This Perfect Day Essay, Research Paper
This Perfect Day is probably Ira Levin’s greatest work of his
career. Levin’s work, despite being written in 1970, is very
plausible having realistic technology, such as scanners and
computers which watch over the entire family, the entire
population of the world. This novel could be used to show
the dangers of a Utopian society as well as being full of
anti-Communist and anti-racist sentiment. This Perfect Day
also displays the feeling that communist and segregated
institutions can be defeated, as the protagonist Chip over
powers the "family" and their vile Uni Comp as well as rising
above the segregated community he reaches after fleeing the
family.
This work could best be placed in an area of the curriculum
where it is the students job to learn that although everyone
might not be equal, nor should they be, they are still human
and deserve to be treated with the respect and kindness we
would expect to be treated with. This work could be used in
conjunction with other works of literature that display the
same ideals against communism and discrimination as well as
a lack of compassion for others. Other works that could be
used in cohorts with Levin’s This Perfect Day, are
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and even the
Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both of these
novels show the dangers of trying to create a Utopian
society and the chaos it causes. In Harrison Bergeron,
handicapping has become an American institution and it is
the governments responsibility to make sure that everyone is
equal in every way which ends up causing chaos and
rebellion. The Handmaid’s Tale shows the dangers of when
an extreme group takes over the United States after a
nuclear holocaust, with women being placed in a submissive
role to men, only being used to reproduce. This Perfect
Day could also be used in a section with novels such as
Uncle Tom’s Cabin which portray the evils of racism and
discrimination, just as the land where Chip ends up after
escaping the family, is very racist and segregated. He is
forced to endure the taunts and tortures of the folks who had
fought Uni from the beginning, yet he rises above these
bounds to return and destroy Uni Comp, thereby destroying
the family.
This Perfect Day begins in a land that has been unified
under, Uni Comp, a large computer that monitors all family
activities and controls any portions of their daily lives lies
deep in a cave below the Swiss Alps. The computer decides
on the work, residence, consumption of goods, whether they
will marry and if so whether they will have children.
Promotion of the family’s good is the main importance in any
member’s life. "Losing’s the same as winning" is one of the
phrases taught to small children. "Hate" and "fight" are dirty
words while fuck is not. Genetics has progressed to the
point where skin color is universally tan, while body shape is
unisex, and facial features are programmed, with most
members containing brown slanted eyes. The family is trying
to genetically remove such undesired elements of life such as
aggressiveness and egotism while implanting docility and
loving kindness in their place. While searching for the genetic
basis to these undesired elements, Uni Comp subjects every
member of the family to monthly treatments which contain
vaccines, contraceptives, and tranquilizers, as well as some
substance that reduces one’s sex drive down to only being
able to perform on Saturday night. All of this is watched
over by one’s counselor, one who watches the members
individual mental health very closely.
The novel starts early in the life of a boy named Chip, or Li
RM35M4419, his official ‘family’ given name. His
grandfather, Papa Jan had given him the nickname Chip.
Chip had always though his grandfather was a bit eccentric,
twisting words and displaying feelings that did not fall in line
with the rest of the ‘family’s’, Chip thought that his
grandfather might be a sick member. On a family trip to the
biggest tourist attraction on the planet, Uni Comp, Papa Jan
leads Chip downstairs, without touching scanners as they
pass, to a large cold room filled with large black boxes.
Papa Jan begins telling Chip how he helped build Uni Comp
and this is the real computer, not the pastel posies upstairs
for the tourists to view. Chip feels unsure because he has
lied to Uni by not touching the scanners and now it does not
know where he is. He also wonders why Uni Comp would
lie to them and why Papa Jan brought him down here. This
is Chip’s first experiences with anti-family feelings and those
associated with sick members. As Chip grows up, he
continues having thoughts that go against the grain.
Everything about his unified world seems strange and not
quite right, but these feelings are quickly suppressed at the
end of each month when it is time for his monthly treatment.
As time goes on, Chip explores his feelings, sometimes
putting off a treatment for a day or two so that he becomes
more aware of his surroundings. Eventually, a band of folks
like himself notices Chip. They too are dissatisfied with their
current lives and how Uni represses their thoughts and
feelings, as well as actions with it’s prescribed monthly
treatments. They show him how to act so that he can get his
monthly treatments reduced and begin to explore his new
found wants and desires. This band meets and talk about
how they wish the world were better and they also skip off
for un-repressed sex and to smoke tabacco. Eventually,
Chip wants more. He wants more freedom, and he wants
the leader of the pack’s girlfriend, Lilac. He eventually
explores, finding that there are many places in the world
such as Madagascar and others where un-treated people
live not under the watchful eye of Uni Comp. He also finds
that the leader of the group, King also knows of these
islands, but is too afraid to go despite his cool outer
appearance. Eventually, in a sudden rage, Chip is caught, his
treatments increased to normal. Once treated Chip admits to
all he knows and tells everything about the sick members
leading the group to be broken up and for all the "sick"
member’s treatments to be returned to normal. Chip lives
how a good member should, until the end of one month
when he spies a leaf on a wet rock and considers the
possibilities. He could make a small flesh colored covering
that goes over his arm and it would not allow the treatments
to penetrate his skin. What would happen when he was not
treated at all. He would be able to explore all of his feelings
to the fullest. After a few months of planning and calculating
without treatment. Chip sneaks his way to Africa where he
has found that Lilac now lives. He steals her away and of
course she resists, after she says some nasty things a few
weeks later, he rapes her which pushes her even further
away. But eventually as her last treatment wears off she
begins to agree with Chip and at first says she’ll only go to
the island with him, then they’ll go their separate ways, but
then she says she will stay with him once they arrive as well.
Eventually they reach the island and find nothing but
segregation and racism against those who were former
members of the family by those whom originally rebelled
against Uni Comp. Chip becomes dissatisfied with his life on
the island as well. He decides he will only truly be happy and
free once he destroys Uni Comp and releases the family
from it’s grip. He formulates a plan and a party and sets out
to destroy the true Uni Comp. The one that lies deep under
the mountains. He and his party set out, but are tricked by
one member of the party who really was a spy. He takes
them deep into the mountains where they meet the
programmers of Uni Comp, who due to the bands ingenuity
in trying to destroy Uni Comp, want them to join the group
of programmers. They agree and live their lives in luxury
served in any way they could possible imagine, while looking
over the needs and concerns of the family. Chip never loses
sight of his true goal though and eventually when another
band of rebels is caught, he takes the impounded explosives
and sets out to destroy Uni Comp. Wei, the head
programmer as well as one of the main figure heads along
with Christ, Wood and Marx in designing the new unified
world, is the only thing standing in his way once he reaches
his destination and he fights him. Chip eventually traps Wei
and leaves him to die in the explosion. The family is now free
of Uni’s grip and Chip heads off to find Lilac.
The only real controversial element of Ira Levin’s novel is the
fact that Chip rapes Lilac. Rape has occurred in other works
studied before in the curriculum. Such as in the Kind Arthur
stories and The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. This issue
was also dealt with in novels read by students in seventh
grade, as in So Far From the Bamboo Grove. The rape
that occurs in this work is really no different from any that
occurred in any other novel listed here. It is no worse in any
way, and even shows how wrong this act really is. Lilac is
hurt by Chip and tries to leave him several times after this
event occurs and Chip sees how wrong he was in
committing this act and must learn to control his new found
animal urges. The only other controversial material are
swears, and those have been scattered throughout any
novels already read by students even as young as eighth
grade, such as many of the John Steinbeck novels read in
that curriculum. There is nothing in This Perfect Day that
students haven’t already experienced in other works of
literature already in the curriculum.
The only large worthwhile literary review found, that was
more than a sentence or two was, "This Perfect Hell" by
Ralph Raico. Raico is a history professor at SUNY College
in Buffalo and published his review in American Enterprise.
(Sep/Oct 98, Vol. 9 Issue 5, p82, 1p.) Raico speaks of
Levin’s other works, but says that This Perfect Day was by
far his best and deserves to be filmed just as many others
such as Rosemary’s Baby and Sliver were. He gives nothing
but praise to the novel, he says, " This Perfect Day belongs
to the genre of "dystopian" or anti-utopian novels, like
Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984. Yet it is
more satisfying than either." He is very enthusiastic about the
quality and meaningfulness of Levin’s novel and gives it the
highest regards.
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