PLAYER PIANO

A.) The theme of class separation played a large role in this novel. The way the less intelligent group of people were separated from the "engineers and managers" led to an adversary and uneasy relationship between the two sides. Paul had to choose whether he should continue his work and prominence as a highly regarded intellectual and ignore the growing fear of a completely mechanized world or lead the rebellion to fight the machines. The class separation and use of machines had already replaced the need for the less intelligent and I think Paul could probably see a near future where the engineers and managers were unnecessary as well.

The division between the two groups also added to the lack of confidence the working class people already experienced due to a feeling of inadequacy after essentially being replaced by machines. The way the Shah of Bratpuhr continually referred to them as "slaves" was representative of how poorly they were treated. The engineers justified themselves in separating the two classes with the fact that they provided for the working class but in reality nothing can make up for the self-esteem and feeling of self-importance that was taken away for them. This is what leads to the working class' opposition to the engineers. Paul is caught in between the two because I think he recognizes that society is headed in the wrong direction if it is dividing the race by intelligence but, being one of the most intelligent, has a hard time rebelling against this because of the opportunities he has for self-achievement if he just goes with the flow. It is much easier to fight against something when you don't have it but Paul has intelligence and therefore has to make more of a moral decision on whether or not to stand up against the obvious inequalities. I think part of his decision is also made on the fact that the engineers can be as easily replaced by machines as the working class were at one point.

B.) "When you doctors figure out what you want, you'll find me
out in the barn shoveling my thesis."
I really liked this quote because Haycox was definitely the most honest person introduced in the novel. He was a real person; he was not putting on a show or trying to impress anyone and therefore I respected him alot more than most of the other self-consumed characters in the novel. Most of society was concerned only with how they appeared in comparison to others, as shown by the way many of the upcoming managers were faking drunk at the competitions in order to "fit-in" but not make a complete fool of themselves. Society is so materialistic and Haycox represents the regular guy. He is not engulfed by all of the ridiculous concerns over being the best and kissing up to those who hold high positions.

Haycox is ridiculing the way society now considers the managers and engineers "doctors". He doesn't believe they deserve this type of prestigous title and basically proves that they are not quite as good as they think they are because Haycox is the one who knows how to fix the things they cannot. Haycox is mechanically talented and he proves that he is just as necessary as the doctors who obviously do not have all the skills to run the society on their own. Haycox depicts that there is still a need for human labor and human knowledge of machines. Not everything is always going to run smoothly; things break and someone is going to have to be there to fix them when they do. There is obvious irony in this scene because Haycox, who is pretty much looked down upon in this society, is the one who has more knowledge than the doctors. This is also portrayed when the "Reeks and Wrecks" know how to fix Paul's car but he does not. I think Vonnegut put these kinds of scenes in the novel to show that the working class people who are separated and treated unequally are of the same importance in society as the managers and engineers. The 'simple' man's work and skill is still a necessary part of life.

C.) Although I got somewhat tired of reading this having read several futuristic novels already, I enjoyed the various characters and overall plot. I really like Finnerty because he was the guy who could be smart and get really far in this society but chooses not to because he just does not like the way things are done. Finnerty is obviously a pretty moral person because he sticks to what he believes in and he ends up being a large inspiration to Paul. Paul is obviously the one who is caught in the middle and the novel is essentially centered around which side of the spectrum will appeal to him most.

Anita was a very interesting character because she was solely about materialistic value and where she stood in the social ranking. Anita, though she did not have the brains to achieve her own personal advancement, was insistent upon climbing to the top through Paul. When Paul proved not to be what would get her furthest in life she automatically left him and moved on to the next potential breadwinner. Anita was both annoying and amusing. She was humorous in that she was the most materialistic character I've ever been exposed to but also annoying because she gave up true love and the things that really matter in life just to get to the highest possible social ranking possible. She cared more about what others thought of her than what she thought of herself. Overall I liked the way these characters were all introduced with very different personalities; it set up an interesting platform for the novel because there really were not two characters that were much alike.