Journal

Why did you select this novel?

What has happened before the novel has begun?

What is going on as the story begins?

pg. 1-68

I selected this novel because of the comments posted about it on Shelfari and the topic of the book. The comments on Shelfari said that this particular author had a very interesting style of writing. I was so intrigued by what the comments said about Kurt Vonnegut’s style that I decided to choose one of his books. I selected this novel because I like to read books about interpretations of the future. The book Player Piano is called “A funny, savage appraisal of a totally automated American society of the future,” by the San Francisco Chronicle. This quote inspired me to choose to read the book Player Piano.

Player Piano is set over twenty-three years after a war that result in the separation of Ilium, New York into three parts, a third industrial revolution, and superiorly advanced machines that replaced manpower. The war was won by people who knew how to run machines the best. Those were the people who were pro Democracy. When the war was being fought all of the soldiers went to fight. Ten years after “know-how” won the democrats the war, all of the soldiers came home. The machines stayed as the workforce, but the machines are supervised by humans. The other humans join the army, run a store in a dying market, have no source of income, or get a degree from college to work as a supervisor. Very few people get into college. The jobs in the army and the “Reeks and Wrecks” are not goods jobs, so everyone wants to get into college.

“In the patios of the north side of the river, it was the know-how that won the war. Democracy owed its life to know-how.” “He didn’t do nearly well enough for college. There were only twenty-seven openings, and six hundred kids trying for them.” “…what’s it going to be, the Army or the Reeks and Wrecks?”

At the beginning of the story the reader is introduced to Paul Proteus, a doctor in a high power of authority (the highest in Ilium) that observes a variety of buildings containing machines that improve the efficiently of labour. Paul is the thirty-five year old protagonist. Vonnegut follows his life, starting on the day that Paul must make a speech on the progress made in the past thirteen years. The readers are also introduced to the people in Paul’s life, including his wife and his old friend from college. The reader is introduced to the two sides of the lifestyles of people in that time period through Paul’s friend and wife. Paul’s wife thinks that the system is much better than it was before the war, but Paul’s friend thinks that the system implemented by the government is not a good one. Aside from the plot about Paul, there is also a Shah who has come from a religious group to learn what New York is like. Every soldier that he sees he thinks is a slave. Other than passing each other on a bridge Paul and the Shah have not interacted.

““And organized vice and divorce and juvenile delinquency, all parallel the growth of the use of vacuum tubes,” said Finnerty.” (Paul’s friend) ““Oh, honestly! What are you talking about?” said Anita.”

Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told?

What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why?

What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character?

pg. 68-137

The point of view of this book is limited omniscient. The person telling the story is not a part of the story, but the person does know the thoughts of Paul Proteus and Doctor Ewing J. Halyard. Paul is the protagonist that the story follows, and Halyard is an escort for the Shah. This person’s perspective always agrees wholeheartedly with either Paul or Halyard or the narrator puts words in their mouth. This affects the way the story is told because it makes the readers perspective bias and builds up characters where there is no way of knowing whether or not the information is true. The reader only hears from one side of the story, such as when the narrator writes “...but he didn’t have what his father had, what Kroner had, what Shepherd had, what so many had: the sense of spiritual importance in what they were doing...”

“Halyard yawned, and was annoyed to think that...” “Paul narrowed his eyes, excluding everything from his field of vision but the colonial tableau, and imagined that...”

The novel is set in Ilium, New York, in the future. There is no distinct date because this “...book is not a book about what is, but a book about what could be. The characters are modeled after persons as yet unborn, or, perhaps, at this writing, infants.” “Ilium is divided into three parts.” One side of the river is where engineers and managers work and live, the other side of the river is where the common folk live and try to make a living doing whatever they can and the third is an unmentioned piece of land. Paul works, in an office, at Ilium works, a factory surrounded by the machines that have replaced the human workforce. The setting is very important. It could be happening in any city in any country, but the city must separate the common folk from the engineers. If that has not happened then the writer would not be able to compare the animosity between the two groups. A commoner named Lasher says, “Things are ripe for a phony Messiah, and when he comes, it’s sure to be a bloody business.” The place would have to have an advanced form of technology, but be treating it’s people badly. The Shah is so wondered by the technology in Ilium, but he thinks that the soldiers are slaves. In conclusion, the specifics of the setting must be in place for the story to unfold, but if a city had the same characteristics as Ilium, the story could be happening in a different place.

The first problem that Paul Proteus faces occurs when Finnerty announces that he will be coming to Ilium. Finnerty has been Paul’s closest friend since the start of collage. After collage Paul and Finnerty went their separate ways, but they have always remained each other’s closest friend. Now, Finnerty is coming to visit Paul. The problem arrises because Paul’s wife, Anita, does not like, nor get along well with, Finnerty. Finnerty is expecting accommodations from Paul when he arrives, and Anita is very displeased. After Finnerty arrives, Anita immediately wants him gone. Although Anita wants Finnerty to leave, Finnerty quit his job so; Finnerty wants to stay for as long as possible. This creates a problem for Paul. He has to make the decision to either kick his dearest friend out to please his wife or let him stay and tell Anita to suck it up. Anita says: “... [Paul] please try to get Finnerty to move out.” “Oh honestly [Finnerty]! What are you talking about?” “[Paul,] He’s got to go.”

Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?

Is the language in the novel difficult or easy? Give examples and explain.

To what age group is the novel aimed? Support your answer with evidence.

p.g. 137-224

Player Piano is written in a way that makes it easy to follow the events of the novel; however, there are many rants that go on for pages that create an information overload. The novel is easy to follow because of the timeline. It starts out on an undetermined day, but Vonnegut then establishes a timeline using Paul’s life. After the first day it is blatantly stated whether the next segment of the novel is the next day, next week or next month. Whenever the time is Vonnegut makes it clear in relation to the last time given. There are parts of the novel that do make it confusing because of how much information about the past Vonnegut describes. He does this by having characters rant on for many pages. This makes it hard to follow and maintain interest, but it does allow for a lot of background information that helps establish the plot. Where most writers would summarize what a play that a protagonist went to see was about, Vonnegut wrote out the whole play in the book. All in all Vonnegut’s description of timeline makes it easy to follow the events of the novel, but the excess amount of information can makes it difficult to remember all of the information given.

“Lying abed after the stout-hearted men’s evening at Kroner’s…” “After the night with Finnerty and Lasher…” The barber rants on about nothingness and Vonnegut writes his every word from page 203 to page 208 with no interruptions. The entire play is written out from page 212 to page 219 without interruptions.

The language in the novel is old and difficult because Player Piano was published in 1952. The fact that the novel is slightly older than the average child reads means that some of the words written can be confusing or old. Vonnegut uses words such as “billfold”, or more commonly referred to in literature as a wallet, which is a much more sophisticated way of describing a very basic object. Vonnegut also uses words such as profound, grimaced, sabotage, chagrined and riddance commonly. There are many words in Player Piano that are difficult or outdated. Vonnegut’s wide range of vocabulary helps to enhance the difference in class between the engineers and managers and the common folks. Vonnegut’s use of language is difficult, but it helps to enhance the story.

“self-congratulatory” “contemplates” “tarnished” “wondrous” “stout-hearted" "bacchanal" "incumbency" "feverent" "forthwith"

Player Piano is intended for adult readers. Absolutely all of the characters are adults. There are very few children even mentioned. The content of the book is clearly intended for mature readers. There are also many sexual references. The plot is very complex and can be too much information that makes it hard to follow. The storyline is also about advanced mechanics. The words are difficult and the ideas are complex. For all of these reasons, it is clear that Player Piano is intended for adults.

“She also had a sexual genius that gave Paul his one unqualified enthusiasm in life.” ““Ohhhhhhh,” she chided, “you’re //such// a little boy sometimes.” She pulled him down again, this time making sure he kissed her on the lips. “You stop worrying now, you hear?” she whispered in his ear.”

What is the climax of the novel?

Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book?

Is the novel believable?

p.g. 224-304

The climax of the novel is when Paul Proteus is fired from his job in order to go undercover into the Ghost Shirt Society. The problem with the plan is that Paul wanted to quit an join the Society, not go undercover. This results in Paul quitting, but the heads of the operation do not realize. They think that he is playing the part well, even though Paul is not acting. Paul does not get the feeling of satisfaction he was waiting for from telling the heads that he quit and becomes bitter and mean. As a result his entire mood changes. This change in mood results in separation from his wife, so he joins the Society in a huge position of power to feel like he belongs. However, he ends up getting captured by the authorities and is locked in jail. Paul does not care. The fact that he could not see the faces of the engineers and managers when he quit was so upsetting to Paul that his whole demeanor changed. As a result of the climax Paul went from the top of the world to the bottom of the heap. The change in mood at the climax caused all of the problems that ultimately resulted in Paul being locked in jail. “As of now, as far as anyone outside of this room knows, your through.” “It’s really a break for you, Paul.” Paul says: “I quit.” “I mean it! I’m sick of the whole childish, stupid, blind operation.”

“Paul Proteus...found reality disquieting at all points...”

Anita: “You’re not sick are you?” Paul: “At heart.” Anita: “You’ll get used to it. I did.”

“...this was Proteus walking around in little circles all by hisself, like he don’t know which way’s up...” “Police. You just got brained...”

There is a message emerging from the book about control and choices. The machines are taking the choices away from humans. Instead of picking where humans want to live, work and how far they can get in life, the machines choose all that for them. If they refuse they can be locked in jail or put on a watched list. The average American has lost the right to choose their job, where they live and can go no further in life than the machines tell them they can. However, if they happen to have a high I.Q. then there is a possibility that they can become an engineer or manager. The managers and engineers have more control over their lives. They can choose where they work, what they do and how far their careers will take them. All of the male Americans work hard with long hours. Women married to engineers or managers do not have to work, but women married to soldiers usually become prostitutes to earn as much money as they can. All in all, the book seems to be saying that people should be thankful that they have control over our own lives because not being able to choose their own path makes living hard and depressing. “I don’t do this everyday.” “Why must those terrible things happen to you if you refuse to-. You know-.”

The novel is very believable. Already scientists are working to find out how to create artificial intelligence, and people rely greatly on machines that work around the house, in factories and for transportation. It is not that big of a jump to program a simple mathematical equation to determine what jobs are best suited for which people if all people are numbered according to I.Q. I am sure that that would be very possible right now, but I do not think that it will happen anytime soon. There are many books about choice, free will and control. I believe that if engineers and managers ever tried to make the world completely based on mechanics the general population would rise up against it, like the Ghost Shirt Society is in the book. I would hope that the general public would stop it before it happened, but nothing is certain and the book did say that there was a huge war that the engineers won because of mechanics. That is very believable. Machines can be stronger than humans. For all these reasons, I believe that it is very possible that someday this may happen. I hope that when it happens the common folk win, even though it is not very likely. “...our lives and freedom depend greatly upon...skill and imagination...”

Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend?

Why did (or didn't) the novel meet your expectations?

What message did you get from the novel? p.g. 304-341 THE END

I would recommend this book to a friend because of the message that emerges. I thought that the message about standing up for what you believe in, no matter what the cost, was very powerful and one that could be applied to more than just the context of the novel. I would love for many people to know of this message and to apply it to their lives. I would also enjoy sharing the book because the story is very good. It would be a great read for one of my intellectual friends. Therefore, I would recommend this novel to a friend because I think that the book summarizes that no matter what the price people should stand up for what is right very well.

The novel exceeded my expectations because I originally thought that because it was written for an older age group that I would have difficulty following and understanding the book. Surprisingly, I greatly enjoyed the book and thought that it was easy to understand. Some of the language was difficult because it was intended for adults, but dictionaries were a good help. It was not as hard to understand as I thought that it would be and the novel was very good. The plot left me wanting to read more and theme was awesome. I greatly enjoyed the novel which was an amazing surprise to me. All in all, the book was well-written, interesting and an awesome read.

The message I received from the novel was that no matter the cost it is always best to stand up for what you believe is right. I determined that this was the message from the book based on the last chapter. Up until the last chapter Paul thought that the point behind the rebellion was to destroy the machines and give humans back their freedom. It was not until the last few pages that Paul realized that there was no hope for the rebellion. It was a medium to send a message to the people of the United States that the machines could be defeated. When he realizes this he also understands that he and the other leaders of the Ghost Shirt Society must turn themselves in. They must give up their lives to stand up for what is right. Once Paul understands what he must do, he does not back down. He knows that no matter the price the revolution is something that must be set in motion. The very last line is “‘Forward march.’” All of the leaders of the Society give themselves up in order to help the progress of later revolutions.

Write a short plot summary of your novel. This should be about 1 page. Include information such as: What the title has to do with the book, where and when the story happens, who is telling the story, what the central conflict is in the story, what the climax is, how the climax is resolved – or if it isn’t, and whether or not you enjoyed the plot and your reasons.
 * 1) 1—PLOT

At the beginning of Player Piano, Paul Proteus’s best friend Finnerty comes to town. Anita, Paul’s wife, is upset that Finnerty has come. She thinks of him as a pig. Finnerty takes Paul across the river, which divides the city, to a bar. At the bar, they meet Lasher. Lasher and Finnerty hit it off and Finnerty goes to live with Lasher which pleases Anita. Lasher and Finnerty decide to plan a revolution that will return choices to the common man in a society based completely on mechanics. While Lasher and Finnerty plan the revolution, Paul falls in love with the country life and realizes that the machines have taken away the choices of average humans. Paul decides that he wants to go live in a country house with his wife, but Anita likes the city too much. Next, Lasher and Finnerty create The Ghost Shirt Society made of rebels fighting for freedom. Then, Paul is fired from his job to go undercover in the Society. However, Paul finds his wife cheating on him and they separate, and Paul becomes the legitimate leader of the Society. At the next meeting of the Society, Paul gets caught by the police and thrown in jail. Whilst Paul’s trial is in session, he gets broken loose by the Society. The rebellion begins, and as a result the rebels take Illium. In the end the leaders of the Society turn themselves in, including Paul and Finnerty, in order to save the people of Illium from years of war and death. The Ghost Shirt Society made their stand in order to send a powerful message to the world about how there is a better way of living. The Society’s actions were made in the hopes that it would inspire enough people to join the rebellion so that one day the machines could be overthrown.

The title Player Piano refers to a piano in the undisclosed future time of the novel. This piano Finnerty, Lasher and Paul see in the bar that they go to. It is no ordinary piano. This piano plays itself. It has become a common piano for a household. It is a symbol for the advancement in technology and the replacement of humans with machines. The skill of playing the piano is no longer needed because a machine can do it better (with no mistakes). This is what has happened in the entire U.S. Machines have replaced humans.

The book is written in limited omniscient, so the reader does not know whose eyes the book is being seen through, but the reader knows the thoughts of Paul Proteus and one other doctor occasionally.

The main conflict is between Paul and himself. Paul cannot decide between keeping his life the way it is with Anita and his highly ranked job or rebel against the ways that the common folks are now treated. It is a morel dilemma. He does not want to give up his good life, but it would be wrong for some one who could make a difference not to try.

The climax of the story is when Paul is fired to go undercover and quits. This is the point in the story where he finalizes his choice to rebel against the way that the average people were treated. His mood changes and he finally makes his decision.

[|Glogster]