How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Papa Song was just a trick of lites. How had an inane hologram once inspired such awe in me? (5.1.328)
Sonmi experiences an epiphany that her god is not real. Once she realizes this, it's almost embarrassing for her to think she ever believed in it. From this point on, she no longer has the comfort of belief; she has the burden of truth to bear.
Quote #8
Valleysman only had one god an' her name it was Sonmi. [...] Down in Hilo they prayed to Sonmi if they'd the moddin' but they'd got other gods too, shark gods, volcano gods, corn gods, sneeze gods, hairy-wart gods, oh, you name it, the Hilo's birth a god for it. The Kona'd got a hole tribe o'war gods an' horse gods'n'all. (6.1.28)
The Big I is like a little microcosm of the entire world. There are single-deity faiths, and there are faiths with entire pantheons of gods, even though all of these people live on the same island.
Quote #9
[Hae-Joo] said [Buddha] was a deity that offered salvation from a meaningless cycle of birth and rebirth. (7.1.127)
Hae-Joo is talking about nirvana. This provides a counterpoint in a book that seems to be all about the "meaningless cycle of birth and rebirth." Is there a point to Cloud Atlas? Is there a point to life? Jeez, Cloud Atlas just got real.