4 Stars
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?"
No comments:
Post a Comment