Essay Questions

How does the author interconnect historical and modern moments in the novel?

This novel is divided into two parts in which the first part talks of the historical events while the second part narrates about modern technology. For instance, the first part narrates about the secretive code-breaking tactic employed by the German Army during WWII. Similarly, in the first narration, the author mentions historical figures behind computation like Alan. Alan is the man behind the breaking of the secret ciphers and codes employed by the Germans during WWII. In the second narration, the modern era takes the center stage in which the internet is mentioned. Therefore, contemporary cryptography is largely discussed including issues such as computer technology and data protection. Consequently, the reader can easily see how the author interconnects the historical events to the modern-day events throughout the novel.

What is the significance of the second section of the novel in which the author introduces the mathematical geniuses?

The primary goal of the author is to explain how the old technology has been improved to what we see in the modern era. In the first section of the novel, the reader is introduced to the code-breaking technique as one of the ancient methods to win the war. However, the codes can be easily be broken in the modern era. Lawrence is a modern mathematical genius who can code and encode any information. During his tenure in the army, he is working in the Cryptonomicaon team and his primary task is to decode the Nazi information. Therefore, the second section of the novel shows how the improvement in technology is making it possible to interpret the Nazi’s coded information.

How does the theme of concealment emerge as the main theme in the novel Cryptonomicon?

The German Army members are highly trained individuals who have come up with the code-breaking art to ensure that the enemy is kept in the dark. Coding and decoding are a highly secret affair to the specific top intelligent members of the army and this tactic plays a critical role in ensuring that the army remains supreme in war. In both narrations, the reader finds concealment emerging as the main theme in the novel.