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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Player Piano, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology and Progress
Happiness, Self-Worth, and Passion
Class Division and Competition
Corporate Life vs. Human Connection
Summary
Analysis
Doctor Halyard brings the Shah and Khashdrahr to Chicago so they can visit the family home of a typical Reclamation and Reconstruction Corps worker. The family consists of Edgar R. B. Hagstrohm, his wife Wanda, and his two kids. According to the machines that decided who best would represent the average American laborer, Edgar is perfectly average: his IQ is middling, his height is average, his achievements are neither unimpressive nor extraordinary.
This chapter shows that the country prides itself on the quality of life for ordinary, everyday people. This is why the central machines choose Edgar Hagstrohm—one of the most average people around—to exemplify the typical American lifestyle. And yet, the information that the machines collect about Edgar doesn’t really indicate who he is or what kind of lifestyle he leads, since intelligence, height, and professional achievements don’t necessarily make up a person’s entire identity. Nonetheless, this is supposedly the most efficient way of choosing who the Shah should visit, once again illustrating this society’s commitment to machine-led productivity.
Themes
The house Edgar and Wanda live in is called an M-17 house, and it’s the exact kind of house that the vast majority of working Americans live in. Each house is the same, even down to the furniture, which was designed according to the results of a national survey about what styles people like. EPICAC analyzed the results and determined exactly how the M-17 houses should be set up. One thing EPICAC couldn’t have known, though, is that Edgar—this exceedingly average man—is having an affair and, as a result, is unhappy. Edgar also resents that he has to open his house to the Shah. Nonetheless, he lets in the Shah, who goes through the house and learns about the various high-tech appliances.
This scene demonstrates that, even though the entire country is run by machines and computers, there are certain things that these tools just can’t do—like, for instance, gauge a person’s overall happiness. If Halyard (on behalf of the State Department) really wanted to impress the Shah, it would be better to show him not the most statistically average American household, but a household full of happy, thriving people. Just because everything in Edgar’s home (and everything about his life) meets certain criteria doesn’t mean he will positively represent the system. In another sense, though, Edgar’s overall discontent probably is a good indicator of how most people in this society feel.
Themes
The Shah asks why everything has to be so streamlined—what, exactly, does Wanda want to do with all her free time? “Live!” says Doctor Dodge, the local employee leading this tour. “Get a little fun out of life,” he adds. This perplexes both the Shah and Khashdrahr, who follows up this question by asking what Wanda actually does for fun. Wanda thinks hard and mutters that she and Edgar watch a lot of television.
The Shah and Khashdrahr aren’t convinced that doing things more efficiently is worthwhile. Everyone in the United States, however, takes it for granted that streamlining everything is intrinsically good. And yet, nobody really stops to think about why everything has to be streamlined, as evidenced by Wanda’s inability to actually give Khashdrahr a good answer when he asks what she does with all her free time. She lives in a society that celebrates efficiency over all else, so she just assumes it’s a good thing that machines help her do the housework at astonishing speeds. But she doesn’t make much use of her free time, suggesting that it’s easy to get wrapped up in the allure of productivity for productivity’s sake and to forget that there are other valuable pursuits in life.
Themes
When the Shah leaves, Edgar feels so guilty about his affair that he comes clean to Wanda. But this doesn’t lead to a huge argument; Wanda has known about the affair for a long time. Instead of arguing about it, she says she understands, and then she says that dinner will be ready soon (a machine has been making it). As Edgar and Wanda sit awkwardly around the table, the Shah taps on the window, peering into the house and saying “Brahouna!” as he waves at them. Khashdrahr stands next to him and translates, saying, “‘Live!’”
The timing of the Shah’s comment is darkly funny, since it’s clear that Edgar and Wanda are pretty miserable in this moment. It’s not as if they’re squeezing the most enjoyment possible out of their lives. Their streamlined household and efficient machines have done nothing to make them happier, and they’re not leading a more fulfilling life due to a lack of chores. Rather, their problems are just as heavy and upsetting as they would be if the family didn’t own fancy machines. This indicates that, as much as this society believes in the power of machines to improve people’s lives, true happiness has nothing to do with technological progress.
Themes
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