The Perfect System In Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano

Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano was first published in 1952 and it is his first literary masterpiece. It examines a dystopian society run by machines in Vonnegut’s signature style— satirical, deadly serious but at the same time, wildly humorous.
In Ilium, New York, people have no potential to be anything beyond a body with a letter and a number attached to it. For example Doctor Edward Francis Finnerty, a rebellious outsider with a brilliant mind and an old friend of the protagonist Paul Proteus, is an EC-002, the second highest engineer rank; in this world his identity ends with that number. Machines dictate human worth and create a system where autonomous will is meaningless and individuality is restrained. In Vonnegut’s fictitious universe,
In theory the machines are suppose to find a job that perfectly suits the each individual based purely on skill and knowledge rather than one’s social standing; however this is not always the case. One of the biggest problems with the system is that there is no ways to correct this error. The old order is skeptical of making any alterations to the system, after all this system was designed to be perfect. The system without any avenue for change only feeds the rebellious anti-machine groups such as Ghost Shirt Society full of rejected and misplaced engineers. Therefore, Vonnegut offers the reader yet another pragmatic outlook on humanity. Like any living organism, systems uncontrollably degrade. Only by accepting the transient nature of existence can one live
There is, however, an air of uneasiness and uncertainty surrounding him, dissatisfaction that he never quite understands and that leads to eccentric behavior. Nor wanting to risk his job security, he is not yet ready to follow the rebellious step of his old friend Francis Finnerty. What he seeks first is meaning in his personal life and his marriage. Inspired by the humble lives of farmers, he purchases and old farm where he and Anita could start over and renew their love and mutual commitment. Yet, Anita’s reaction does not meet his expectations. She cannot fathom how one can give up the luxuries of current life and prefer primitive existence on a farm. Proteus’ disillusionment leads him to a decision to resign him post. But before he does that, his superiors request him to infiltrate the rebels thus his resignation is perceived as a part of the scheme to destroy the rebel forces. Proteus is later drugged and kidnapped by the rebel led by Finnerty. Deciding that Paul’s name would lend dignity to the revolt, he is put into position of a leader. He is eventually captured by the authorities and tried for treason. At his trial he finally openly embraces his belief that humankind has been enslaved by its own invention. The rebels manage to free him, and even though it becomes clear that the revolt will be suppressed, the spirit of insurgence remains