Player Piano

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1952

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-17

Chapters 18-25

Chapters 26-35

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Industrialization and Humanity’s Loss of Agency

Humanity, in Player Piano, constructs for itself a socioeconomic system so precise, so unmoved by emotion, that humanity has, in essence, written itself out of the action of the country. It’s important to note that humans created the machines, which take over almost every aspect of life because the end of the novel suggests that perhaps humans are fated to wipe themselves out this way. In the wave of such automation, there exists nothing for humanity to do anymore, so they’re given meaningless jobs to pass their time while they collect pensions. The ones lucky enough or bright enough to be engineers or managers seem to also be on the way out, as machines are finding ways to replace almost every human point-of-contact in all industries—even the writing of literature.

While the novel is set in the future, the commentary it allows is about the present—or, more precisely, the mid-to-late 20th century. Many of the industrial changes and shifts that seem so apocalyptic are simply extensions of what Vonnegut saw happening in the United States during that time. The novel then suggests that we are in this industrial dystopia already, and that maybe there’s no way to escape it.

Disconnection

What is there to feel connected to in the novel? For Paul, everyone in his life is motivated by some personal desire to see him either achieve or suffer. The work he does every day seems far removed from the actual machine work that he felt excited about when he first started as an engineer. Early in the novel, he tours the facilities, reminiscing about those early days of creating these machines. Once they were created, however, they function independently of human interaction. Late in the novel, too, Paul and Finnerty remember the good times they once had as young engineers. Money, wealth and power, the novel suggests, are not enough, even for the elite of society. There has to be something more to feel fulfilled; a connection to the work done and to those around you is needed.

The Irony of Resistance

Irony is prevalent throughout the novel, in various respects. The main irony the novel displays is that of resisting a path or course of events that seem to be moving forward, whether individually or collectively. Paul, though he struggles for the entire novel to make just one decision for his life himself, never has the chance. Even when he wants to quit, he is fired ahead of time. The revolutionary organization, The Ghost Shirt Society, is based on a failed uprising by the Native Americans, which Paul and Finnerty only learn by the time their own revolution has failed. Lasher embraces failure, as he knows the irony in resisting fate, but still sees the value in the resistance. Paul and Finnerty struggle to understand this.

Cold War Politics

A subtle theme through the novel, the exploration of the limits of the industrialization of the country during the Cold War and the cost of a sustained engagement with the Soviet Union are alluded to. The need for more and better machines was like an anthem during the time of the Cold War, and the novel sings that anthem, and shows the possible results of just such a way of life.

Technology as Deity

The Shah of Bratpuhr gets down on his knees and prays to the supercomputer known as EPICAC XIV. From the Shah’s prospective, this makes perfect sense. He notices the way the computer is talked about—how it is infallible and the greatest thinker—and the way it runs life for the United States. Naturally, he takes this to mean that the computer is an all-powerful deity that runs life on Earth. When it fails to answer his riddle, however, he knows that it is not the deity he imagined, and not worthy of worship. His perspective is necessary in the novel because it allows those living within a system that worships technology as a deity to see the absurdity of their devotion to it.