Dystopian Society In Ellison's Repent Harlequin

Two minutes. Two minutes late. In the System, there is no room for diverting from the schedule. In “Repent Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison, there exists a futuristic, dystopian society in which time is of the utmost importance. Every minute— every second— is meticulously scheduled in order that the society may run smoothly. However, with the System being run this way, no one possesses the ability to think freely or have their own head on their shoulders. One man, the Harlequin, tries to change this. At several points in the story, the Harlequin performs capers and escapades of sorts, in order to add excitement to the citizens’ monotonous lives. Despite the Harlequin’s fighting attempts at altering this society, Ticktockman …show more content…
To illustrate, the instance of Pretty Alice betraying the Harlequin is evidence of her lack of conscience. As Ticktockman is face-to-face with the Harlequin, he informs the Harlequin, “A girl named pretty Alice told us who you were” (6). This act of disloyalty exemplifies Alice’s lack of morals and her leniency towards doing what is right for herself. Alice is clearly afraid of being caught with the Harlequin because of his negative reputation, and therefore she decides to turn him in and gain Ticktockman’s trust. She proves herself to be a cog in Ticktockman’s machine throughout the story, such as when she expresses her aversion for the Harlequin always “running around annoying people” (4). Through Alice’s actions and dialogue, particularly her betrayal of the Harlequin, Ellison conveys the consequence of lacking a sense of right and wrong; after all, her unfaithfulness towards the Harlequin ultimately led to the loss of his life. Additionally, Ticktockman’s structured, immoral character, combined with the dystopia of his society, aids in conveying the theme. After the Harlequin is sent to the Coventry and shut off, the narrator describes that “if that’s the way the system is run,” then that is the way it must be done “because it doesn’t pay to …show more content…
This is evident as the Harlequin dumps a myriad of jellybeans in the Timkin factory, and the narrator describes “a torrent of color and sweetness … entering a universe of sanity and metronomic order” (2). The word choice of “sweetness” compared to “metronomic” is quite intentional in proving that the way in which the Harlequin imagines what the ideal society would be like is superior to that of Ticktockman’s. The bright imagery in juxtaposition to the dark, dullness of Ticktockman’s society is meant to stand out and appear superior to the eyes of the reader. The author’s favorable undertone in describing the jellybean incident, in contradistinction to the System Analysts and Ticktockman seeing the situation as abhorrent, displays the author’s partiality towards the Harlequin-type of character, hence aiding in reinforcing the theme. In addition, the author uses repetition in order to emphasize the monotonous, metronomic life in Ticktockman’s society, and consequently manifest that the Harlequin’s type of society is preferred. This is evident ensuing the Harlequin’s capers in the Timkin factory, resulting in “the work [being] delayed seven minutes… The master schedule [being] thrown off by seven minutes” (3). This reiteration of