Repent Harlequin Said The Ticktockman Summary

In a letter to Stephen King, Harlan Ellison identified his works as “foursquare for chaos” and his preference to be acknowledged as a ”troublemaker, malcontent” and “desperado”. The Harlequin’s anarchist and revolutionary actions in a conformist civilization can be viewed as a reflection of the author’s self-characterisation as a maverick. Therefore, the text could be interpreted as an exploration into individualism and its rejection of conformity to societal conventions.

Characters can be illustrated from many of their physical and emotional attributes. From tall to short, too smart and dumb, there is an endless amount that you can say or tell about a character. Giles Corey, a character in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller undertakes an action he later regrets. Since he is comedic, a fool, and a stubborn aged man, Giles will face the consequence for what he will later speak about his wife.

Authors use characters and genres to develop theme. Sometimes different genres can be used to build the same theme. In the poem, “The Lesson of the Moth,” poet Don Marquis uses the protagonist, a moth, to teach the narrator, Archy, a cockroach, what it is like to have a dream worth dying for. Similarly, Daniel Keyes, author of “Flowers for Algernon,” a short story, uses the main character, Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man who longs to be smart, to develop the idea that it is better to risk to achieve happiness rather than to live wondering what life could have been like. Both the poet and the author use the main character in their literary work to contribute to the idea that risking something is worth even momentary happiness.

If the characters in the book are examined, including the narrator, it can be seen that there is only one characteristic attached to them, no more. For example, the only thing is known about the woman at the beginning of the book is that she has sex with lots of people and get in touch with people via sex. The only thing known about the narrator’s partner is that he is an alcoholic or about the narrator’s girlfriend is that she has gorgeous ears. Being unique with a characteristic is actually common on those unique people, in every human being.

Good stories have a conflict between characters, in which appearances and characteristics influence the conflict. In the story, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. The author has characters that have an appearance or a characteristic in which is beyond a person's control, to cause them to be an outcast. The characters that have this appearance or characteristics is Crooks, Curley's wife, and Lennie.

In addition to the use of symbolism, Ellison utilizes visual imagery to illustrate examples of corruption and the Harlequin’s role in inciting rebellion. One example, of visual imagery is when the Harlequin is described as having “an elfish grin spread across his tanned features, and his dimples appeared for a moment. Scratching at his thatch of auburn hair, he shrugged within his motley,” (Ellison 3). In this example, Ellison demonstrates the awkward nature of the Harlequin, which contributes to his inability to conform to the rest of society. This predisposition to looking different than normal, contributes to the Harlequin’s thoughts of rebellion to the norms of the Tick Tock Man’s timely society. Additionally, along physical features, the

The story “en media res” to emphasize the idea that a man of conscious serves society best. The story “begin[s] in the middle, and [you] later learn the beginning; the end will take care of itself” (1). The story begins in the middle to contrast the orderly and concise society the characters live in. The protagonist of the story, the Harlequin, wants to change this society because he realizes how wrong the society is. The out of orderliness of the story help prove the theme because the author is supporting the fact that a perfectly in order society is not best for society which is why the Harlequin serves society better than the Ticktockman. Ellison opens the story with a quote by Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” to prove that a man of society best serves society best. The quote explains how men who “rarely make any moral distinction [,] are as likely to serve the Devil, without intending it, as God” (Thoreau 1). This references the difference between the Harlequin and the Ticktockman. The Ticktockman, unlike the Harlequin, has no moral conscience and therefore instead of doing whats best for society, he does whats worse. The Harlequin serves society better that the Ticktockman because he is a man of conscience. Ellison ends his short story by having the Harlequin

“Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman, by Harlan Ellison, takes place in a futuristic setting. In this time, the people are constricted by a master schedule they must conform to, and for every minute one is late, he/she loses a minute of life. The ruler of this era is known as the Ticktockman. He is the one who overlooks and governs this world with an iron fist. The protagonist, the Harlequin, is one who is very petulant. He constantly breaks the rules of the master schedule and eludes the Ticktockman. The Ticktockman attempts to make the Harlequin repent for disobeying law, trying to conform him to his commands. Harlan Ellison illustrates how conformism ultimately leads to the death of individuality through organization, characterization,

Walking down the street, there are always certain individuals that stand out from the crowd. Whether it be their bizarre hairstyle, their goofy teeth, or their impeccable style, humans will always critique and judge one another. Alden Nowlan’s story, The Fall of the City, introduces the main character, Teddy, as an imaginative and crafty individual— only for his self-confidence to be shattered by the defiling words of his uncle and aunt in mere seconds. Truthfully, all humans have an unwavering desire to be accepted and in turn, choose to fit in. Throughout the short story, Nowlan criticizes societal norms through the use of conflict and symbolism; ultimately proving that conformity is destructive towards society.

“Repent, Harlequin! said the Ticktockman” is a science fiction short story in which society dictated by timeliness to the point where citizens are subjected to death if they were to be late in any aspect of their lives. Much of the symbolism and the themes that are derived revolve around the archetypes of the protagonist and antagonist in relation to what they stand for and how they challenge one another.

Early in the story, Ellison establishes that the government in this society is irrational and has too much power. He does this through characterizing the Ticktockman, the dictator and the antagonist of the story, saying, “You don’t call a man a hated name, not when that man, behind his mask, is capable of revoking the minutes, the hours, the days and nights, the years of your life. He was called the Master Timekeeper to his mask. It was safer that way” (2). This description gives us an idea about how much power the Ticktockman really has. He is capable of maneuvering time which no one should have the power to do, proving that he must be overthrown. We also learn that he wears a mask and is hated yet feared greatly by the people. The Ticktockman is again characterized when Ellison says, “‘Don’t come back till you have him!’ the Ticktockman said, very quietly, very sincerely, extremely dangerously” (8). This shows how the Ticktockman wants the Harlequin dead for a simple prank. It also gives the Ticktockman a creepy and dangerous vibe, which should never be the main qualities in a leader. A leader should intelligent and outspoken. This shows that the Ticktockman is not qualified to be the leader of this society. Ellison also shows that rebellion is needed in this society through the

What makes a character memorable? A memorable character is a strong, generous, caring, and independent person in a story, and is someone that everyone can remember at the top of one's head. A character becomes memorable when they do something important or outgoing that reminds the reader of their noble characteristics. In the story “The Warriors” by Anna Lee Walters, the memorable character Uncle Ralph is a man who enjoys teaching his nieces about Pawnee culture and brings meat when he comes over to show respect. He likes to keep his Pawnee tradition and hopes his nieces will too, so he helps them learn a few words. Throughout the story, Uncle Ralph begins to drink alcohol, causing him problems with his family. His sister, undoubtedly kicks him out of her house, telling him he needs to recover to be able and come back to visit. As a result of this, he becomes a hobo. The author brings Uncle Ralph to life by showing his strengths, weaknesses, and background pride.

In a short story the personality and character traits can either make or break the story. Learning from the stories read in the series of short stories in class, characters play a vital role in a short story. If someone were to change a mental or moral qualities of a character in the short story the short story would become a different story. Some examples of if a character were to change the story would be different is in the stories Gorilla My Love, 20/20, and Good People. Everything component has a reason it’s there in a short story and the characters help tell what that exact reason

The hogs and men are presented with images of mud further reinforcing the portrayal of a backwards society. For example, “you’d see a muddy sow and a litter of pigs come lazing along the street… And she’d stretch out, and shut her eyes… and looked as happy as if she was on salary” (Twain 129). The hogs and their ways are a metaphor for the lazy citizens of Bricksville who do not do an honest day’s work. While at first this metaphor may appear unfair, Huck’s disgust with the town makes more sense when he reveals the sadistic nature of its lazy inhabitants. “There couldn’t anything wake them up all over, and make them happy all over, like a dogfight – unless it might be putting turpentine on a stray dog and setting fire to him, or tying a tin pan to this tail and see him run himself to death” (Twain 129). Given the natural antagonism between pigs and dogs, the sentence reinforces the idea that the hogs are a metaphor for the population of Bricksville. However, the sentence also serves to explain Huck’s disdain toward the townspeople who seem to only come out of their slothful state when there is an opportunity for bloodlust directed at someone

The absurdity of the story is further satirized by detailing the events that criminalise tardiness, punishable by death. Also, the fact that ““Repent, Harlequin!” said the Ticktockman” was set in a utopia where everything works perfectly and everyone is on time is ironic. Underneath the façade of efficiency, order and punctuality, the irony is that the people were in fact living in a dystopia. This is characterised by the strict regimen that took away people’s freedom by extension of not being able to be tardy. Also, unlike conventional heroes who would probably rally people to their cause or attack the dictator directly, the Harlequin revolts by wasting people’s