A Literary Analysis of Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut Essay

Rage Against the MachinesIn Kurt Vonneguts first novel, Player Piano, he brings up quite a few interesting points. His portrayal of a United States that has become a slave to its own ingenuity is somewhat entertaining. What really got to me was the fact that its easy to imagine people acting the way they did. As a reader I can see myself making those very same mistakes, and being just as childish as the ghost shirts, as conniving as Shepherd, and as manipulative as Rev. Lasher. Maybe in our society these people would have acted the same way, but if you look at their alternatives, you dont find that theres much left for them to do in their efficient and productive country. The society portrayed in Kurt Vonneguts Player Piano degrades and dehumanizes its inhabitants, robbing them of their dignity and literally boring them into sin. Theres not much worse than knowing, deep down in your heart that nothing would change if you disappeared. Going through life accomplishing nothing save for your continued existence is not much if at all for their meals, but would they be any better for it? There were so many labor saving devices available to the people of America. The country practically ran itself, and the people were left with a lot of time on their hands. An idle person, made so by some choice other than hisor her own, is going to try to do something to spice up his or her life. "A guy's got to have kicks or he doesn't want to live- and the only kicks left for a dumb bastard like me are the bad ones" (Vonnegut, p. 162). Everyone needs a little excitement in their lives, some kind of pressure. When everything comes along so easily, no work, no effort, then why not add a little danger and go do something illegal, who cares if you get caught, youd just end up sitting around,...

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