FREE ESSAY ON REPENT HARLEQUIN

REPENT HARLEQUIN

"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"
Harlan Ellison
The story, "'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 their a-grav plates, rising toward the Harlequin."
These people were so obsessed with saving time, that they would shorten their words.
Rather than say anti-gravity, they would say "a-grav" in order to save time. Similarly,
the systematic schedules of these people is shown by the "Thursday colors" that people
wore. They were so completely reformed that they had a set style of dress for every day
of the week. This used of diction illustrates how brainwashed society had become.
Furthermore, the diction helped distinguish between the three types of people present in
society. The men who served "with their bodies" was the populace, represented by pretty
Alice, who "want[ed] to belong, want[ed] to conform." These people live by the rules of
others, not thinking for themselves. The second kind of people was the men who served
with their consciences as the Harlequin did. This man followed what he felt was moral,
not what the Ticktockman dictated. He explained, "It's a terrible world," showing that
unlike the others, he did have an opinion on the society. The last kind of people
depicted through the diction in the story are the men who server with their intellect, in
this case the Ticktockman. He made destructive choices in order to remain on time and
keep everyone on task, though many were not necessarily ethical. He explained to the
Harlequin, "You've used up everything you can, and more. I'm going to turn you off." This
showed what a tyrant the Ticktockman was, and how he never used his sensitivity in making
decisions. 
Harlan Ellison used characterization to portray the lives of the three different kind of
peoples; those who serve society with bodies, their conscience, and their intellect, in
hope to help the reader better understand the idea of revolution and serving society. The
Harlequin is compared to other revolutionaries showing his impact upon society, "He was
considered a Bolivar; a Napoleon; a Robin Hood; a Dick Bong (Ace of Aces); a Jesus; a
Jomo Kenyatta." Just like the Harlequin, none of these revolutionaries came from the
ruling class, yet all made an impact. Also, they were thought of abnormal and strange
because of their con-conformist ideas. The "order" of society did not appeal to the
Harlequin. The Harlequin was a non-conformist, who spent an alarming "sixty-three years,
five months, three weeks, two days, twelve hours, forty-one minutes, fifty-nine seconds,
point oh three six one microseconds" of his life arriving late, and causing tardiness
among others. This "criminal" was merely trying to enjoy his life and descry others to
follow his lead. The Harlequin is portrayed as a hero through the eyes of the author.
Those who served society with their bodies included the ferrets, the loggers, the commex,
the mineez as well as pretty Alice. The society in 2389 was so infatuated with the
concept of order, that every day would entice a different color of clothing. These
contrary colors allowed the citizens to shop once day per week, which in turn created
more order. For had someone decided to shop a different day than assigned, time would be
lost and the "master schedule" would become delayed. The phrase "Ostrich-walking" depicts
the workers as emotionless and isolated in would which they do not understand. And, what
is not understood must be destroyed according to their ruler, the Ticktockman. Since
nobody understands the Harlequin, he must be destroyed. Ellison characterizes the
Ticktockman as a tyrant, who has no feeling or emotion. The Ticktockman is very
respectful of his government. Ellison relates his characters to those of Thoreau's
excerpt. In the excerpt, "The mass of men serve the state... as machines, with their
bodies." It is interesting how Ellison uses his creativity to relate his fictitious
characters to those of real life, where as Thoreau views the men merely as machines
rather than people. Ellison's descriptions of society and the people who inhabit it help
the reader understand that rebellions can be honorable if their cause is moral, as in
this short story. 
Through usage of imagery, diction, and characterization, Ellison makes the point that in
life people views those who think differently as evil. The Harlequin was a "dangerous
criminal" because he was not like the rest of them. By using these rhetorical devices,
Ellison get his point across to the reader that anyone can make a difference in society
so long as the person does not conform. With these three tools, the struggle between
punctual society and the non-conformists is brought to life. Ellison wanted to make it
clear that, "You cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."