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Doctor Lawson Shepherd
The Shah of Bratpuhr is the spiritual leader of a fictional place called Bratpuhr. The fact that he’s a Shah suggests that this made-up region is somewhere in Iran, since “Shah” is a title used in that part of the world (it was also used in Afghanistan until the 1970s). However, it’s also possible that Kurt Vonnegut simply misspelled Bharatpur, which is a real city in the Indian state of Rajasthan (though this wouldn’t make sense of the “Shah” title). Either way, the Shah is a powerful leader who visits the United States with his translator, Khashdrahr Miasma. The purpose of his visit is to tour the country, supposedly to survey the United States’s successful use of machines to create a streamlined, highly productive economy and government. As Doctor Halyard takes the Shah and Khashdrahr around the country, he finds himself having to confront many cultural differences, especially because the Shah assumes that anyone who isn’t in the elite upper class must be enslaved (or, in his words, a “Takaru”). Halyard vehemently refutes this, but the Shah’s observations about the strict hierarchies in the United States feel uncomfortably accurate, even if they’re outlandish. Toward the end of the Shah’s visit, he and Khashdrahr get swept up by members of the Ghost Shirt Society, who mistake them as fellow anti-automation revolutionaries. The Shah is last seen sleeping in a trench near a blockade after the Ghost Shirts overtake Ilium.
The Shah of Bratpuhr Quotes in Player Piano
The Player Piano quotes below are all either spoken by The Shah of Bratpuhr or refer to The Shah of Bratpuhr. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“[…] we’ve raised the standard of living of the average man immensely.”
Khashdrahr stopped translating and frowned perplexedly. “Please, this average man, there is no equivalent in our language, I’m afraid.”
“You know,” said Halyard, “the ordinary man, like, well, anybody—those men working back on the bridge, the man in that old car we passed. The little man, not brilliant but a good-hearted, plain, ordinary, everyday kind of person.”
Khashdrahr translated.
“Aha,” said the Shah, nodding, “Takaru.”
“What did he say?”
“Takaru,” said Khashdrahr. “Slave.”
“No Takaru,” said Halyard, speaking directly to the Shah. “Ci-ti-zen.”
“Ahhhhh,” said the Shah. “Ci-ti-zen.” He grinned happily. “Takaru—citizen. Citizen—Takaru.”
“No Takaru!” said Halyard.
Khashdrahr shrugged. “In the Shah’s land are only the Elite and the Takaru.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Shah of Bratpuhr Quotes in Player Piano
The Player Piano quotes below are all either spoken by The Shah of Bratpuhr or refer to The Shah of Bratpuhr. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“[…] we’ve raised the standard of living of the average man immensely.”
Khashdrahr stopped translating and frowned perplexedly. “Please, this average man, there is no equivalent in our language, I’m afraid.”
“You know,” said Halyard, “the ordinary man, like, well, anybody—those men working back on the bridge, the man in that old car we passed. The little man, not brilliant but a good-hearted, plain, ordinary, everyday kind of person.”
Khashdrahr translated.
“Aha,” said the Shah, nodding, “Takaru.”
“What did he say?”
“Takaru,” said Khashdrahr. “Slave.”
“No Takaru,” said Halyard, speaking directly to the Shah. “Ci-ti-zen.”
“Ahhhhh,” said the Shah. “Ci-ti-zen.” He grinned happily. “Takaru—citizen. Citizen—Takaru.”
“No Takaru!” said Halyard.
Khashdrahr shrugged. “In the Shah’s land are only the Elite and the Takaru.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
