Green and Duplicity of Mankind Transcends Time and Cultural Boundaries.

All of the six stories in Cloud Atlas contain at least one person who is acting in a duplicitous manner out of greed. In "Adam Ewing," it is Dr. Henry Goose, who is trying to poison Ewing in hopes of robbing him. In "Letters from Zedelghem," it is Frobisher, who pretends to be a musical helpmate, but is actually acting on his own agenda, while stealing books and seducing the women of the house.

"Luisa Rey," the third tale, is rife with deception, as the Seaboard Corporation tries to hide the dangerous nature of its new HYDRA energy project. The leaders of the company are willing to risk a nuclear accident, not to mention murder, because the potential profits associated with the project are so great.

Timothy Cavendish is deceived in his eponymous story by his brother, who for...