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Chapter 3
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
Anita greets Paul with a cocktail when he gets home. She’s dressed lavishly for the dinner at the Country Club, and Paul momentarily resents her for caring so much about his (and, by extension, her) stature in Ilium. When he asks where Finnerty went, Anita says she sent Finnerty down to the Country Club to entertain Kroner and Baer before the dinner. She tries her best to act as if she likes Finnerty, but she can’t help herself from talking about how dirty and unkempt he always looks. And it’s true: Finnerty rarely washes himself and is always wearing the same raggedy suit. When he lived in Ilium, he was respected by all, but he still scandalized the strait-laced community by never marrying, openly seeing multiple women, and driving a beat-up car.
The fact that Paul resents Anita for obsessing over their stature in Ilium further illustrates that he doesn’t care all that much about corporate success. He’s the highest paid person at Ilium Works, but this doesn’t mean he’s fully committed to the lifestyle of a successful manager. This mentality is possibly why he likes Finnerty so much, considering that Finnerty actively rejects the expectations that the surrounding society forces on him. This lack of conformity distresses Anita, but it aligns with Paul’s disinterest in all things corporate.
Themes
Like Paul, Finnerty used to drive a beat-up old car when he lived in Ilium. Although he claimed this was only because he spent his money on other things, Paul knows that Finnerty drove an ugly car to irk the other people in Ilium. This pleases Paul—while he himself isn’t “aggressive,” he delights in Finnerty’s behavior. Paul often thinks about what it would take to make himself happy, but these thoughts don’t go far. Though he assures himself that he “vaguely” knows, the truth is that he has no idea.
Although Finnerty is a bit more overt about rejecting societal expectations, Paul also gets a thrill out of refusing to live the way a successful manager normally lives. This is made evident by the simple fact that—just like Finnerty—he drives a beat-up car, even though he’s the highest paid person in Ilium. Still, this subtle nonconformity isn’t enough to make him happy. In fact, he doesn’t even know what would make him happy, suggesting that the life he’s leading has completely cut him off from his own feelings. This makes sense, considering that he lives in a society that focuses solely on productivity and corporate success, not emotions.
Themes
Lately, Paul has considered seeing a psychiatrist. He hopes this would make him “docile” and happy with his station in life. But now that Finnerty’s here, he finds himself wanting to do the exact opposite. Finnerty has always acted as if Paul has a secret “rebellious streak” inside of him, and though Paul usually ignores this, he now wonders if Finnerty is right.
Finnerty’s presence inspires Paul to be a bit more honest with himself about his own happiness. Without Finnerty in Ilium, Paul drifts along in a state of mild discontent, trying to find ways to become more passively accepting of his unfulfilling lifestyle—he wants, in other words, to be “docile,” or resigned and agreeable. Now that Finnerty’s here, though, he actually thinks about his dissatisfaction with life and the corporate world to which he belongs.
Themes
Paul tells Anita about the uncomfortable experience he had at the bar on the other side of the river. She listens patiently but doesn’t understand what the problem is—it sounds like everyone in the bar admired and celebrated him! When this fails to make Paul feel better, Anita suggests that he’s tired and says she’s going to ask Kroner to give him a month off. He bitterly says he’ll ask Kroner himself for time off if he wants it.
Anita and Paul do not see eye to eye when it comes to class division. Whereas Paul feels uncomfortable about his elevated status in society, Anita takes it for granted that everyone should respect powerful managers or engineers. This highlights her focus on stature, as she clearly delights in Paul’s position in society—so much, in fact, that it irks Paul, who doesn’t want her to play such an active role in his career.
Themes
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Paul’s annoyance with Anita quickly lifts when he goes to change for dinner and finds Finnerty stretched out on a bed upstairs. He’s supposed to be at the Country Club with Kroner and Baer, but he snuck back into the house after Anita pushed him out. When Paul asks about his job in Washington, Finnerty says that he quit because he was “sick of it.” Everything was going fine until he received his yearly invitation to the Meadows—a summer tradition to build company morale. Looking at his invitation, something just “snapped” inside Finnerty, and he decided he couldn’t take this life anymore.
Finnerty’s discontent with corporate life is intense. Whereas Paul feels a constant low-level unhappiness, Finnerty has finally reached the edge. The word “snapped” calls attention to this sudden change, suggesting that Finnerty finally reached a breaking point after years of discontent. This, it seems, is the direction in which Paul is headed.
Themes
Paul’s hands shake as he puts a cigarette in his mouth, and Finnerty is excited by the idea that Paul seems unwell. When Paul explains that he’s just nervous for his speech, though, Finnerty is disappointed. He admits that he thought Paul might be feeling the same way he felt—in fact, that’s why Finnerty came. Relenting, Paul admits that he might see a psychiatrist, and Finnerty, delighted, suggests that they skip the Country Club dinner so they can go talk.
In this moment, Finnerty tries to connect with Paul on a personal level, hoping they can bond over their shared dissatisfaction with corporate life. Paul, however, isn’t quite ready to do this. Instead of commiserating with his friend, he says that the only thing bothering him is the fact that he has to give a speech. But this isn’t entirely true, which is why he adds that he might see a psychiatrist. The fact that this makes Finnerty so happy further illustrates just how hungry Finnerty is for human connection, suggesting that the elite class of managers and engineers doesn’t have much in the way of camaraderie.
Themes
Anita enters and is surprised to find Finnerty in her bedroom. It’s clear she’s annoyed that he’s not with Kroner and Baer. And Finnerty, in turn, is annoyed that she burst in, so he tells her that he has half a mind to invent a machine that does everything she does, effectively replacing her as Paul’s wife—a comment that enrages her, sending her downstairs in a fit of anger. Paul chastises his friend for unnecessarily picking a fight, to which Finnerty says he’s not sorry. He then tells Paul to go to the dinner without him.
Finnerty and Anita represent opposing viewpoints. Whereas Finnerty is tired of the corporate world, Anita obsesses over the prospect of upward mobility, wanting Paul to do whatever it takes to advance his career. This means that Finnerty and Anita pull Paul in different directions—Finnerty tries to get him to renounce the boring, strait-laced lifestyle of an important manager, and Anita tries to get him to embrace this lifestyle. He is therefore caught in the middle—a perfect representation of his overall passive nature and his ambivalence toward both the corporate world and the idea of leaving that world behind.
Themes
