Repent Harlequin Essays - American Atheists, Harlan Ellison, Repent

Repent Harlequin "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," by Harlan Ellison illustrates a futuristic society governed by time. In 2389, when the story takes place, man has become so obsessed with punctuality, that if one does not posses this quality, he can be punished by death. Those who become heroes and strive to save the world from destruction by the clock become enemies by the world because they are non-conformists. This is the case for Everett C. Marm, or better known as the Harlequin, who tries in vain to transform the unacceptability of the regulations. Harlan Ellison introduces to us the idea of serving society in various forms. The reader sees that many in society have transformed into that which society believes. There are many ways in which people respond to society, some follow without question and others do what they feel is right, despite the consequences. Ellison uses specific examples of imagery, diction, and characterization to illustrate the importance of reform in society. Ellison used imagery to display the Harlequin's rebellion as well as the societies actions and thoughts. In illustrating the robot-like lives of his society, Ellison wrote, "He could hear the metronomic, left-right-left of the 2:47 shift, entering the Timkin roller-bearing plant in their sneakers... he heard the right-left-right of the 5:00 AM formation, going home." This quote shows the punctuality of the people, as well as the organization of the strict society they live. The shift was not 2:45, but rather exactly 2:47, not sooner or later. In addition, the workers that were arriving took steps "left-right-left" whereas the ones going home walked "right-left-right." This allegorizes exactly how over-organized society was. There was so much control over the people that they no longer did what they wanted to, or what they felt was right. They automatically did what law said to, forgetting their own feelings and opinions on whether or not the laws were morally correct. When Marshall Delahauty had received his "turn-off message," he tried to escape. As he ran away, "his heart stopped, and the blood dried up on its way to his brain, and he was dead that's all." This shows the reader the extreme control of the Ticktockman. He had the power to end the lives of people as he pleased. Not only that, we are shown the insignificance of these people in society, which is seen when the author wrote, "and he was dead that's all." His death is portrayed to be insignificant, which is shown by the use of imagery. Society was so brainwashed that they were dehumanized as well. They no longer cared or felt anything for another human being. They death of a relative was no longer important. Furthermore, when the Harlequin spilled jellybeans all over the city, the people saw it as the most horrible thing, which is apparent because of all the commotion that it caused. "Jelly beans! Millions and billions of purples and yellows and greens...round and smooth and crunchy outside and soft-mealy inside...bouncing jouncing tumbling clattering skittering fell on the heads and shoulders...entering a universe of sanity and metronomic order with quite-mad coocoo newsness." Ellison uses imagery to clearly give the reader a feeling of being in the story, viewing the jellybeans as they fall from the sky. It is an effective use because it shows what chaos the jellybeans brought upon the machine-like society. Ellison would not have been able to describe this society without the use of imagery, because it appeals to the senses and allows the reader to picture exactly what is going on in the story with their vision, taste, as well as their smell. The use of imagery shows that the people viewed everything that was different from their daily monotonous lives as horrible. Ellison is showing us that we refrain from conforming because without reforms, no progress would be made in life. Diction is a tool used to show how society functioned as well of what kinds of people were included within it. In order to keep track of the populace and control the amount of life one was allowed, each person had their set of a "time-card and cardioplate." These were futuristic inventions that signify the control that the Ticktockman had over his people. In addition, many futuristic terms were used to illustrate how society functioned. From "slidewalks" to "coffee-bulbs" to "fax boxes," Ellison shows the manner in which society was managed. Furthermore, Ellison used diction to show the importance of time in the Ticktockman's society. An example is when the workers were climbing to their construction platforms "releasing