Player Piano

Quote: "Anita had the mechanics of marriage down pat, even to the subtlest conventions”
"I love you, Anita."

The above two quotes seem to correlate perfectly with each other. Both relay the idea Vonnegut's theme of mechanization, and mechanical workings in personal relationships. Machines essentially took over Illium in Player Piano. Even the marriage of Paul and Anita seemed mechanical. All they did was go through the motions, there was no passion. It was just like the society, there was no individual thought, efficiency was the only known proficiency. The automated nature of Paul's job carried over into his personal life. These two quotes combined perfectly represent the society as a whole.

Motif: "Doctor"

Everyone who had any resemblance of a shred of importance in this novel was refered to as "doctor". There were doctors of real estate and the equivalent. People were so insecure in themselves that they made up countless titles to refer to each other. The people in Illiad were so emotionally-needy that they disregarded reason and logic, making it so anyone can be seen as esteemed. Though they refused to notice, this flaw was truly degrading.
The title "Doctor" was used so often that it lost all importance and meaning. In our society today, doctors are viewed with admiration and respect. It is a prestigious honor to recieve a doctorate. In Illiad, the society significantly lowers their standards so the citizens can feel good about themselves. By calling themselves "doctor" they tricked themselves into thinking that they were more important than the machines. This, of course, was not true, for the machines were replacing human occupations at an alarming rate. The citizenry was in a constant state of denial.

Reaction:

I loved this book. Player Piano is a work of satirical masterpiece. I instantly fell in love with Vonnegut's ironic and sardonic sense of humor. His use of black humor enhanced the overall purpose of his novel. It was a rather easy read, and it was quite entertaining. I also thought it was interesting how instead of addressing a current problem, like most satirists do, he tried to preemptively discourage a potential future problem. Because of the realistic nature of the problems addressed, the fears could certainly prove true in years to come. The transformation into a completely automated society is already underway and making frightening headway...

Heart Of Darkness (That of Mr. Klimas???)

Quote: "True, he had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot.”

This quote, from part three of Heart of Darkness, speaks of when Marlow was confronted with evil, and overcame it. Kurtz exemplifies pure evil, a man corrupted by his environment until he was no longer capable of controlling his animalistic instinct. Upon meeting Kurtz, Marlow is faced with a decision: Evil, or honorable? As evident by the quote, Marlow opted for the latter.
When one makes the decision to become evil, there is no turning back, it is a permanent decision. Kurtz descended into the clutches of evil and was unable to regain control of himself. Marlow, at this moment in time, saved himself from a life of misery and despair. Marlow journeyed into the "heart of darkness", but escaped just in time.
Though Marlow and Kurtz were clearly intended to be alter-ego, this quote shows their difference: Marlow was strong enough to resist evil's temptations; Kurtz was weak and succumbed to it.

Theme: The Fallacies of Imperialism

The imperialism of the whites is hypocritical. The whites feel that they are "liberating" the native tribes. They represent their conquests as attempts to aid the natives. The whites feel that imposing white values and sentiments on other cultures is beneficial to them. What they fail to raelize, however, is that these other cultures are rich in their own ways. They have deeply imbedded moral codes and customs, much moreso than white culture. Imperialism is quite simply a euphemism for racism, as whites are automatically assuming that their way of life is "better".
Also, imperialism is hypocritical in that the imperialists seek to "cleanse" native tribes of "savagery" and "brutality"; the whites champion the very characteristics that they set out to abolish. This is reflected in the novel when the natives are viewed as savages and subhuman, even though the whites are much worse in that respect. The whites are the true savages.

Reaction:

This is quite a dense book indeed. Conrad's verbose and dense syntax provide for a dull read. With all due respect, it was the most boring book I've read thus far in high school. The purpose of the book was not completely lost, however, but it was not powerful. This book failed to motivate, inspire, or influence me in any way. The dismal and caliginous tone of this novel did not help either. Though I appreciate Conrad's contribution to the world of literature, I doubt this will be a book I opt to cite on my SAT writing portion...One clash with Conrad's work is enough for me.

Invisible Man--Are we all blind???

Quote: "'That's it, as white as George Washington's Sunday-go-meetin' wig and as sound as the all-mighty dollar! That's paint!' he said proudly. 'That's paint that will over just about anything!" (Ellison pg. 201,202)

The above quote is of utmost importance to the novel, Invisible Man. This simple quote summarizes a main theme of the book; it was used to demonstrate how whites felt that they were naturally superior to blacks, and it shows how they wanted to "cover up" black culture in society by replacing it with white values. The Liberty Paint Plant's premium color, Optic White, is the paint being spoken of here. In the quote, it is boasted that Optic White will cover up nearly anything; the purpose of this paint plant microcosmically represents the purpose of white America. Like the white paint, the white population tries to subvert and smother black identity. As a result of the prejudice of the epoch, blacks attempted to assimilate themselves into society, to blend in. The blacks suppressed their true identities, and because of this, an entire culture fell between the cracks. All of this is characterized in this single quote, deeming it essential to the novel.

Theme: A Struggle For Identity

In the novel, the narrator struggles with his identity. This is an important theme of the novel--individuality. Throughout the book, the narrator's identity was determined by others. Others such as the head of the college, Sybil, and even the Brotherhood, use the narrator for the furtherance of their own ambitions; they view him as a tool or an instrument, not as a human being, not as an individual. Others' inability to see the bigger picture hampers is own ability to act. The narrator had a great mind, it would have been beneficial for him to use it. The narrator brought this treatment upon himself, for he allowed himself to be abused. Racism also contributed profoundly to this abuse, however--it was not all his fault.
One key reason that the narrrator remained unnamed throughout the novel was to show this struggle for identity; he did not truly know who he was, he knew only what others told him he was. Ellison utilized this theme to the maximum extent to further the purpose of the novel.

Reaction/Reflection:

Invisible Man was one of my favorite books of this year. It was an endlessly deep and meaningful novel, hitting on many sensitive and compelling issues, some of which still exist today. It was a relatively long novel, but its length was not a result of luquaciousness or verbosity. Every single word or sentence in this novel was of considerable importance, nothing was superfluous. Several deep and powerful themes were often depicted at once, through common symbols. One symbol could represent much more than it appears at first glance. Through Ellison's tale of microcosms and analogies, his prevailing themes remain clear. Because each word carried such intensity and emotion, I respect Ellison as a writer and would dub this book a masterpiece. Sheer briliance...