Destructive Effects of Human Creation: On ​Player Piano​ and ​The Bluest Eye

“Can we genuinely say that we are the controller of our own creations?” When asking

about what humans have created so far, technology would probably be the most common answer.

However, technology is not the only thing that we have created. There are also, rules, standards,

trends, and etc. which tend to slowly harm us bit by bit. In both Toni Morrison’s sorrowful

novel, ​The Bluest Eye​, and Kurt Vonnegut’s reflective novel, Player Piano​, the writers clarify

the social issue of human destruction from their own creation.

Technology are taking control over humanity​. In ​Player Piano,​ the setting takes place in

the future America, where human workers who create errors are replaced with machines which

can work flawlessly and efficiently. As in chapter 3, when Rudy says, “Makes you feel kind of

creepy, don't it, Doctor, watching them keys go up and down? You can almost see a ghost sitting

there playing his heart out"(p. 32). This shows the connection to the title “Player Piano” which

refers to the piano machine that can play a perfect melody by itself as if there was a professional

pianist plays on the keys as they are moving up and down. The piano can play itself a great

melody without requiring anyone to play on it, so that may decrease our skills and the need to

even learn how to play the piano, or any other instruments. In the future, people might not need

to be capable of doing anything because technology has already provided for them. At that time,

people will become the most useless organism of all because of their incapability of doing things

if there is no technology to support them. Additionally, towards the end of chapter 29, Lasher

says, "The machines are to practically everybody what the white men were to the Indians. People

are finding that, because of the way the machines are changing the world, more and more of their

old values don't apply anymore. People have no choice but to become second-rate machines
themselves, or wards of the machines.” (p. 289-90) This outline the comparison between the

advancement of technology and humanity. Vonnegut even compares technology to the white and

humanity to black which represents how advance the machinery are comparing to the people

who still constantly make errors and deficits in businesses. Therefore, industry no longer want

human who create deficits by creating many errors in businesses to the degree that people have

no choice except becoming slaves of the machines. Nowadays, more efficiency can be generated

from computers that are now involved in both heavy and light tasks instead of actual workers,

causing more people to lose their jobs and feel less eager to even try to overcome these smart

computers. This illustrates how technology can genuinely take control over humanity

considering how people tends to rely more and more on them to serve both human needs and

wants in the most efficient way. Now, the machine can do everything, on the other hand, ​people

are losing their ability to achieve complicated tasks unlike the machines. Workers still continue

on creating more rejects than machines, but only the technology is developing, not the people.

Technological advancement indeed is something that can obstruct humans from their own

development, however, the same idea can be applied to the standards that human have created

and raises over time .

In ​Player Piano​, people with no degree or less IQ have no chance to apply for the higher

job positions which lowers the value in the hardship of working, making people feel even more

useless and incapable. ​This idea is revealed when Paul, the protagonist, sit and have a

conversation with a man who is desperately trying to bait Paul to give his son, who does not have

a degree but possibly have good hands on machinery, a way to get a position in the plant, where

all the smart people like engineers and doctors are working. This scene takes place in chapter 3,
when Paul responds, “He’s got to have a graduate degree…That’s policy, and I didn’t make it.

Sometimes we get Reconstruction and Reclamation people over to help put in big machines or

do heavy repair job, but not very often. Maybe he could open a repair shop” (p. 31). This

interprets how the world judges people without actually seeing their true value. People simply

think that just a few factors are already enough to determine the actual value of the other person,

in spite the fact that everyone is different and they are good at various things. It was also

mentioned in the text that people needed to go through tests to get their scores, and those scores

will determine their job whether they passed or they failed to get the job. Furthermore, the reason

why some people do not have degree or high educational level might be that they do not have

enough earnings to support their child, even if the child have high IQ, this system will go on in a

loop. The ones who are rich, stays rich, despite that, the poor remains poor. Also, people with

higher IQ will always get the job while the ones who have lower IQ will basically have no hope

even though they try so hard​. This can be seen in the respond to quote above in chapter 3, “The

man exhaled, slumped dejectedly. ‘Repair shop,’ he sighed. ‘Repair shop, he says.

How many repair shops do you think Illium can support, eh? Repair shop, sure! I was going to

open one when I got laid off. So was Joe, so was Sam, so was Alf. We’re all clever with our

hands, so we’ll all open repair shops. One repairman for every broken article in Illium.

Meanwhile, our wives clean up as dressmakers—one dressmaker for every woman in town.’”(p.

31) ​This depicts the hopelessness in people that hold lower standards in society which

unfortunately seems to populate more than the ones who actually reached the standards and

requirements of high position jobs. The quote emphasizes on the insignificance of effort

considering many different names that are mentioned and how they are all described as people
who are ‘clever’ with their hands, however, even though the people that are mentioned are

capable of the job, if they do not have a degree they are still doom. This also outlines the

insignificance of the value in hardships of working because people with higher IQ or degree or

status, could have just gain their position without much effort needed, so this would make those

people, a ‘not so desperate’ person in terms of working since the job comes into their hands so

easily. On the other hand, the ones who try hard but have lower IQ or lower level of education or

degree will become hopeless towards their goals in life and soon became someone who also do

not value the hardship in working since they work so hard yet, they still do not get the job, but

the effortless one did instead. Standards of job and education are not the only one to to lead

people into disdain, physical looks also have a significant part in this matter.

Appearances standards introduce people in society directly to discrimination, while

discrimination leads the victims into negative acts. Physical appearances certainly plays an

important role in society nowadays. Whether a person are fat, thin, black, or white, they could

still feel insecure no matter how much confidence they have in themselves. In The Bluest Eye​,

towards the middle of the story, Maureen a girl who just became friends with the three coloured

girls, Pecola, Claudia, and Frieda, has betrayed their hope that she might possibly be a nice

person to be friendly with Pecola. However, after encountering an event where the Bay Boy are

insulting the three girls, Maureen later on argued with the girls. Maureen screamed, “I am cute!

And you ugly! Black and ugly black e mos. I am cute!”(p. 73) this scene illustrates the society

very well on how racist someone can be towards each other and how people use appearances to

attract other people. At first, Maureen, being a white girl made her look more appealing based on

how the society in the text says, she looks friendly and nice with those blue eyes and everything.
Despite this fact, Morrison could possibly be referring to how the looks are not all that will get

you to know a person. People cannot judge each other by just looking at them on the cover, like

the saying, “Don’t judge the book by its cover”. Furthermore, discrimination can leads the

victims into violence acts or even depression. For example, stated in the beginning of chapter 2,

“But the dismembering of dolls was not the true horror. The truly horrifying thing was the

transference of the same impulses to little white girls…. What made people look at them and say,

‘Awwwww,’ but not for me?”(p. 22). In this scene, Claudia is talking about how she got the

most loving dolls of all, the ‘blue-eyed’ ‘white’ dolls. The adult tells her how precious the doll

and that gets her in rage. Since, she is basically the opposite of the doll, her skin is not white and

her eyes are not blue. Her hatred grew much stronger that she ripped the doll opened and

completely destroy it and all the adult felt was basically, “What is wrong with you, that doll is so

precious, why did you destroy it?” in which shows neither care nor concern about Claudia being

sad or disheartened, all they care about was just the cute doll. Nevertheless, this situation and

Claudia’s hatred that have built up might give a terrifying outcome such as violence actions

similar to what she have done to the doll or growing up with no self-confidence due to

insecurities that she have towards the perspective that the other people see her through.

In conclusion, people are soon becoming useless from the replacement of machinery.

People feel even more powerless and insecure while the standards raise higher and higher every

day. People should aware more of ​the actions that are to be taken in the future as its

consequences will directly affect them, i​n which, this may leads humanity into many possible

negative effects such as loss of self-confidence or even violence actions.

Reference

​ ew York: The Dial Press.

Vonnegut, K.(1952). ​Player Piano. N

Morrison, T.(1970). ​The Bluest Eye​. United States: Vintage Books.