Reaction To Zodiac

In Neal Stephenson’s Zodiac, the conception of his own environmental consciousness is fully intertwined with the book’s theme and, subsequently, within the lives of the main characters. Stephenson effectively positions his characters in roles which reflect his own perception of nature as well as influence the reader’s. Dolmacher, a prime nemesis of our eco-hero Sangamon Taylor, is essentially depicted as a threat to nature via his position as a genetic engineer. But in accordance with Stephenson’s own opinion of such a person, Dolmacher is reduced as socially sheepish, a robotic sidekick of an environmentally destructive corporation and eventually, a violent threat. Dolmacher is developed with undesirable personality traits in order to satisfy Stephenson’s own ideals.
“And there he was, standing out from that suntanned crowd like a dead guppy in a tropical aquarium, tall and slack-faced and not at all sure of himself. Dolmacher” (Zodiac p. 26-27). A proper in...