Lyzett Sanchez Professor Butera Lit110 Analysis of Short Story; ‘Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktock Man’ The story Repent Harlequin! Said the Tick tock Man, describes the satirical and absurd events that happen in the society. The people in this society are portrayed as having a future without hope. There are no smiles, no laughter and no any optimistic event to be happy for. This society is a classic example of the irony of absurdity. The writer adopts a bad quality of language; full of grammatical errors, a variety of stylistic devices and the theme of conformity. These elements work harmoniously to incite the society on the need to rise up against conformity and strive to create a better world that appreciates the need for a free …show more content…
society that respects even personal space. The mid- 1960’s was characterized with the utilization of time by the workers as tool for improving productivity in the industries. Workers were expected to adhere to a high standard of punctuality as well as utilizing each and every second in doing the expected work. This method invited a lot of criticism to activist who felt that human beings were being exploited by being used as robots. They felt like if they were slaves. This short story enlightens people on the need to free themselves from situations that imprison them in disguise of improving productivity. The short story was written in a very unique way.
The structure of the writing was made to match the theme of the story. He wrote his story by starting in the middle of his story and then goes to the beginning. By doing this he represents the character harlequin. Ellison says that the theory of time goes against individuality. The main theme of the short story is conformity and individualism. The main character harlequin, is made to oppose the rules of the Ticktockman. The regime requires the masses to conform to the set time standards by the master schedule. Harlequin criticizes the people who work for the state without reflecting on their personal lives. Thoreau supports this by asserting that such people who do not reflect on their personal lives are not more than ‘horses and dogs’ The two protagonists are in agreement that ‘true heroes are those who serve the state with their consciousness.’ The story depicts the society of the future as one that will value conformity and discourage individualism. In this culture, the productivity in the factories is dependent on the conformity of the workers to churn out products that rare of uniform standard …show more content…
quality. The language used is full of ironical details that greatly enhance the development of satire which provide a background of “what (the world) had become.” Ellison writes that the world has become a place that is run by a weird system of conformity that expects people to adhere to certain time standards.
This is in total disregard of the normal system of conformity that requires people to follow the set rules and regulations. The world has therefore turned into a Totalitarian community that is run by the “Tick tock Man,” and his clock (Ellison 877). The emergency need for punctuality in the future clearly creates an obsession that jeopardizes the need for freedom in conducting the day to day activities as well as one’s personal space. This in itself is an ironical situation because there is an unexpected switching of roles between man and time. Prior this obsession of time consciousness, man used to control time management but now, time is managing all the important aspects of
humankind. It is intriguing to note that Ellison has used incorrect grammar deliberately throughout the short story. This bad quality of writing attracted a lot of criticism from the western literary critics. The most recognized paragraph with a lot of grammatical errors is the one in which Marm drops jelly beans on a group of factory workers. He does this to create confusion so that the workers can stop working and defy the demanding rule of beating the deadline. This deliberate confusion of grammar is symbolic representation of the confused nature of the society. Therefore, Ellison uses ungrammatical sentences in the short story as a writing style. This writing style plays a great role of spreading awareness to the audience as well as connecting the audience with the story line. In a nutshell, Ellison’s short story “Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktock Man” is one of the most satirical short stories in the literary world. The deliberate and the consistent use of ungrammatical sentences, the use of irony to develop satire and the development of the theme the retrogressive nature of conformity which denies people freedom and personal space crafts out a meaningful purpose of the short story.
The concept of what is "individuality" and what is not has plagued and delighted man since the dawn of time. “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy adds 302 more pages to the pile of all the works that have been on the quest to define individualism. In this novel, McCarthy takes us through four faces of the key character’s life, John Grady, to portray the idea of illusory individualism. He contends that John Grady is simply a product of a society in contrast to his (Grady) notion of free will. Simply put: Grady has no alternatives but an obligation to conform to society. McCarthy uses him to create the platform in which to comment on oppression of individuality, expectation of conformity to the values of the society and the fact that the concept of individualism is a myth.
Thoreau conveys many points in his writing and a large recurring one is the state of society. As stated before, he believed that people are too focused on physical gain and modernization which leads them into desperation. He adds on to this belief later in the book asking that above all else whether it be money or fame he be given honesty (Thoreau 246). To Thoreau, the truth is more important than anything measurable in status. Thoreau believes that a minimalist lifestyle is a good lifestyle, similar to Mccandless. He speaks of how it is good that he can put all of his belonging in one pile in his yard because it removes the clutter from his life (Thoreau 85). He also says that his best quality in life is to want very little, because it keeps himself true to himself and keeps him from distraction. Thoreau also believes that every man should be one in himself not oppressed by the government. He says that everyone should be able to be themselves whether is is in accord with the government or not (Thoreau 240). He is essentially saying that the government should not be a part of people's life decisions only to maintain the
Throughout the passage many devices appear so the reader can have a deeper understanding of Thoreau’s attitude towards life. “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation;
The pace of life correlates with our endeavor to achieve success and upward social mobility. Every day we put up a fight against the clock as we try to fulfill our daily responsibilities and effectively run all our errands. Rushing to complete an irrational
Time allocation, or time management, is a trait that everyone is capable of. However, there are people who tend to manage their time better than others. People often find themselves wasting time on unimportant activities. The time wasted can depend on the type of person they are, though. Say there is a successful businessman. That man is less likely to waste his time doing something unimportant than a teenager who doesn’t have their priorities straight. In the story, ‘Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, Tom Benecke struggles with balancing the time spent on his work and time spent with his wife. In our generation, technology is all around us. Whether it be phones, computers, or video games, people are wasting away their lives doing activities
The Harlequin consistently challenges the masses, and interrogates workers, asking “why let [the Ticktockman] order you about?” thus challenging rule and common law (8). He suggests the people “take [their] time” and enjoy “the sunshine, enjoy the breeze, [and] let life carry [them] at [their] own pace!” (8) The Harlequin opens their minds to the truth, an old lifestyle, a nearly forgotten past, a time when men were not slaves. Ellison creates a rebellious man to voice his own belief that time must not control the lives of the man, but rather guide him to success.
The whole cosmos today is centered around the here and now. We thirst for everything to be done hastily so we can continue with our day. As a repercussion of that we tend to strategize our days in advance with activities to occupy
“Repent, Harlequin” Said the Ticktockman was written by Harlan Ellison. Ellison’s story depicts a totalitarian society about a character named the Ticktockman who controls and keeps activities running perfectly on time. However, Harlequin rebels against the Ticktockman’s rule in order to liberate the people from the Ticktockman’s control. Ellison’s story is viewed as a dystopian future because all people must complete all of their tasks in a precise time. The Ticktockman’s punishment for failing to be on time is decreasing the amount of time from one’s life. A totalitarian society should not exist because it degrades the uniqueness and individuality of its members for its own utilitarian purposes. Ellison’s story portrays how a person should never be reduced to their functionality by eliminating their personality.
The similes in paragraph 5 compares humans to ants and pygmies in that our lives are full of details and are very busy but at the end of the day these actions really have no purpose to them. By having something to compare to, humans are able to relate better and understand the argument Thoreau is making about human lives.
Throughout Thoreau’s essay, he expressed his opinions and beliefs on the importance of civil disobedience in a society. He talked about how one must use his or her moral sense, conscience, to decide what is just and unjust. From here, Thoreau urged his readers to take action, to stop the machine from continuing its lifeless duty. His call to action is if a system is prone to corruption, the people must disobey it. This means that personal endangerment may be needed to do what is right. Going against the status quo to uphold justice and ethics is the basic message behind Thoreau’s essay.
Thoreau writes that we should simplify our lives as much as possible, and that we should only worry about our own affairs. He then closes the paper by writing that he does not want to work any harder than he has to, but that he wants to use his mind to work through life. One of the many ways Thoreau keeps his life simple is he only imagines buying a farm, however, he never actually does so. Instead, he uses the land only to observe and write about the landscape. By not ever actually buying the farm, Thoreau illustrates his belief that everyone should live free of commitments for as long as possible.
However, afterward, people became accustomed to picking things up, meeting people, or getting on trains at certain times. As distance became less important, time became more important. It is this concept of time that has carried over to the present day. We are oriented around times and dates, from airline departures and arrivals to work schedules to social events. We no longer view the world as a big place that takes a long time to get from one place to another, but rather what time we will be there.
In the workplace, time management is an important factor in everyone’s day-to-day work. If a person’s time is well managed, it is possible to achieve a greater amount in a shorter space of time. How effectively people manage their time has a major influence on aspects of their working lives and their personal lives. Effective time management can have a hugely positive effect on a person, it can lead to a focused and disciplined mentality, giving a higher level of productivity, greater efficiency and an all round positive attitude in life. This benefits the individual, their team, the company they work for and also their friends and family. An example of this is an employee who prioritises their jobs at the start of the day; this gives them a structured day and ensures they have time to complete all of the important jobs. However, if time is poorly managed it can lead to inefficiencies, work overload and added pressure, this could eventually lead on to other issues such as stress.
The problem of time management can be said to be universal not only affecting students but also other people in careers. This problem is seen to transition from a person’s life from different cadres of his or her engagement specifically from home, school and at work. It is also a problem that is internal and not external.
(Claessens, Brigitte J.C.2004). adds that time “cannot be managed, because time is an invariable factor. Only the way a person deals with time can be”. Nevertheless, time management has become increasingly essential to businesses and organizations. This is especially true over the last two decades, as a result of expanding global competition and increased demands for the immediate availability of products and services. Given the increased pace of everyday life, people increasingly need to be more organized. Efficient time management practices support business students in acquiring key skills that will assist them both in their educatio...