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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
It has been three weeks since Paul was first arrested. He has already been found guilty of “sabotage,” and now he’s being tried for treason. As the prosecutor asks him questions, everyone but Paul himself can see whether or not he’s telling the truth, since there’s a lie detector behind him. The prosecutor asks why he, as the alleged leader of the Ghost Shirt Society, wants society to take a “step backward,” but Paul cleverly suggests that true progress means reassessing bad decisions. He’s pleased with this answer—everything, actually, is going quite well, mostly because he has already rehearsed most of his answers so that he doesn’t have to lie.
In this moment, Paul argues that progress isn’t inherently good. For example, there are many kinds of technological advancements that would certainly count as progress in the field of engineering but wouldn’t necessarily help society move forward as a whole. This is why Paul suggests that it’s sometimes beneficial to take a “step backward,” arguing that true progress has to reach beyond the narrow confines of the technological world. In other words, advanced societies should be able to think critically about their own policies and structures of power. If this means turning back certain kinds of technological progress, so be it.
Themes
In the three weeks since Paul’s arrest, Anita hasn’t visited him in jail. Instead, she has made it abundantly clear to the press that she disapproves of his actions. She also announced that she’ll be marrying Shepherd as soon as she and Paul get divorced. But Paul doesn’t care about any of this. All he cares about is representing the Ghost Shirt Society. And this is why he’s suddenly disconcerted when the prosecutor in court takes an unexpected approach and suggests that Paul’s disdain for machines has to do with certain matters in his personal life, not with his belief in the harmfulness of automation.
Once more, Anita proves that she cares more about corporate success and status than anything else. She proves this by going back to Shepherd as soon as she realizes Paul won’t become the Manager of Engineering for the company’s Eastern Division. This perfectly exemplifies the way she prioritizes wealth and success over matters of the heart. Rather than choosing a husband based on love, she chooses based on the likelihood that her partner will become rich and respected. This lack of regard for genuine human connection is, it seems, the exact attitude that this productivity-oriented society has incentivized.
Themes
According to the prosecutor, Paul’s “hate and resentment” for machines come from his feelings about his own father, who was “one of the greatest true patriots in American history.” When Paul refutes this, the lie detector indicates that he isn’t telling the truth. Still, he manages to wriggle out of this by suggesting that most people are motivated by unseemly things—this, however, doesn’t necessarily invalidate their beliefs.
The prosecutor tries to make Paul look bad by comparing him to his widely respected father. His insistence that George Proteus was a great “patriot” implies that contributing to the American workforce is a sign of true loyalty to the country. This might have been true during the war, when managers and engineers specifically worked to keep the nation afloat while most of its workers were overseas. Now, though, it’s a little unclear how, exactly, devoting oneself to a company is a patriotic act. The prosecutor also tries to make Paul look bad by suggesting that he has projected his feelings about his father onto machines, and though Paul stumbles over this accusation, he makes a clever recovery: he acknowledges that the prosecutor might be right, but also reminds the court that humans are imperfect—a good way of reasserting the Ghost Shirts’ belief that there should be room in society for people to make mistakes.
Themes
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Paul makes an argument for imperfection, saying that, though people are often motivated by “sordid” things, this is simply what it means to be human. He even remarks that the prettiest flowers he has ever seen were growing out of cat poop. Before anyone can react to this, the sound of loud bagpipes and drums cuts through the air, and a brick crashes through the courtroom window. Outside, the Ghost Shirt Society marches through the streets.
Again, Paul emphasizes the idea that there’s value in imperfection. The current societal expectations don’t make room for this kind of thinking, since everyone is obsessed with flawless productivity. In reality, though, most things in life are full of imperfection. Rather than seeing this as a bad thing, Paul thinks people should recognize that there’s a certain beauty in life’s messiness—as suggested by the comment about beautiful flowers growing out of cat poop.
Themes
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