The Perfect System In Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano

Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano was first published in 1952 and it is his first literary masterpiece. It examines a dystopian society run by machines in Vonnegut’s signature style— satirical, deadly serious but at the same time, wildly humorous.
In Ilium, New York, people have no potential to be anything beyond a body with a letter and a number attached to it. For example Doctor Edward Francis Finnerty, a rebellious outsider with a brilliant mind and an old friend of the protagonist Paul Proteus, is an EC-002, the second highest engineer rank; in this world his identity ends with that number. Machines dictate human worth and create a system where autonomous will is meaningless and individuality is restrained. In Vonnegut’s fictitious universe,
machines are in absolute control over one’s fate and status. However, these are not machines with willpower, nor cyborgs; they are just computers that make calculations and base decisions on numerical values. For instance, Doctor Bud Calhoun is a genius at designing various gadgets, but computers reject him for a design job because him aptitude test score is unsatisfactory for this profession. The system that was designed to stimulate progress in reality does the opposite by depriving people from any opportunity of self-realization –enslaving humankind.
It is people like Bud Calhoun and Doctor Berringer, one of the managers at Ilium works with a powerful family linage whose position is a product of deeply rooted nepotism, who reveal the flaws within this “ideal” system.
In theory the machines are suppose to find a job that perfectly suits the each individual based purely on skill and knowledge rather than one’s social standing; however this is not always the case. One of the biggest problems with the system is that there is no ways to correct this error. The old order is skeptical of making any alterations to the system, after all this system was designed to be perfect. The system without any avenue for change only feeds the rebellious anti-machine groups such as Ghost Shirt Society full of rejected and misplaced engineers. Therefore, Vonnegut offers the reader yet another pragmatic outlook on humanity. Like any living organism, systems uncontrollably degrade. Only by accepting the transient nature of existence can one live
authentically.
The majority of the novel is set in Ilium, New York. The city is divided into two parts: Homestead, a living place for the lower class, and the Ilium Works, a place for the elite engineers and managers. Crossing the bridge between the two is like crossing between two worlds. As mechanization continues and machines replace more and more people, the elite class gradually shrinks and the lower class becomes bigger. However, the most important element of the setting is the machines themselves. There are machines in every house, in every corner of the city. They provide public services and make safety announcements; give haircuts and dispose soda; but primarily, machines deprive the people of meaningful existence and sense of purpose. Machines have taken over so much that housewives collapse in tears because a home no longer needs their caretaking. The machines do it for them.
In this “useless” world lives the apathetic protagonist Paul Proteus who throughout the story searches for the meaningful life. He is a son of George Proteus, a man who stands behind this “great” industrialization. Throughout the novel, Paul is pushed to side either with the giant corporate entity that runs the economy and employs him as head of the Ilium works or else to side with the Ghost Shirt Society revels, who are trying to overthrow the machines. His ambitious wife, Anita Proteus constantly pushes him to climb higher up the social ladder and uses sexuality as a tool of persuasion. On the other side, Doctor Edward Francis Finnerty, fed up with the system and rebellious by natures, quit his well-respected job, joins the Ghost Shirt Society and seems to do everything he can to bring down him friend Paul with him.
At first Proteus’s rise to even greater prominence seems certain.
There is, however, an air of uneasiness and uncertainty surrounding him, dissatisfaction that he never quite understands and that leads to eccentric behavior. Nor wanting to risk his job security, he is not yet ready to follow the rebellious step of his old friend Francis Finnerty. What he seeks first is meaning in his personal life and his marriage. Inspired by the humble lives of farmers, he purchases and old farm where he and Anita could start over and renew their love and mutual commitment. Yet, Anita’s reaction does not meet his expectations. She cannot fathom how one can give up the luxuries of current life and prefer primitive existence on a farm. Proteus’ disillusionment leads him to a decision to resign him post. But before he does that, his superiors request him to infiltrate the rebels thus his resignation is perceived as a part of the scheme to destroy the rebel forces. Proteus is later drugged and kidnapped by the rebel led by Finnerty. Deciding that Paul’s name would lend dignity to the revolt, he is put into position of a leader. He is eventually captured by the authorities and tried for treason. At his trial he finally openly embraces his belief that humankind has been enslaved by its own invention. The rebels manage to free him, and even though it becomes clear that the revolt will be suppressed, the spirit of insurgence remains
undaunted.
In Player Piano Vonnegut’s language selection is superb. Every word is used for a reason such as name he chose for the main computer in Ilium that calculates all the essential factors of economy and makes decisions about production: EPICAC. The word is incredibly similar in sound to the world “ipecac,” a substance that makes people vomit. With these little hints buried all through the book, he reveals his personal convictions about the subject matter. He uses detailed descriptions but doesn’t overwhelm with language and he has a tint of dark humor present all throughout.