Friday, April 13, 2007
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
Post your comments about what the dystopian setting reveals about modern life and about how characters respond to the corrupt, flawed, inhumane setting. (For more explanation and guiding questions look below or at the hand out I have you on Friday, April 13.) Use the open response form. Your first comments based on the first 100 pages (or more) of the book are due by Wednesday April 25. (You can either post them yourself or email them to jcook@gloucester.k12.ma.us.
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SETTING
In Player Piano, the world is portrayed as a very mechanized place. Kurt Vonnegut creates a world where there is almost no use for human labor because machines have been used to replace it. There are few people who can work just as good as a machine can and those select few are still employed, but regardless, the present rate of unemployment had skyrocketed. In our modern day, machines have immensely improved many countries economy, and they have also been used to do the jobs that would be very dangerous, or even life threatening for humans to do. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel has thus far exaggerated the effects of what efficient machinery would do to their future world, and our present. Perhaps the novel is warning us that everything starts out small, and if we have been industrialized this much in such a small period of time, there is no stopping it and things will just continue to get worse. Perhaps in the future there will be no need for people to have to work. We might even have robots, who will have robots that will go to work for us. I would say that the aspects in the novel are very likely to happen. I agree that one day we will have a machine for everything and our labor will no longer be needed. I don’t think that neither my peers, nor I personally will live to see this day, but that man kind will create the mechanics that will eventually overcome human kind’s capabilities.
CHARACTERS
In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, the characters suffer from the aspects of their future world. The many people who are not extremely skilled have to decide between joining the Army, the Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps, or fending for themselves. Those are the only options and not one of them are very efficient. One character, whom Vonnegut titles, Finnerty has decided that he is bored with trying to make a living. He has come to the conclusion that he has been fending for himself long enough and he deserves the machines that will make his life a lot easier and less stressful; he deserves the right to be lazy. Because of Finnerty’s “logical” reasoning, he has begun to let himself go. Supposedly he does not bathe properly, and he never dresses up for an occasion; always very scruffy. Another man, Doctor Proteus, feels that he is responsible for the lack of employment. Citizens of the town know that Dr. Proteus’ father was one of the businessmen who invested in many machines resulting in the scarcity of jobs; like father like son. Therefore Dr. Proteus holds that weight on his shoulders expecting to be frowned upon while walking through town. On the other hand, Dr. Proteus’ wife Anita reassures him that it is not his fault that the people are not skilled enough fore if they were, they could easily find work. The townspeople do not want to accept the idea that their working days are over and that they have been replaced by machines. It is obvious that without a job, there will also be less to do, and less money, which will make for a very sad economy. Overall, the citizens in Player Piano are not happy with the way things are, or where they are headed.
Setting
In Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano the setting is very scary. In this future, machines take the place of people in turn making unemployment very high. In our reality computers do a lot of work in a short amount of time that would usually take us hours to complete. In this novel though, the use of machines and computers is so much more then what we use today. Their way of life is better and worse then ours because if machines run everything people will run out of jobs which in turn will hurt their economy with so many unemployed. I fear this is the future that we look forward to; some might think this is a great idea for machines to do all the work but really its something to dread because with so many out of jobs how will they make a living and support not only themselves but their family as well.
Characters
The characters in Player Piano are very upset with the way things are running. They still are not ready to deal with the fact that they have been replaced by machines. The main character Paul seems to be depressed at the fact that he is just not happy with how things are going. He wants to be promoted but in the beginning of the book he goes to building 58 which was build in 1886 and set up by Edison; while there he admires the carpentry and the way things use to be. As he thinks he seems to enjoy the thought of being alive back then and how Edison would feel about coming to the future. There are characters who feel they should just give up and let machines control and do everything for them and then there are the characters who feel that this idea of machines doing everything is unwise. The truth is I don’t think that many of the characters think of what their future would be like if machines did take everything over.
SETTING
Player Piano shows us a world where humans have been replaced by machines. People no longer have to do manual labor. Machines do everything. Humans merely supervise. This is extremely relevant to modern life. There are machines that do almost everything. There are machines to wash dishes and clothes and robotic vacuum cleaners. Calculators and computers think for us. With hundreds of tv stations, we no longer have to find ways to entertain ourselves. People are obsessed with making life easier with machines and robots. It is entirely possible that in the future we will not have to actually work for a living. Although that may sound nice, it is potentially fatal to the human race. If human work becomes obsolete, then what will happen to us? In theory, if we do not have to do actual work, we will have more free time to do what we want to do. However, many people will end up spending their free time watching television or playing video games or using the internet. And without work, how are we supposed to make a living? If all the real jobs are taken over by machines, then how do we make money to buy what we need? A world where machines do everything is like Communism - good in theory, bad in reality.
CHARACTERS
Doctor Paul Proteus wants to experience life before machines. He loves the old part of building 58. He imagines that he is Thomas Edison when he looks at the building. He keeps a picture of the old employees looking proud. He is not (at least as far as I have read) opposed to the society that he lives in. He does not hate it. But he does admire the past and the men who worked. Paul's secretary says, "...it is kind of incredible that things were ever any other way, isn't it? It was so ridiculous to have people stuck in one place all day just using their senses, then a reflex..." She seems quite happy with the way things are. She cannot imagine life differently. To her, this life is the life.
The book Player Piano is set in the future where machines have replaced humans in many existing jobs such as cashiers, factory workers, waiters, basically any low wage job. This is due to hte fact that computers are more efficient than humans, asm uch as we might hate to admit it. They are faster, more precise, and they don't need a paycheck or vacations. These are a boss's favorite employees. Because of this new found efficient work ethic, the jobs of many citizens have been issued to machines, thus taking the place of a vast amount of people's income. There are only two places for people to get jobs that are not as good at their jobs as the machines are: One is the Army, and the other being the Reconstruction and Reclamation Works, the basic duties of community service work. Needless to say, the employment of machines has skyrocketed the unemployment rate of humans, as well as severely dropping the level of human interaction and ingenuity. The people who once had jobs are now forced to be a soldier, or work as clean up crew.
This is extremely disheartening to all who don't have jobs that a machine has taken over, as well as affecting the community as a whole. There is a social barrier between those who have real jobs, and those working in the state sponsored programs. For instance, Dr. Paul Proteus is the manager of Illium Works, and thought to be one of the msartest people in all of Illium itself. He is regarded by many almost to the point of being a celebrity of the area. He is recognized in a bar by a former employee, and is instantly on a pedestal for all to gawk at, for everyone else is a working member of the "Reeks and Wrecks" as they are called. He is looked at with disdin and awe, all at the same time, for he is one of the others to them, one who has a more than decent income, a family that he can provide well for, and a position that is actually sought after and rexpected, instead of the lowlife positions they have been assigned. There are no feelings toward Dr. Proteus except loathing and unqualified disrespect, and he realizes how out of place he can be just through the simple act of going to town and buying a drink.
This is just an example of how screwed up a society has become, and how much of a barrier between the classes has been erected. We may think that putting machines in place of actual human workers is a good idea for the same reasons they were put in place in this novel, more efficient work and no one to have to pay. Maybe no actual money will have to be passed, but a much higher price must be paid, and that is the undermining of human beings. Without jobs, the efficiency level of our actual citizens will plummet down a spiral that will never end. Our country is lazy enough as it is, and the added "leisure" of machines doing all the work will just highlight this even more. School drop-out rates will skyrocket, as well as other obvious factors such as unemployment and crime. What would be the need for schools, since the best job that a young man can look forward to is being on a labor force for public works? The opportunities that this country offers now would all become reminiscent, and our society would slowly be sifted into a can, where all that was left is a pile of machinery plugging and chugging on top of a pile or rotting youth and curdled drops of society.
SETTING
In the novel, Player Piano most things are controled and operated by machinery. The machines do work that is routine, such as cleaning things, building houses ect. In the novel, the idea is that people can not do things as quickly and as accuratly as machines can, and the machines can do the work without pay, therefor, lowering the costs of things. In reality, the machines have taken over. There are minimal job oppertounities and those who do have jobs are of a very high class. Those who are not smart enough to be engeners have the limited option of joining the army or the "Reeks and Wreks". The machines have destroyed the lives of those who can not afford a private school and those who are not bright enough for college to go into engenerring. The only ones who have gained anything from the "Second Industrial Revolution" are those bright enought to design and biuild the machines.
I feel that this could possibly happen in our world. I do not think that machines would completly take over as much as they do in the novel, but the idea of machines taking jobs from people and leaving people with minimal choices of ways to live their life is very plausible.
CHARACTERS
The main character in the book, Dr. Proteus feels responsible for the shortage of jobs there are for the people. He knows that his world is flawed, but he has not yet done anything. Dr, Protus' wife however, reassures her husband by telling him that it is not his fault that some people are not bright enough for college. Ed Finerty, another character in the novel has lost all hope do to the machines. He is very intelligent and bright, but he feels that the machines are doing everything for everyone and he might as well not work or do anything. He as well knows that the world is currupt, and he is going about his own ways of doing something about it;quitting each job he has. Most of the older people in the book who remember what it was like before the machines wish things would go back to the way they were, but for the younger crowd, the life they are living is all they know.
SETTING
In the story, a lot of the world is portrayed as mechanized and dying. There is no real description of trees or the sky as being beautiful. Machines seem to be everywhere. Where there aren't machines, there are miserable workers, incapable of doing anything but repair broken roads and similar things because all other jobs have been occupied by machines. This world is not very much like ours, but there is still a lot of truth in these ideas. Outsourcing and machines have certainly depleted jobs in the United States. It is very difficult to be successful unless you go to college and to go to a good college you must be smart enough. Everything you do is put on record and will follow you for the rest of your life. Many little aspects of this novel have become realities for us in the twenty-first century.
CHARACTERS
A lot of the characters seem robotic. Particularly Paul's wife, Anita, is a robotic character because she does the same thing always and thus, Paul's interactions are robotic, involving the same phrases over and over again until she's been satisfied. The people Paul works with seem miserable or stressed and scared. The few who aren't like Finnerty as labeled as oddballs and looked down upon. This is seemingly because he simply doesn't follow the code of his social class. Everything, including the people are organized very clearly and this creates a great deal of conflict amongst the characters because they are still human.
Time and Plot
While viewing this novel through a developing future's perspective, it is very interesting to see the reactions of the actual human beings. Similar to the motif that we've seen before in Novels such as Grendel,there is a very systematic structure being questioned. Technoglogy is creeping up on the modern society in a very fast paced and abrupt way. Many people begin to accept the changes and others are just incredibly suspicious. There is a definite "plain" feeling that comes from the way the new industries are described and how they are operated. It is almost as if the machines are dictating while the world watches. The lack of enthusiasm for imagery within the book brings a sense of emptiness and a deserted atmoshpere. Vonnegut seems to desire for the readers to make their own assuptions based upon the very limited emotional aspect.
ChAracters!
Following the mind of Paul is strangely an exciting dullness. The idea that he may be one of the few besides Finnerty who understands why the job in Pittsburg is not that valuable, helps describe the lonliness that not many others seem to express. Anita, Paul's wife also presents herself in a captivating manner. Although she is very organized and persistant, there is something about her that is sad and confused while talking to Paul. It is almost as if she knows that he is thinking of the uproar pertaining to mechanical devices, however she fears his thoughts and makes and attempt to pre-occupy his mind with the thought of an imperative job. Finnerty sees Anita in a different, more useless way and he believes that she is wondering around with a mindless method that to analyze her husband. He too knows that Paul is very indecisive and takes advantage of him with his scattered thoughts.
I agree with Nick's comment about the efficiency of machines. The machines in the story are frighteningly efficient and powerful. Even though the story was written fifty years ago, some of the issues in the book are a topic of discussion in real American society today. The debates between machine usage and human purpose is a hot item from a sociological standpoint. In the novel, humans are simply divided with the machines as a buffer between them. They occupy all of the jobs that once required "less efficient" humans to do. These were manual laboring jobs that weren't very esteemed, but provided the people with tremendous pride. When they took that away, those people became despaired and defeated by a system and machines they couldn't compete with. I believe Nick cut straight to the chase when he said we were afraid to admit to the efficiency of machines.
I agree with what Jessica said about Paul being "depressed" because of the world he lives in. He does not seem happy and he seems to dread the daily routins of life.
After reading Player Piano, I still do not really know how I feel about every aspect to the novel. So, even though I've only had a short while to let this "digest", I'll give some of my thoughts.
Almost all the characters undergo some sort of metamorphosis. In the case of Paul Proteus, he realzies his latent thoughts about society and decides to act on them. Though a good deal of the book involves Paul portraying a "Hamlet-esque" role, complaining about his problems and not actually taking action, in the end, Paul takes charge of his life, for the most part. I say for the most part because, even though he is fighting against the system, he is still part of a larger group that basically controlled him for the majority of his early involvement. I can't decide whether I believe Paul has actually undergone a complete change, though I believe sacrificing his life was a step in the right direction....
The other characters that come to mind are the people involved in the Ilium Works, like Anita and Kroner and Shepherd, et cetera. The more you read about these characters, the less appealing and robotic they become. They conform to rigid lifestylers dictated by machines, for me, what comes to mind is Anita's absolute refusal of a "country lifestyle". Anita, along with another character, Baer, each seem to be robotic in their responses, Anita with her "I love you"'s and Baer with his sputtering repetitions. Most all of the characters seem very unhealthy.
The setting in the novel doesn't seem to change drastically throughout the course of it. The only really dramatic change I recognized was at the end when the revolution occurred and the buildings were on fire. Vonnegut mentions the once clean map of Ilium, now smudged with red and black x's. The city seems to go from a very sterile environment (with the exception of Homestead) to a very hostile, violent one in which no one is safe. Also, I suppose one could look at the country house that Paul bought. It is very different from all the other buildings Paul is in regularly and he finds solace in that. Even when the city is on fire, Paul seems to prefer it to his mundane routine driven former life. A change of scenery seems to represent a deeper satisfaction for Paul.
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