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"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
In a thirtieth anniversary edition of the classic, the Harlequin, a rebel, inhabits a world where conformity and punctuality are top priorities, and the Ticktockman cannot accept the Harlequin's presence in his perfectly ordered world. 25,000 first printing. IP.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1965
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3124 people want to read
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,076 books2,798 followersHarlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
March 17, 2023
The future is bleak… Everything is uniform… Society is thoroughly leveled by conformity…
Personalities are a danger to the state… One possessing personality may start doing things one’s own way… Everything is on schedule… Timetable is a law…
Not to follow the schedule is crime… And all the criminals will be punished… There is nowhere to hide… There is the Master Timekeeper – commonly known as the Ticktockman – he watches… He is vigilant…
The state doesn’t serve man. Man serves the state.
He had become a personality, something they had filtered out of the system many decades before. But there it was, and there he was, a very definitely imposing personality. In certain circles – middle-class circles – it was thought disgusting. Vulgar ostentation. Anarchistic. Shameful. In others, there was only sniggering: those strata where thought is subjugated to form and ritual, niceties, proprieties.
Personalities are a danger to the state… One possessing personality may start doing things one’s own way… Everything is on schedule… Timetable is a law…
And so it goes. And so it goes. And so it goes. And so it goes goes goes goes goes tick tock tick tock tick tock and one day we no longer let time serve us, we serve time and we are slaves of the schedule, worshippers of the sun’s passing; bound into a life predicated on restrictions because the system will not function if we don’t keep the schedule tight.
Not to follow the schedule is crime… And all the criminals will be punished… There is nowhere to hide… There is the Master Timekeeper – commonly known as the Ticktockman – he watches… He is vigilant…
“Don’t come back till you have him!” the Ticktockman said, very quietly, very sincerely, extremely dangerously.
They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardioplate cross-offs. They used teepers. They used bribery. They used stiktytes. They used intimidation. They used torment. They used torture. They used finks. They used cops. They used search&seizure. They used fallaron. They used betterment incentive. They used fingerprints. They used the Bertillon system. They used cunning. They used guile. They used treachery. They used Raoul Mitgong, but he didn’t help much. They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology.
And what the hell: they caught him.
The state doesn’t serve man. Man serves the state.
July 19, 2022
R.I.P. Harlan Ellison - thanks for warning us about the Ticktockman. In a future where time is used as a way to control conformity there is no escape; 'killing time' becomes 'chronocide' - looking at a flower can be considered such: don't you have somewhere you 'have' to 'be' so that the gears of society continue to turn smoothly? Because if you are just going to waste time then it is better if your betters just take it away from you. Contrast this with that old saying: "Mussolini made the trains run on time." But at what cost?
October 16, 2015
In a future where humanity has become obsessed with timekeeping and punctuality, a single mysterious figure tries to make a change, by wasting everybody's time.
Try reading that in a deep movie trailer voice.
“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman is a whimsical and satirical dystopian short story that won both the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1965. In this future we have become so obsessed with punctuality that tardiness has become a crime and the duration of your tardiness will be deducted from your lifespan. This law is implemented by installing a device in everyone, this device is controlled by a “cardioplate” which can turn off a person’s heart if his allotted lifetime runs out. The people’s lifetimes are governed by “The Master Timekeeper”, also called “The Ticktockman”, but never to his face. The Harlequin is a superhero of sorts whose only powers are his imagination and defiance. His acts of rebellion are silly public stunts that throw people off their work schedule and cause the unthinkable: delays.
“The System had been seven minutes worth of disrupted. It was a tiny matter, one hardly worthy of note, but in a society where the single driving force was order and unity and promptness and clocklike precision and attention to the clock, reverence of the gods of the passage of time, it was a disaster of major importance.”
The theme of the story is not exactly subtle as Ellison clearly indicates it in the text:
“We no longer let time serve us, we serve time and we are slaves of the schedule, worshippers of the sun's passing, bound into a life predicated on restrictions because the system will not function if we don't keep the schedule tight.”
This is a terrific little story, the prose is wonderfully stylized, surreal and whimsical. I don’t know how relevant the theme is today, certainly I am late for work every day and I tend to get away with it!
_______________________
Note: You can read this story for free online, just Google* the title. I don't want to post a download link when I am not sure of the story's copyright status.
* I am not sure what would happen if you were to Bing it!
Try reading that in a deep movie trailer voice.
“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman is a whimsical and satirical dystopian short story that won both the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1965. In this future we have become so obsessed with punctuality that tardiness has become a crime and the duration of your tardiness will be deducted from your lifespan. This law is implemented by installing a device in everyone, this device is controlled by a “cardioplate” which can turn off a person’s heart if his allotted lifetime runs out. The people’s lifetimes are governed by “The Master Timekeeper”, also called “The Ticktockman”, but never to his face. The Harlequin is a superhero of sorts whose only powers are his imagination and defiance. His acts of rebellion are silly public stunts that throw people off their work schedule and cause the unthinkable: delays.
“The System had been seven minutes worth of disrupted. It was a tiny matter, one hardly worthy of note, but in a society where the single driving force was order and unity and promptness and clocklike precision and attention to the clock, reverence of the gods of the passage of time, it was a disaster of major importance.”
The theme of the story is not exactly subtle as Ellison clearly indicates it in the text:
“We no longer let time serve us, we serve time and we are slaves of the schedule, worshippers of the sun's passing, bound into a life predicated on restrictions because the system will not function if we don't keep the schedule tight.”
This is a terrific little story, the prose is wonderfully stylized, surreal and whimsical. I don’t know how relevant the theme is today, certainly I am late for work every day and I tend to get away with it!
_______________________
Note: You can read this story for free online, just Google* the title. I don't want to post a download link when I am not sure of the story's copyright status.
* I am not sure what would happen if you were to Bing it!
July 16, 2016
The obverse side is today.
That title, wow. Something as elegant as that title promises so much. If you aren't aware, then I encourage you to read a brief overview about harlequins on Wikipedia.
My soul would be an outlaw. I can do nothing with it.
Today, in a time obsessed with everyone being special, does this even make sense? The zeitgeist associated with the author's plea of acceptance over rigidity and sameness is nearly the other end of the pendulum swing. Where people demand exemptions regardless of need to validate how special they are. The performance of individuality is nearly as ridiculous as the conformity Ellison was railing against in this story.
Anti-war, whispers of anarchism, state government oppression, mechanization and dehumanization, all are a part of this story, but it is not a call to arms. There is a playfulness and irreverence instead, disruption not destruction. There are many allusions to both the time period (1965) and other great works of literature that make this into a mixed-form with didactic social commentary and fiction. It is concise, elegant, and makes evident why Ellison was awarded so many honors.
"Who is the Harlequin?"
That title, wow. Something as elegant as that title promises so much. If you aren't aware, then I encourage you to read a brief overview about harlequins on Wikipedia.
My soul would be an outlaw. I can do nothing with it.
Today, in a time obsessed with everyone being special, does this even make sense? The zeitgeist associated with the author's plea of acceptance over rigidity and sameness is nearly the other end of the pendulum swing. Where people demand exemptions regardless of need to validate how special they are. The performance of individuality is nearly as ridiculous as the conformity Ellison was railing against in this story.
Anti-war, whispers of anarchism, state government oppression, mechanization and dehumanization, all are a part of this story, but it is not a call to arms. There is a playfulness and irreverence instead, disruption not destruction. There are many allusions to both the time period (1965) and other great works of literature that make this into a mixed-form with didactic social commentary and fiction. It is concise, elegant, and makes evident why Ellison was awarded so many honors.
"Who is the Harlequin?"
January 28, 2017
In this republication of an old story by the author, a regimented futuristic utopia is presented. It is so dependent on timing and scheduling that one resident known as the Harlequin rebels against the boring order in favor of spontaneity and fantastical practical jokes. These activities throw schedules and productivity of the society seriously out of whack. There is escalation on both sides as the Harlequin gains mysterious powers. I must be too jaded and dependent on plot and character development for this to register much joy on my pleasure meter. I remain curious about other more substantial work by Ellison, whom I have failed to read before this opportunity.
This story was provided by the publisher for review by the Netgalley program.
This story was provided by the publisher for review by the Netgalley program.
March 24, 2021
“The System had been seven minutes worth of disrupted. It was a tiny matter, one hardly worthy of note, but in a society where the single driving force was order and unity and promptness and clocklike precision and attention to the clock, reverence of the gods of the passage of time, it was a disaster of major importance.”
“Repent, Harlequin” Said the Ticktockman is a short story which was released in 1965 and won numerous awards. The story is set in the future in a society where time is of the highest importance and not wasting time has become an obsession, being even a matter of life and death. One day someone named the Harlequin, who reminded me of the Joker, comes out and tries to disrupt other people’s punctuality by wasting their time with what seem to be pretty silly situations.
The story’s main message is about one who rebels against the system, criticising modern society and its obsession with time. Harlan Ellison’s story is mostly a satire and attempts to bear a resemblance to Orwell’s 1984 in certain parts, though not trying to be as serious.
“Repent, Harlequin” Said the Ticktockman is a short story which was released in 1965 and won numerous awards. The story is set in the future in a society where time is of the highest importance and not wasting time has become an obsession, being even a matter of life and death. One day someone named the Harlequin, who reminded me of the Joker, comes out and tries to disrupt other people’s punctuality by wasting their time with what seem to be pretty silly situations.
The story’s main message is about one who rebels against the system, criticising modern society and its obsession with time. Harlan Ellison’s story is mostly a satire and attempts to bear a resemblance to Orwell’s 1984 in certain parts, though not trying to be as serious.
October 3, 2021
The masked Ticktockman rules over a dystopian world consumed by time. People no longer live for time. They serve time. They are ruled by time and the Ticktockman rules with an iron fist. Keep everyone in line, in time, and completely conformed to society. Enter the Harlequin - the rebel, the thinker, the iconoclast. He dresses as a clown and messes things up but in such a way that makes people smile as he disrupts time and the constructs of the dystopian society. He doesn’t agree that a smart kid should be kicked out of school for being late. He doesn’t agree that staying on a schedule is more important than living for oneself. He doesn’t agree that the government should be able to turn you off for being late too many times. So instead, he dumps thousands of jelly beans on citizens, gumming up the moving sidewalks, spreading joy to the masses, but also wrecking the perfectly balanced system of keeping time. The government can’t have this type of rebellion and so they must hunt him down.
Harlan Ellison paints such a beautiful and interesting dystopia. It has elements of 1984, even subjugating the heroic and silly Harlequin - Everett C. Marm - to the same fate as Winston Smith. Dystopias that end with the destruction of the hero have always been my favorites. They are darker, scarier. While 1984 is definitely one of these, “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman is similar but with a cheeky flavor to it. It makes me smile, even as I mourn for society. And that’s the point - Ellison wants us to find the humor in fighting against such a stupid system but he also wants us to see that fighting for freedom from oppression is necessary for our own sense of well-being. Everett knows he can’t live within the system. He knows he has to fight his own fight. He knows he will be caught and will have to suffer the consequences. But he can’t live any other way. Because what is the point of life in the service of time when you don’t have time to truly live?
Harlan Ellison paints such a beautiful and interesting dystopia. It has elements of 1984, even subjugating the heroic and silly Harlequin - Everett C. Marm - to the same fate as Winston Smith. Dystopias that end with the destruction of the hero have always been my favorites. They are darker, scarier. While 1984 is definitely one of these, “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman is similar but with a cheeky flavor to it. It makes me smile, even as I mourn for society. And that’s the point - Ellison wants us to find the humor in fighting against such a stupid system but he also wants us to see that fighting for freedom from oppression is necessary for our own sense of well-being. Everett knows he can’t live within the system. He knows he has to fight his own fight. He knows he will be caught and will have to suffer the consequences. But he can’t live any other way. Because what is the point of life in the service of time when you don’t have time to truly live?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2022
"Get Stuffed," he replied.
I was REALLY tempted to leave the review that way. I mean, seriously.
Of course, being something of a Ticktockman, myself, at least in certain ways, I shouldn't clap and cheer for the introduction of Harlequin's chaos, but I do. Oh, yes, I do.
So, "Get Stuffed!"
I was REALLY tempted to leave the review that way. I mean, seriously.
Of course, being something of a Ticktockman, myself, at least in certain ways, I shouldn't clap and cheer for the introduction of Harlequin's chaos, but I do. Oh, yes, I do.
So, "Get Stuffed!"
April 25, 2013
Roughly, imagine 1984 as a big-budget comedy with a lot of CGI. Oddly enough, it works, or at least I thought it did when I read this in my early teens.
April 7, 2017
What a title! That alone would deserve 5 stars - it covers the whole story with the result of the conflict between the main protagonists.
Full review at my blog.
Full review at my blog.
March 15, 2024
Don’t be late!
“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman, is another brilliant story by Harlan Ellison. It’s my third story of his, after I Have No Nouth, and Glow Worm, that I’ve read, and he’s swiftly becoming one of my favourite short story writers.
In a future dystopian society, it is forbidden to be late. The punishment is extreme, to say the least. A man named The Harlequin goes against the system that leads to a showdown with the enforcer of time management, The Ticktockman.
It’s a brillint story from start to finish. He has such a way with words. Effortlessly conjuring vivid scenes and without care for convention, his imagination was truly wild.
A Boy and His Dog will be my next Ellison to read.
“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman, is another brilliant story by Harlan Ellison. It’s my third story of his, after I Have No Nouth, and Glow Worm, that I’ve read, and he’s swiftly becoming one of my favourite short story writers.
In a future dystopian society, it is forbidden to be late. The punishment is extreme, to say the least. A man named The Harlequin goes against the system that leads to a showdown with the enforcer of time management, The Ticktockman.
It’s a brillint story from start to finish. He has such a way with words. Effortlessly conjuring vivid scenes and without care for convention, his imagination was truly wild.
A Boy and His Dog will be my next Ellison to read.
October 15, 2015
What a bizarre story, but in a good way. Aside from being hard to follow, I absolutely loved this absurdist/satirical take on how extreme order could create a hilarious dystopia.
January 18, 2018
A masterful allegory, albeit a fatalistic one, that resonates with every comuter in the world.
The 60's Hugo awards housed some prophecies that only became more serious in the age of social media.
The 60's Hugo awards housed some prophecies that only became more serious in the age of social media.
May 2, 2024
“We no longer let time serve us, we serve time and we are slaves of the schedule, worshippers of the sun’s passing, bound into a life predicated on restrictions because the system will not function if we don’t keep the schedule tight.”
Harlan Ellison is one of the greatest short-story tellers I have had the pleasure of reading. His collection ” I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” is worthy of analysis, just as much as this short tale. If this would have been written in the thirst after “The Hunger Games” was published, this could be considered a dystopian tale. In this story, people live by a time limit, and once they reach it, they are turned off, and that becomes their death, and the sentence giver is referred as The Ticktockman. Think of it as a more brilliant version of the loosely (very loosely) based film “In Time.” But there is one soul that decides to waste everyone’s time, for tardiness is a crime, and by doing activities that will disrupt the day, this “harlequin” is slowly making everyone loose life-time. But is he a hero fighting against the system or simply an imbecile wasting everyone’s time? That is left to the reader, and I am not sure of my answer.
“Why let them order you about? Why let them tell you to hurry and scurry like ants or maggots? Take your time! Saunter a while! Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the breeze, let life carry you at your own pace! Don’t be slaves of time, it’s a helluva way to die, slowly, by degrees…down with the Ticktockman!”
Harlan Ellison is one of the greatest short-story tellers I have had the pleasure of reading. His collection ” I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” is worthy of analysis, just as much as this short tale. If this would have been written in the thirst after “The Hunger Games” was published, this could be considered a dystopian tale. In this story, people live by a time limit, and once they reach it, they are turned off, and that becomes their death, and the sentence giver is referred as The Ticktockman. Think of it as a more brilliant version of the loosely (very loosely) based film “In Time.” But there is one soul that decides to waste everyone’s time, for tardiness is a crime, and by doing activities that will disrupt the day, this “harlequin” is slowly making everyone loose life-time. But is he a hero fighting against the system or simply an imbecile wasting everyone’s time? That is left to the reader, and I am not sure of my answer.
“Why let them order you about? Why let them tell you to hurry and scurry like ants or maggots? Take your time! Saunter a while! Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the breeze, let life carry you at your own pace! Don’t be slaves of time, it’s a helluva way to die, slowly, by degrees…down with the Ticktockman!”
May 27, 2018
Ich las Harlan Ellisons Erzählung "Bereue, Harlekin! sagte der Ticktackmann” im Kindle-Format. Ich habe viel von Ellisons Erzählungen gelesen und habe sie normalerweise genoßen. Ich habe sie schon oft auf Englisch gelesen, weil sie in vielen Antholgien ist. Diese Lesung war meine erste auf deutsch.
Die Erzählung wurde erstmals 1965 im Galaxy Magazin veröffentlicht. Sie gewann sowohl den 1966 Hugo Award als auch den 1965 Nebula Award. Die erste Buchpublikation erschien 1965 in Ellisons Paingod and Other Delusions.
Sie ist weitgehend eine metaphorische Arbeit mit kaum beschriebenen Charakteren. Sie verurteilt die moderne Gesellschaft und ihren entmenschlichenden Zeitdruck. Es ist ein ernstes Thema, ähnlich wie George Orwells 1984. Doch hatte ich vergessen, wie humorvoll die Erzählung ist. Ich gebe immer noch meine höchste Empfehlung, auch in deutscher Sprache.
Die Erzählung wurde erstmals 1965 im Galaxy Magazin veröffentlicht. Sie gewann sowohl den 1966 Hugo Award als auch den 1965 Nebula Award. Die erste Buchpublikation erschien 1965 in Ellisons Paingod and Other Delusions.
Sie ist weitgehend eine metaphorische Arbeit mit kaum beschriebenen Charakteren. Sie verurteilt die moderne Gesellschaft und ihren entmenschlichenden Zeitdruck. Es ist ein ernstes Thema, ähnlich wie George Orwells 1984. Doch hatte ich vergessen, wie humorvoll die Erzählung ist. Ich gebe immer noch meine höchste Empfehlung, auch in deutscher Sprache.
July 14, 2018
Somehow I thought this was a book of stories, but no, it is just the one short story. A fairly nice parable about resistance to conformity. Government has the power to shorten people's lives to punish them for being late, thus getting society to move smoothly and on time. Harlequin resits and is eventually brought down. But his resistance is not in vain.
February 27, 2018
A comically disturbing short story about time, time, time, the universe of time robots and the time rebel.
Read
October 26, 2023I read "Repent Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman" as Harlan Ellison's homage to Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron." Which in turn, I think, is a riff on the last chapter of George Orwell's 1984. Which in turn, I suspect, was influenced by Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Grand Inquisitor." Am I off base here? Read all four in a row and tell me I'm wrong.
Each story follows a similar pattern. Each describes a chilling encounter between a rebel individualist and the sinister embodiment of a tyrannical state. In all four, the antagonist argues eloquently for the necessity or inevitability of the state's omnipotence. He asserts its moral right to annihilate any and all dissent. All four stories end tragically, with the protagonist crushed, physically or psychologically--or both--by the state's ruthless and relentless power.
I'd bet there exist more variations on this scenario out there in the realm of fiction. Ellison, Vonnegut, Orwell, and Dostoyevsky all exploited it to produce stories that range from excellent to immortal. It's a powerful, perennial theme that, I suspect, will capture the imaginations of writers for as long as citizens feel threatened by their governments. Or, in other words, for as long as governments exist.
Each story follows a similar pattern. Each describes a chilling encounter between a rebel individualist and the sinister embodiment of a tyrannical state. In all four, the antagonist argues eloquently for the necessity or inevitability of the state's omnipotence. He asserts its moral right to annihilate any and all dissent. All four stories end tragically, with the protagonist crushed, physically or psychologically--or both--by the state's ruthless and relentless power.
I'd bet there exist more variations on this scenario out there in the realm of fiction. Ellison, Vonnegut, Orwell, and Dostoyevsky all exploited it to produce stories that range from excellent to immortal. It's a powerful, perennial theme that, I suspect, will capture the imaginations of writers for as long as citizens feel threatened by their governments. Or, in other words, for as long as governments exist.
August 6, 2010
I can read this once. And then countless times. And every time I do, it offers me something more, something different. It's an eccentric story, no less terrifying for it's rather interesting characters. A world where people are simply turned "off" when their time finishes - terrifying, right? The Ticktockman, if you haven't guessed already, is the one who does the turning off. Now Harlequin is the rebel character - only, he is a rebel with a cause. He spreads chaos (and jellybeans) and disturbs the general order of life - uniform life that holds the alternate world together. Keeps it functioning. There are so many layers to this story and you have to wonder about the genius of it's author considering he wrote it in less than twenty minutes. It's beautiful and I recommend it. To everyone.
September 3, 2016
I used to have a boss that would dock my pay each time I showed up late to work. I used to call him an untranslatable French swear word but, come to think of it, "The Ticktockman" is the perfect appellation.
Harlequin, you magnificent bastard, I wish I could wear a clown costume like you, drop millions of jelly beans in the streets and spread terror among the ticktockmen of the world. You are a true inspiration to all of us who have worked for a ticktockman at some point.
Harlequin, you magnificent bastard, I wish I could wear a clown costume like you, drop millions of jelly beans in the streets and spread terror among the ticktockmen of the world. You are a true inspiration to all of us who have worked for a ticktockman at some point.
May 18, 2018
Fun satire of Orwell's 1984.
December 9, 2011
I hunted this down after learning the Justin Timberlake sci-fi movie In Time was loosely based on this short story.
Two quick points before my review of the short story:
1) After reading this and seeing the trailer to In Time, I can't see how they are related at all, other than that their themes both involve the concept of time as it is related to people. It seems to be a stretch, but hey, whatever.
2) I say "I hunted this down" because this book is out-of-print and not available digitally (how the publisher did not release this as a Kindle book to coincide with the movie's release is beyond me). So, I found the entire short story on this website, which I don't really feel guilty about, as I tried to buy it -- physically and digitally -- first.
As for the short story, it's really great. It is an extremely stylized look at some 60's counter-culture talking points, but also works as a great sci-fi/dystopian story, and somehow also manages to have a steam-punk flavor to it. With tips of the hat to Henry David Thoreau, Robin Hood and 1984, it knows exactly what it wants to be, and manages to get there in around ten pages, despite having a long quote from Civil Disobedience and a lengthy run-on paragraph describing in great existential detail the experience of tons of jelly beans raining down from the sky.
Two quick points before my review of the short story:
1) After reading this and seeing the trailer to In Time, I can't see how they are related at all, other than that their themes both involve the concept of time as it is related to people. It seems to be a stretch, but hey, whatever.
2) I say "I hunted this down" because this book is out-of-print and not available digitally (how the publisher did not release this as a Kindle book to coincide with the movie's release is beyond me). So, I found the entire short story on this website, which I don't really feel guilty about, as I tried to buy it -- physically and digitally -- first.
As for the short story, it's really great. It is an extremely stylized look at some 60's counter-culture talking points, but also works as a great sci-fi/dystopian story, and somehow also manages to have a steam-punk flavor to it. With tips of the hat to Henry David Thoreau, Robin Hood and 1984, it knows exactly what it wants to be, and manages to get there in around ten pages, despite having a long quote from Civil Disobedience and a lengthy run-on paragraph describing in great existential detail the experience of tons of jelly beans raining down from the sky.
August 25, 2018
This 1965 story is deservedly a classic and a good introduction to Ellison's work. It is not a classic because of its theme - standard stuff about individual revolt against regimentation (Ellison refers deliberately to '1984' in the story) - but because of the way he treats it.
The story is actually very funny for all its ultimately grim subject matter. Whereas Orwell leaves us in a funk of grey dystopian British gloom, Ellison leaves us laughing with (not at) the same basic outcome because of the fun had along the way.
Watching authority being flummoxed and humiliated (by jelly beans at the beginning which is the middle) is always immensely enjoyable. Ellison adds to the fun with his manic verbal energy and some nice digs at Golden Age science fiction imagery and rationalism.
The humour never lets us miss the underlying point - the inhuman cruelty of pure reason exercised by bureaucrats following rigid rules to keep society in order. The Tick-Tock Man is a monster precisely because he is not a machine but a human.
January 24, 2023
I love this story. I remember Xeroxing it at the office when it came out, to send to a friend. Best Ellison ever? Won both the Hugo & Nebula awards in 1965-66. Times read: many!
Free copy online: https://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/cst1010...
" To his staff, all the ferrets, all the loggers, all the finks, all the commex, even the mineez, he said, "Who is this Harlequin?"
He was not purring smoothly. Timewise, it was jangle.
However, it was the longest single speech they had ever heard him utter at one time, the staff, the ferrets, the loggers, the finks, the commex, but not the mineez, who usually weren't around to know, in any case. But even they scurried to find out--
Who is the Harlequin? "
Who, indeed?
Not to be missed. And the price is right!
Free copy online: https://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/cst1010...
" To his staff, all the ferrets, all the loggers, all the finks, all the commex, even the mineez, he said, "Who is this Harlequin?"
He was not purring smoothly. Timewise, it was jangle.
However, it was the longest single speech they had ever heard him utter at one time, the staff, the ferrets, the loggers, the finks, the commex, but not the mineez, who usually weren't around to know, in any case. But even they scurried to find out--
Who is the Harlequin? "
Who, indeed?
Not to be missed. And the price is right!
June 12, 2019
Dystopian and resistance to authoritarian power is how I love my short stories. It’s a quick fun read.
September 17, 2011
there is no excuse for not reading this : short and clear and important, proof that a good writer doesn't need hundreds of pages to get the message across.
What's it about? Life, and how to live it ...
What's it about? Life, and how to live it ...
March 9, 2013
Love this short story!
February 4, 2017
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2777196.html
It's a very Sixties piece, about a future dystopic society where life is regimented to the last second, the sinister Ticktockman being in charge. One dissident calling himself the Harlequin becomes a chaos agent, playing pranks on both the rulers and the ruled; he is pursued, captured and re-educated a` la Winston Smith (this parallel is explicitly made), but at the end the Ticktockman himself is starting to slack.
The good bit is the writing, which is intense stream-of-consciousness and conveys vivid images. However, the story's classic status cannot disguise the fact that it has not aged all that well; in the end, the Harlequin isn't challenging anything very much, and his means remain somewhat unexplained - where do you get $150,000 worth of jelly beans? Algis Budrys commented when it was first published that it is s "primitive statement ... about [the] solidly acceptable idea [that] regimentation is bad." I was also struck by the sexism of the story. The Harlequin's first reported activity is directed explicitly at women:
"He skimmed over a slidewalk, purposely dropping a few feet to crease the tassels of the ladies of fashion, and— inserting thumbs in large ears— he stuck out his tongue, rolled his eyes and went wugga-wugga-wugga. It was a minor diversion. One pedestrian skittered and tumbled, sending parcels everywhichway, another wet herself, a third keeled slantwise, and the walk was stopped automatically by the servitors till she could be resuscitated. It was a minor diversion."
Hmm, triggering incontinence and temporary death is a minor diversion? If your victims are female, I suppose. Back to the Marx Brothers, I guess. Note also the not very equal relationship between the Harlequin and his girlfriend Pretty Alice, who also presses him to conform like a good spouse should; the Ticktockman later alleges that she turned him in, and one can see why she might have done.
It's a very Sixties piece, about a future dystopic society where life is regimented to the last second, the sinister Ticktockman being in charge. One dissident calling himself the Harlequin becomes a chaos agent, playing pranks on both the rulers and the ruled; he is pursued, captured and re-educated a` la Winston Smith (this parallel is explicitly made), but at the end the Ticktockman himself is starting to slack.
The good bit is the writing, which is intense stream-of-consciousness and conveys vivid images. However, the story's classic status cannot disguise the fact that it has not aged all that well; in the end, the Harlequin isn't challenging anything very much, and his means remain somewhat unexplained - where do you get $150,000 worth of jelly beans? Algis Budrys commented when it was first published that it is s "primitive statement ... about [the] solidly acceptable idea [that] regimentation is bad." I was also struck by the sexism of the story. The Harlequin's first reported activity is directed explicitly at women:
"He skimmed over a slidewalk, purposely dropping a few feet to crease the tassels of the ladies of fashion, and— inserting thumbs in large ears— he stuck out his tongue, rolled his eyes and went wugga-wugga-wugga. It was a minor diversion. One pedestrian skittered and tumbled, sending parcels everywhichway, another wet herself, a third keeled slantwise, and the walk was stopped automatically by the servitors till she could be resuscitated. It was a minor diversion."
Hmm, triggering incontinence and temporary death is a minor diversion? If your victims are female, I suppose. Back to the Marx Brothers, I guess. Note also the not very equal relationship between the Harlequin and his girlfriend Pretty Alice, who also presses him to conform like a good spouse should; the Ticktockman later alleges that she turned him in, and one can see why she might have done.
November 17, 2013
It must be nice, living in a society where there is so much order, rigidity and time-keeping, that people write books criticizing such life-styles. I'm sure it gets stifling after a while, but when you come from a country where there is anything but order, and the concept of "being on time" is almost never applied, it's hard not to raise an incredulous eyebrow. Try living in a broken, unstable system where you never really know what will happen next, and you might be able to see the more positive aspects of a society run on clockwork.
But that's just a personal and situational viewpoint. The book itself is brilliant. I loved the disjointed narrative and the Thoreau quote at the beginning. It's like a summary of every dystopian book out there, and it's an important message whether you live in a boring society or a post-revolution country. Never repent, Harlequins.
But that's just a personal and situational viewpoint. The book itself is brilliant. I loved the disjointed narrative and the Thoreau quote at the beginning. It's like a summary of every dystopian book out there, and it's an important message whether you live in a boring society or a post-revolution country. Never repent, Harlequins.
March 1, 2015
I found this really insubstantial, flat, and hamfisted. At some points it felt like the author was just stating the meaning of the book explicitly. It wasn't worth him writing this essay in the form of a story because he didn't seem to care about his characters or world (I didn't either), and his use of metaphor was as on-the-nose as it gets. After reading it I found out that the finished story was almost unchanged from the first draft; yeah, no shit.
Still, almost everyone else seems to like it so I may well have missed something, or maybe the generational gap of 50 years is to blame. If I'd have read this when it was released I'm sure it would've seemed more groundbreaking than derivative.
Still, almost everyone else seems to like it so I may well have missed something, or maybe the generational gap of 50 years is to blame. If I'd have read this when it was released I'm sure it would've seemed more groundbreaking than derivative.
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