“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman Themes

In the world of “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” society’s extreme emphasis on timekeeping and orderliness has resulted in an obedient, conformist population in which people rarely distinguish themselves from one another. One notable exception, however, is the Harlequin, so named for his jester-like costume. The Harlequin not only flouts the rigid schedules of the Ticktockman—an authority with the power to “turn off,” i.e. kill, those who fail to be on time—but also…

In “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” the Harlequin is unacceptable to society because he is an individual in a world that has effectively outlawed individuality. Even more dangerously, however, he is able to assume a specifically anonymous identity, which both gives him enormous symbolic power and puts him on a level with the only other anonymous actor, the Ticktockman. Here Ellison highlights the subversive nature of an anonymous identity in a technologized, informational world…

In the world of “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” the technology employed by the Ticktockman and his minions serves to both characterize and maintain their power. In particular, this technology allows them to control the populace with lethal force, and to ensure the productivity of workers and the economy. Ellison highlights the ways in which technology—including industrial technology and timekeeping, along with their resultant emphasis on productivity and uniformity—can lead a society toward totalitarianism and…