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Chapter 32
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
Halyard rides through Ilium with the Shah and Khashdrahr, who can sense that his social status has diminished ever since he came back from the Cornell gym. He miserably failed the fitness test and has been stripped of his title. As the limousine passes through Ilium, Khashdrahr remembers when a Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps member spit in Halyard’s face, but Halyard quickly assures him this was an isolated incident. The Shah and Khashdrahr could travel the entire country for 100 years and never see an “outburst” like that again. Shortly after he says this, the limousine is forced to a halt by an angry crowd of armed protestors.
Halyard has lost his high position in society simply because he couldn’t pass a fitness test that ultimately has no bearing on his job at the State Department. This underlines the silly emphasis that people in this country put on arbitrary credentials. Although this system has been designed to maximize efficiency, it has—in this case—done the exact opposite: the country has deprived itself of a perfectly capable worker. Now that Halyard no longer holds his position, EPICAC will have to spend time finding someone new to fill the role. Given that this is an unnecessary waste of resources, it seems that the system isn’t actually as efficient as it seems.
Themes
The driver of the Shah’s limousine tries to make a run for it, but Khashdrahr puts a knife to his neck and forces him to keep driving the limousine through the angry mob. Halyard tells him to go to the courthouse, but when they arrive, they find the building in complete chaos. The Ghost Shirts bash in the building’s door and, several moments later, run out carrying Paul on their shoulders. Then the protestors—many of whom are dressed as Native Americans—yell out that they’re headed for the Ilium Works.
The violence and disarray that the Shah, Khashdrahr, and Halyard encounter demonstrate that Ilium has finally plunged into total chaos. This starkly contrasts with the society’s efficient, orderly way of being. The implication, then, is that mistreating people in order to establish a productive, well-ordered society will only lead to the exact opposite results: revolution, disorder, and mayhem.
Themes
Before the Ghost Shirts leave, two of them yank open the limousine door and knock Halyard unconscious. When he regains consciousness, the limousine is parked in front of the local bar, and the streets are barricaded with sandbags. As he tries to reconstruct what happened, he hears two Ghost Shirts mistaking the Shah and Khashdrahr for members of their own society, sending them to help block a nearby road.
At this point, it seems as if the Ghost Shirts have successfully taken over Ilium, at least judging by the fact that they’ve barricaded the streets with sandbags and are still running free. In fact, they’re not only able to muscle their way into the Shah’s limousine, but also have the power to sweep up him and Khashdrahr and send them to work on a nearby blockade—something they clearly couldn’t do if they were still fending off the police. Surprisingly enough, then, they have taken over the town pretty easily, indicating that, for all its advanced technology, Ilium isn’t totally stable or unshakeable.
Themes
As the Shah and Khashdrahr are escorted into a truck full of grenades and taken away, Lasher and Finnerty use walkie-talkies to direct the revolution, reporting that Salt Lake City, Oakland, and Ilium have all been successfully overthrown by the Ghost Shirt Society. Meanwhile, Paul tries to dissuade Ghost Shirts from destroying everything in sight, but they don’t listen—any machine, they figure, should be ruined.
This revolution against the machine-obsessed United States is surprisingly effective, as evidenced by the fact that the Ghost Shirts have already overthrown Ilium, Salt Lake City, and Oakland. However, Paul begins to see in this moment that it’s hard to direct a revolution, especially when people are so eager to take down the society that once oppressed them. Instead of recognizing that some machines might actually be worth keeping around, the Ghost Shirts run wild with their destruction, suggesting that people are at a breaking point with technology.
Themes
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