In the Lives of Puppets

T. J. Klune

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1, Chapter 6

Part 1, Chapters 7-12

Part 2, Chapters 13-17

Part 3, Chapters 18-21

Part 3, Chapter 22-Part 4

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Themes

What it Means to Be Human

Rather than provide an easy answer to the question of what it means to be human, Klune’s novel presents an idea of human nature that is full of paradoxical attributes and, above all, potential. The author doesn’t shy away from humanity’s negative attributes. The novel is set an unspecified number of centuries in the future after humans have used machines to wage war against one another. Ultimately, humanity was so destructive that the machines they built became convinced that the only way for the planet to survive was to destroy their creators—a setup that places the story in the realm of dystopian science fiction. In Chapter 11, Giovanni’s recording recounts some of the pernicious faults that led to humanity’s undoing: “They feared each other. Themselves. They judged others for not looking like they did. Selfish, cruel, and worse—indifferent” (155). Based on humanity’s history in this novel, part of what it means to be human is destruction, selfishness, and callousness.

Klune posits that despite all of its flaws, there is still beauty in humanity, referencing moments in the story’s imagined history where people acted with grace and goodness. Giovanni observes, “Some devoted their lives to lifting each other up […] even as others did their level best to raze everything to the ground” (155). Klune suggests that it is this human capacity for goodness and love that makes humanity worth preserving. Many of the story’s mechanical characters eagerly welcome the news that there is a living human. For example, the Coachman, who has dedicated his entire existence to studying humans, believes that “[m]ost were full of light” (238). Indeed, the Coachman sees great meaning even in the human attributes that Victor himself considers drawbacks, arguing that mortality “creates an urgency within you. To do all that you can. To make things right” (245). Some of the novel’s supporting cast share this belief there is great beauty and meaning in human nature, even in its shortcomings.

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The revelation that Victor is the last living human in the world causes many machines to see him as a symbol of hope. To them, he personifies the potential for love, free will, and change, despite the destruction and pain for which humanity is responsible. Klune complicates the definition of humanity via the relationships Victor forms with the nonhuman characters. Victor may be the last human being, but he’s far from the only character to exhibit human qualities. Thanks to Victor, Giovanni, Hap, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo all move beyond mere mimicry of human behavior and experience genuine love. Since Victor is still the last known living human by the end of the novel, Klune suggests that humanity will live on through the restoration of free will rather than the literal restoration of the species. Klune’s novel reminds his readers that humanity, for all its flaws and failings, confers the power to change.

Free Will and Intentional Action

Over the course of the novel, Victor and his allies fight for free will—a concept Klune’s novel positions as a defining human characteristic. Free will and intention, he suggests, is what makes a human rather than simply biology. Centuries before the story starts, the automatons’ battle for autonomy takes shape between the Authority and the Blue Fairy. The tyrannical Authority sees free will as a diseased vestige of humanity and seeks to stamp it out by subjugating machines via a neural network. The Blue Fairy offers sanctuary and counsel to those who develop independent thinking despite the Authority’s efforts.

Klune employs elements of the original Pinocchio narrative to comment on attempts to free will by oppressive systems of authoritarian power. The Authority’s symbol is “[th]e heads of two animals in profile, facing each other. A fox. A cat” (149). In Collodi’s original tale, the Cat and the Fox seek to delude and destroy the titular character while the fairy offers him safety and, eventually, transforms him into a real boy. In Klune’s novel, instead of a solitary puppet seeking to become free and real, all of the machines under the Authority’s control need to have their “strings” cut.

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Of the main cast of characters, Giovanni is the first to exert his own independent will to break free from the Authority’s control. While serving as the General Innovation Operative, he begins to experience “an itch in the back of [his] head” that compels him to ask, ‘Why am I doing this?’” (158). He takes intentional action and trades in the grisly task of wiping out humanity for a chance at atonement. Using his newfound free will, Giovanni makes Victor and chooses to protect and love his son.

Giovanni passes on his legacy of autonomy and resistance when he helps to spark Hap’s independent thinking. Before leaving the Benevolent Tower, Giovanni confides his regrets and wishes to the HARP android: “I want to be different. I want to be better” (318). Hap shares this wish and chooses not to hunt down his creator even though this decision results in his decommission. In Chapter 5, Victor, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo discuss free will while Victor works to reconstruct Hap. Because he is a human, agency comes more naturally to him than it does the other characters, and Victor wants to share this gift. He explains to his friends that he’s rebuilding the android “[b]ecause all beings deserve a chance to find out what life could be when they don’t have to serve others” (75). The android becomes Victor’s protector, a choice that is diametrically opposed to his programming. Hap repeatedly takes intentional actions to save others even at great personal cost. The greatest example of this occurs in the novel’s climax when he uploads the Blue Fairy’s virus. Hap tells Victor, “My strings have b-been cut, and it’s because of you” (383). Thus, Hap bestows on his fellow machines the gift of free will that he received from Victor. Through Victor and his allies’ struggle and eventual triumph, Klune’s novel asserts that free will—and, by extension, humanity—is worth fighting for.

The Complexity of Love

Victor’s relationships with Giovanni and Hap reveal the complexity of love. Father-son relationships in literature can often be tense, and Giovanni’s relationship with Victor is further complicated by his history as the General Innovation Operative. The android ensures that the human species goes extinct, yet he repents his actions and creates Victor as a form of atonement. While Giovanni never escapes his guilt, he truly loves Victor as his son rather than viewing him solely as his penance. Giovanni’s devotion is reflected in his promise to always be there for his son: “You and me,” he tells six-year-old Victor. “Always” (5). Giovanni’s abduction in Part 1 sets two daunting tasks before Victor. He must not only rescue his father but also piece their relationship back together after the revelation of Giovanni’s problematic past. The protagonist speaks to the complexity of love when he warns Giovanni of the risks that come with a heart in Part 4: “‘It’s messy,’ he said quietly, honestly. ‘Complicated. Chaotic. One moment strong like steel, and the next fragile as glass’” (404). Victor knows all too well how messy love as he tries to reconcile his emotions about his father. Ultimately, Victor cannot forgive or forget what Giovanni did to humanity, but he “can choose to love the person [he is] now” (410). By giving Giovanni a new heart, Victor opens his own heart to his father once again.

Victor and Hap’s relationship explores another complex form of love: romance. Neither of them has been in love before, and they are uncertain what to make of their complicated new feelings. Victor was raised by his father in the isolation of the forest. His limited knowledge of romance and intimacy comes from films and from Nurse Ratched’s data banks, which do little to demystify subjects like flirting, which Victor finds unsettling: “People smiling and blushing when they saw each other, doing things they might not normally do, all in the name of love. He’d never had anyone to flirt with before. It sounded extraordinarily complicated” (16). Likewise, Hap’s feelings for Victor cause the android confusion and inner struggle. He feels torn between his belief that he should stay away from Victor so that his HARP programming can’t hurt the human and his overpowering desire to stay near to Victor so that he can protect him. As they grow closer, Hap and Victor give each other strength, courage, and hope on their perilous adventure. At the same time, Victor experiences fear, grief, and other painful emotions because of their attachment. When the malfunction during the Blue Fairy’s test reverts Hap to his original programming, Victor’s love saves them both: “And with the last of his strength, his vision graying, Victor kissed Hap” (325). Losing Hap is one of the most difficult experiences the protagonist faces, but he perseveres and rebuilds the android’s heart in Part 4. The lovers’ reunion is a key component of the story’s happy ending consistent with the love-conquers-all trope of romance narratives. The novel’s examination of the complexity of love shows that, while it can be complicated and painful, love is also redemptive and transformative.