Previous
Chapter 4
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
At the Country Club, eager young engineers enthusiastically greet Paul and Anita. Kroner greets Paul in a way that makes him feel like a child, but Paul always feels this way around Kroner—possibly because Kroner was best friends with Paul’s father. Baer, on the other hand, babbles on and on. He’s an extremely excitable man who is, despite his casual demeanor, the most skilled engineer in the entire Eastern Division. Kroner and Baer are inseparable: Baer contains a wealth of knowledge about technology, and Kroner provides unfailing faith in the company and its objectives.
This dinner at the Country Club sheds light on the power dynamics that exist in Paul’s corporate life. The young engineers, for example, are anxious to greet Paul because they know he’s important, so they’re just trying to look good. Kroner, on the other hand, occupies an even more powerful position—one that makes Paul feel insignificant and childish. Baer, for his part, talks so extensively that it’s hard to believe he’s actually trying to connect with anyone. In fact, it doesn’t seem like there’s any true camaraderie in this environment all, suggesting that the corporate world in which Paul lives is full of superficial relationships.
Themes
Baer lets slip that he and Kroner heard Paul was having trouble with his “nerves.” Paul denies this, and when Anita asks who made this claim, Bear blurts out that it was Doctor Shepherd, though Kroner quickly insists that Baer must be mistaken: according to Kroner, Shepherd said no such thing. Shepherd is standing nearby, and the back of his neck goes bright red when he hears this conversation. He discreetly slips out of the Country Club and onto the golf course.
This awkward moment confirms a suspicion Paul had earlier in the day: namely, that Shepherd had called out sick in order to meet with people like Kroner in an attempt to get transferred out from under Paul. Paul and Shepherd started working at Ilium Works at the same time, collaborating on projects like the one they completed with Rudy Hertz. Now, though, it’s clear that Shepherd’s competitive spirit has overtaken any kind of friendship they may have had—a sign that Paul’s work environment breeds competition and rivalry instead of friendship and kindness.
Themes
A group of young engineers stands in front of Paul. Their leader, Paul Berringer, isn’t very intelligent, but he comes from a wealthy family and is the son of a well-respected engineer. Berringer challenges Paul to a game of checkers after dinner, which is a yearly tradition. Paul is the reigning checker champion of Ilium, and each year a different young engineer thinks he can beat him and take away the title. Kroner and Baer love this competitive spirit, so Paul indulges it. This year, though, he can tell things will be a little different, since Berringer says that he won’t really be playing alone against Paul. Still, Paul remains confident and accepts the challenge.
Themes
Seated at the dinner table, there are 27 managers and engineers. There are also two empty places belonging to Finnerty and Shepherd. Paul is disappointed in his reunion with Finnerty and hopes he doesn’t see him for a while. He’s not sure what he thought he’d get out of seeing his old friend, but he thought maybe Finnerty would help him get rid of the “nameless, aching need” that has been distracting him at work—just as Shepherd apparently reported to Kroner.
Themes
Get the entire Player Piano LitChart as a printable PDF.
Paul isn’t mad at Shepherd. In fact, he even gets up from the dinner table to go find him, hoping to lure him back to the party. Following him onto the golf course, Anita begs Paul to turn around, since she thinks he should let Shepherd suffer. After all, Shepherd clearly told Kroner and Baer about Paul’s nerves in an attempt to undermine him and secure the Pittsburgh job for himself. Thus, Anita thinks Paul should let Shepherd worry for a while, wanting him to think Paul might fire him for what he’s done. Instead, Paul politely tries to coax him back to the Club.
Themes
Shepherd seems to want Paul to be mad, but Paul refuses to get wrapped up in a big ordeal—this would only play into Shepherd’s love of competition. Finally, he convinces Shepherd to head back to the party, though Shepherd refuses to shake Paul’s hand. When Anita angrily tells him not to gossip about Paul’s health, Shepherd says that everyone knows perfectly well that he’s right: Paul can’t be trusted with even the simplest machines, let alone the important Pittsburgh job.
Themes
Back in the Country Club, Shepherd claims to feel a little sick. To ease the tension, Kroner plays into this obvious lie, asking the waiters to bring him some toast to make him feel better. At the end of the meal, Paul gives his speech, in which he talks about the Second Industrial Revolution and generally states the importance of what the industry is doing. Machines, he argues, are working much better than actual workers ever could. The products are better, cheaper, and more widely available—an observation everyone makes whenever they have to give a speech about Ilium Works.
Themes
Kroner raises his hand and points out that one horsepower does the work of roughly 22 laborers. This, he says, means that some of the company’s large machines can accomplish more than the whole population of enslaved people accomplished before the American Civil War. Plus, these machines work at this fast pace around the clock.
Paul takes this into consideration but points out that Kroner’s comparison mainly relates to the advancements made in the First Industrial Revolution, when machines simply replaced physical labor. Now, after the Second Industrial Revolution, it’s harder to measure progress because machines have also eased the “annoyance” and “boredom” people used to feel while working as manual laborers.
Themes
Baer says that the benefits of the Second Industrial Revolution are measurable by simply counting the number of faulty products. Though this is true, Paul tries to approach the matter from the perspective of the workers. How, for instance, has the Second Industrial Revolution helped the people across the river? Everyone makes light of this, and Kroner jokes that those people never worked anyway. When Anita says they’re “reproducing like rabbits,” Finnerty drunkenly bursts into the room and says, “Somebody telling dirty jokes about rabbits reproducing?”
Themes
Drunk and unmannerly, Finnerty sits by Kroner, who wants to talk about the Second Industrial Revolution. Kroner remarks on the proliferation of vacuum tubes (a source of power), but Finnerty points out that the rise in vacuum tubes has coincided with increased addiction and suicide. While Kroner blames the war for this, Finnerty thinks that if there’s even a small connection between technological advancement and human misery, it ought to be explored. Anita finally puts an end to the conversation, suggesting that they turn their attention to the checkers championship in the next room.
Paul sits at the checker board, confident that he’ll win once again. However, he loses his confidence when Berringer and his friends wheel out a large, human-sized box called Checker Charley: a checker-playing machine designed by Berringer’s father. Paul tries to call the game off, insisting that he’ll never win against a machine, but Anita and the others convince him to go through with it just to be a good sport. Even Finnerty stumbles into the game room and, after inspecting Checker Charley with Baer at his side, tells Paul to play. In fact, he decides to bet money on the game, wagering that Paul will win against the machine. Berringer and Shepherd take him up on this bet.
Themes
After several moves, Paul is surprised that he’s able to take one of Checker Charley’s pieces. He assumes this is because the machine is using an advanced strategy, but Checker Charley begins to make a strange, over-worked noise. Soon enough, Paul is winning handsomely, and Finnerty puts even more money on the bet. Paul is finally having fun, feeling quite satisfied that he’s beating the machine, which—to everyone’s surprise—starts smoking. “Fire!” yells Baer, and a waiter rushes in to douse the machine with a fire extinguisher. With a loud, terrible hum, Checker Charley dies, and everyone except Paul and Finnerty looks distraught, feeling terrible for Berringer and his father’s precious machine.
Themes
Beside himself, Berringer accuses Finnerty of tampering with Checker Charley before the game, when he inspected the machine’s backside. After all, how could Finnerty have been so confident that Paul would win? Because, Finnerty replies, he will always side with human beings over machines—plus, he saw that Checker Charley had a “loose connection.” Berringer shrieks that Finnerty should have said something, but Finnerty argues that Checker Charley, if he’s so incredible, should be able to fix himself.
Themes
On his way out the door, Finnerty congratulates Paul on his win, but Anita begs him to give Berringer and Shepherd their money back. She complains that it isn’t fair for Finnerty to keep their money. And then, much to everyone’s surprise, Paul loses control and starts laughing. This delights Finnerty, who announces that he’s headed back to Paul and Anita’s house for the night.
Themes
