Player Piano

As I look back on Vonnegut's Player Piano, I happen to come across something I hadn't given much thought to while I was reading the novel. Noticeably missing from this attempt at a utopian America was the strong presence of any female characters. This America is clearly a patriarchal society. All men run the major corporations and machines, and women are not participants in the games at the Meadows, nor are they even allowed on the same island with the men. Although betrayal is the main downfall of this utopian society, I believe the lack of femininity also plays a role. Women don't necessarily need to be running the works, however, they seem to have barely any type of role in the society. This seems to prove that there is a balance necessary, one between the strong, toughness of men and the softness and sensitivity of females. Just how it is best for a child to be raised by both a mother and father, to generally obtain the toughness from their father and sensitivity from their mother. When a child does something wrong, they admit it to their mother first, knowing she will not punish them as harshly as the father. This is simply nature, the reason why men and women are so different. It certain situations it is to one's advantage to be tough and perhaps, thick-skinned, yet it is also imperative to take it down a notch, and get in touch with one's emotions. The men in Player Piano have been able to turn off their emotions completely and become machines themselves.
This leads into my choice of quote, "Anybody that competes with slaves, becomes a slave." (Vonnegut 281). The men in Player Piano have tried so desperately to create this perfect society that they are becoming machines themselves. They lack emotion, and are losing their human qualities, such as being able to love, and their identities because they are so intent on keeping up with this fast-paced mechanized lifestyle they have created.

Player Piano was definitely a book that I enjoyed. After reading The Handmaid's Tale, I was relieved to read a book such as this. It was a little lighter subject, and the ending was finally one that I enjoyed. The past books we have read all had very disappointing endings, but I am pleased that Paul stood up for himself and wasn't completely demolished by the society he lived in.