just another fitting quote...

I found this quote online amongst some searching and thought it was interesting in correlation to Player Piano.

"I see the player piano as the grandfather of the computer, the ancestor of the entire nightmare we live in, the birth of the binary world where there is no option other than yes or no and where there is no refuge."
~William Gaddis

Although Gaddis's image of society now may be a little harsh it is not unbelievable, just as PLAYER PIANO is also an image of what may become of the future.

I thought it was interesting tying into the titile of Vonnegut's book too. Apparently Gaddis thought the player piano was the beginning of the end, perhaps Vonnegut did too...

yes, finally... player piano. quote.

The one quote that stuck out in my mind from Player Piano was on page 68. As Paul sits in the bar with Finnerty and Lasher, Lasher says,

"Things, gentlemen, are ripe for a phony Messiah, and when he comes, it's sure to be a bloody business... Sooner or later someone is going to catch the imagination of these people with some new magic. At the bottom of it will be a promise of regaining the feeling of participation, the feeling of being needed on earth - hell, dignity."

I like this quote because the moment I read it I thought Paul was going to be the Messiah and I truly wanted him to be. Paul seemed skeptical enough of his own thoughts on the machines that he could fill the shoes quite nicely. What I also found interesting was that Lasher thought that when the next "phony Messiah" comes it would be "sure to be a bloody business." However, the rebellion in the end was hardly the violence I believe Lasher to have imagined. Agreeing with my other blog this quote does not predict the ignorance of the human in that society. Instead of continuing to find the rebels choose to rebuild all that they've just destroyed.

However, Lasher is right that the "Reeks and Wrecks" have basically lost all motivation to exist. They are permitted to do very little because they are not "doctors" and not "smart" enough to become them. Therefore the promise of a changed world sounded good so that they would regain their feeling of worth. However, once the town and Illium was destroyed they were no longer useless; now instead of carrying on the destruction so that machines could no longer take their jobs, they began to put back together the things they hated the most. This could have been why Lasher mentioned a phony Messiah. Perhaps he was aware of the ignorance of the masses and therefore knew that no man could succeed in leading these people.

player piano. theme.

Vonnegut addressed a number of themes in Player Piano however one of the most prevalent is the ignorance of the human race. Although Dr. Paul Proteus is originally made out to be this great engineer it is soon revealed that the term "Doctor" is overrated in their society. The first sign of human ignorance and stupidity comes from the satirical and classical Vonnegut style example of Bud Calhoun. As an excellent designer Bud created a machine that did his job for him, however it did it so well that he was no longer needed. Bud, in his lust for creating new things, did not think about the consequences of his actions and therefore must now suffer the consequence of being outdone by a machine. The society in the novel did not think about the consequences of the technology they were feasting on and therefore has become a society dependent on them.

This dependency is seen when the Shah of Bratpuhr visits the nation. As he takes his tour he witnesses how much humans have come to rely on the machines more than themselves. For example, the housewife who is bored most of the time and who wants to do laundry by hand to occupy her time. Another example comes from the computer, EPICAC XIV that the Shah encounters. Americans hold the piece of machinery in such high regard and believe it to know all, however when the Shah asks it an ancient riddle it is unable to answer, thereby proving its total efficiency.

Finally the end of the novel is almost a testament to the entire theme. After the rebellion and the Illium works is destroyed along with the machines in the adjoining town, the members of the town, members that took place in the uprising, the people who just destroyed all the machines, were choosing to put them back together. The "Reeks and Wrecks" those who jobs the machines replaced began to build the machines all over again. This only further adds to the satiric attack on human ignorance throughout the novel.

heart of darkness. quote.

The quote I selected from Heart of Darkness we already answered a question on during the reading however it was one that made an impression on me and I felt that it is very significant to the rest of the novel, despite how short it is.

"'Don't you talk with Mr. Kurtz?' I said. 'You don't talk with that man - you listen to him,' he exclaimed." (132)

Although in this instance the Russian is referring to Mr. Kurtz's and his unbelievable charisma, the quote certainly has more to it. Even though Kurtz is referred to as a voice for a large portion of the novel, the quote is not entirely about his charismatic way with words, it goes much deeper. As the novel reaches part III and we are finally introduced to Kurtz we find out that he is a clear depiction of someone who has lost all sanity, and is a representation of the heart of darkness found in every man. Kurtz has embraced his instinctive impulsive nature and his own humanity is questionable. Therefore, knowing this about Kurtz the quote has much more significance. "That man" in the quote does not only represent Kurtz but also the evil that lies within a person, or so Conrad believes. When the Russian says, "you don't talk with that man - you listen to him" it is basically saying that the evil within us can control us if the right circumstance presents itself. This evil to can't really talk to, it is just there, and will come out on its own. However, you do listen to it and this is why Kurtz is in the position he is in. Kurtz listened to his animalistic instincts and relied less on his own human capacity to reason. Marlow found himself close to his level, almost losing himself in a shroud of darkness. This proves how strong the voice of darkness is in someone. Marlow caught himself at the last second, he was able to "draw back his hesitating foot" however he wasn't able to stop himself from listening to the voice of impulse within him.

Colonialism in the heart of darkness

Conrad cites examples in Heart of Darkness that truly depict how awful the effects of colonialism were on the natives of a country. As Marlow progresses further and further into the heart of the Congo he finds himself further from the reaches of society.

On page 83 is a scene that depicts the horrendous treatment of the native African people. “They were dying slowly – it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now – nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation…” The narrator finds this group of helpless individuals lying, nearly lifeless, in the shade of a tree. Making note of how these people were not criminals or enemies, one is to believe these were the displaced natives from that region. They have done nothing wrong but work under horrific conditions. Not getting proper medical treatment they basically wait to die under the tree. They go unnoticed by most, being that the narrator doesn’t make note of their existence until his is nearly on top of one.

This quote is taken from Marlow’s stay at the Coastal Station; here the affects of colonialism are prevalent and numerous, even as Marlow treads into the next station colonialism still has control. By the time Marlow reaches the inner station however the atmosphere is a mix of the destruction of colonialism and Kurtz’s insanity. The Inner Station is surrounded by death, with the heads on stakes, and the mound of ivory. Colonialism is what surrounds this death as well as part of the reason for Kurtz’s insanity. Also Kurtz’s projection of himself as a god, took advantage of the people of the Congo. Colonialism did not solely reap a country’s natural resources for market profit; it also was an attempt to strip a nation and a people of their culture. This is possibly the greatest evil, stripping one from their humanity. Kurtz’s transcended into darkness because he lost the capacity to be human.

ug, how many more of these do i have to do... invisible man, motif

One repeating motif throughout Invisible Man was the black/white color mentioned in areas throughout the novel. In the paint factory scene this motif is largely prevalent and can be seen to represent a number of things. The paint, which was supposed to be a dazzling white, the purest white on the market, was made from dark colors at first.

"I watched him kneel and open one of the buckets, stirring a milky brown substance... he stirred it vigorously until it became a glossy white" (199).

The paint here isn't just paint, it is a symbol for the black race becoming subdued and overpowered by whites. The brown substance represents the black people and the fact that they are stirred until they are no longer brown is the oppression placed on them by the whites. Because the narrator describes the substance as a "milky brown" and not dark brown or black, it may also represent him. The narrator himself isn't as black as others and the Brotherhood even makes a comment along the lines of "Shouldn't he be blacker" later on in the novel. The narrator, the focus of the novel, is easily manipulated by whites and blacks alike throughout the novel. The paint represents him becoming one of them. This can be related to Dr. Bledsoe, who is considered a traitor to his own race. Bledsoe, although black, speaks to the narrator as if he was a white plantation owner. Bledsoe depicts the "Optic white" as he has shed all his black color for a white shade; he is the epitome of the manipulated black man in the novel, because he finds his cause as noble as ever even though he is like an enemy to his own race.

Also the tag line of the "Optic white" paint in its ability to cover up anything, any tint or stain. This represents the white man's attempt to cover up black culture and essentially give the black people a new identity. The white paint covering up the dark stains is representative of the "pure" white race covering up the dark "stains" of the black culture.

invisible man. quote.

This quote appears on page 15 but I think it is one of my favorites because it captures the essence of the narrator's journey throughout the novel.

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory... I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer."

Like I said this quote embodies the narrator's struggle throughout the novel. Appearing in Chapter One as a recollection of previous years the narrator is now aware of his naivety and has come to accept the fact that he had been completely manipulated. This quote ties in directly to one of the last scenes in the novel when the narrator starts to burn the items in his briefcase. The briefcase, which is a recurring symbol throughout the novel and represents the false promises and hopes laid before the narrator throughout his journey, is finally burned at the end signifying the narrator realizing his own stupidity and becoming an invisible individual.

In this quote the narrator also makes reference to the number of people who mislead him, but may have been confused themselves. Mr. Norton was an example of someone who was self-contradictory. He thought that he was doing a good thing, sponsoring the college that the narrator attended. However, as readers we know that Mr. Norton is ignorant to the "bigger picture" and although he thinks he is contributing to better society, he really is one of the evils he is trying to eliminate. He comes to refer to the narrator as more a thing than a human at the end of his tour and the machine reference is brought in, making the narrator out to be more a tool with a purpose than a human. Another man who was self-contradictory was Brother Jack. He, like Mr. Norton, lacked the vision to see the bigger picture and although the Brotherhood wanted to do some form of good, Brother Jack eventually was fighting against the people he should have been trying to unite. This self-contradictory can be seen as absurd because even when trying to make progress, humans seem to turn back to primal instincts to try to accomplish their goal.

thoughts on invisible man.

Overall I enjoyed Invisible Man although the book was so incredibly dense that there is so much more I can still pick out of it. Like Mr. Klimas said in class, anyone could have written the story about an underprivileged black man from the South, however because the narrator was so intelligent, and we knew this, it made the story much more tragic and much more powerful. I think I liked the book because of the deep symbolism it had. Although some people may argue that it was too much, and I agree that it is a lot, I was amazed at what Ellison was able to incorporate. (I also felt pretty darn smart that I could find a whole lot in the symbols and allusions, but that's beside the point) I think that the novel has so much packed into it because of the message it is trying to convey. I felt it was like Heart of Darkness in a sense, without the whole heads on stakes thing, because it was able to show a darker side of human nature and human history. The battle royal scene, Jim Trueblood, and the narrator’s entire journey were all examples of how despicably humans can treat one another.

Similar to my reaction to Heart of Darkness the book was disturbing in parts but it also was a book that carried a heavy message and I found that this is what attracted me to it. It's not a book I would choose to read during a week at the shore, but overall I think that the book has made me look at myself differently. I empathize with the narrator because of how he was constantly manipulated throughout the novel, but it was almost surprising to see how such an intelligent man could be so easily controlled. When the narrator finally discovers his stupidity at the end of the novel I think it was a good way to end it. After all his suffering, the narrator finally finding the truth in his life, is like a window of hope. Ellison may have ended it this way hoping that we as humans could learn from the actions in the book and find a way to see the faults in our nature.

Player Piano... thoughts...

I don't know how much I fully enjoyed PLAYER PIANO. Although I found it interesting and easily a depiction of what the future may hold, the novel as a whole didn't fully capture my attention. The ending wasn't what I thought it was going to be and this changed the meaning of the book for me. I became connected with Paul in a way and hoped that he and the revolutionaries would succeed in taking down the machine-controlled nation. The novel, which ended in the society turning back to the machines they fought so hard to destroy, really was disappointing to me. I was hoping that Paul would succeed, even though Paul didn't full heartedly agree to everything he was doing.

The book itself, although having a point and making it very clear, was a let down for me because I had hoped things would change by the end of the novel. I also disliked the characters in the book, Paul included. I thought that Paul was indecisive and I saw his character to be weak in a sense. Even though he was finally caught with his cause, his struggle throughout the novel is understandable; however his constant changes in opinion bothered me. Like D-503 in WE, he believed in an ideal and didn't really want to let go of the hope and promise that came from that ideal.

Although the book was difficult for me to find wholeheartedly enjoyable I thought that Vonnegut's message was that of a frightful truth. Humans already are being replaced by machines and who is to say in the next hundred or so years that we are almost relying entirely on them. Like in HARRISON BERGERON, PLAYER PIANO paints a picture of a depressing future, but uses elements of dark comedy to give it a surprisingly believable quality.

Thoughts on Conrad's Heart of Darkness

Because Heart of Darkness was a disturbing novel on so many levels, I feel strange to say I enjoyed the story, however, I found Conrad's philosophical question to be interesting and therefore Heart of Darkness to me, is not so much enjoyable as it is a sad and possibly truthful look into humanity's depths. I found that the story mirrored my thoughts and opinion of Lord of the Flies. Although the book as a whole was disturbing and almost painful to think about both Conrad and Golding made points concerning the evil in man, and I find that to be an interesting and possibly unanswerable philosophical question.
In a freshman thesis I described how I believed in the concept, the notion, that people were born a blank slate, a tabula rasa, and that society influences an individual and brings out the evil within them. As a senior I have debated this question over and over in my mind and believe to have drawn up a new conclusion. After reading Heart of Darkness and Lord of the Flies, watching films such as Apocalypse Now, and hearing of the evil around the world, I cannot think that society alone will flood a man with such evil, to the point where his humanity is questionable. Kurtz, in both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now are of course extreme cases, however although their state is so hard for me to grasp I don't think that it is impossible to exist. As I grow older I see things in new light and this is just one example. I now think that yes, man is born in a sense evil, or at least with the capacity to become evil. Humans or not we are still animals in a sense and given the right circumstance, I think that our primal impulsive instinct can lead us to the depths of darkness, where human morality ceases to exist.