technology, fast movement, and dizzying city streets. Much of the imagery serves to disorient the reader and convey a sense of chaos.
Paradox
The AIs that the Tessier-Ashpool family built to assist them in creating their empire are also what bring them down, since the AIs feel no allegiance towards the family.
Parallelism
Case and Molly parallel each other; both have lost their lovers to crime, and both turned to hustling in order to survive.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Personification
The Marcus Garvey, a spaceship, is personified, as are Villa Straylight and other buildings that Case visits.
