Welcome to the Monkey House

Content Warning: The story discusses suicide and contains depictions of rape and group violence against a single person.

“She was splendid with anger and disgust as she opened it, knowing that it would be a piece of filth from Billy.”

Here, Nancy reveals her hostility toward Billy and his intentions, but this attitude also indicates that Nancy is looking for something to be angry at, and that she is looking for the excitement her current life lacks. Her negative emotions allow her some kind of agency, or power, in a world where she has very little control.

“All Hostesses […] also had to hold advanced degrees in psychology and nursing. They also had to be plump and rosy, and at least six feet tall. America had changed in many ways, but it had yet to adopt the metric system.”

There are two humorous ideas in this passage. First is the idea that these women are so well educated and beautiful and yet their jobs are more like customer service and sales than what they’ve been trained for. The second is the reference to the metric system. The story indicates that the world is now one society, and yet humorously points out that, while America has stripped its citizens of the freedoms it once promised, at least this one aspect of American pride hasn’t disappeared.

“Practically everything was automated, too. Nancy and Mary and the sheriff were lucky to have jobs. Most people didn’t. The average citizen moped around home and watched television, which was the Government. Every fifteen minutes his television would urge him to vote intelligently or consume intelligently, or worship in the church of his choice, or love his fellowmen, or obey the laws—or pay a call to the nearest Ethical Suicide Parlor and find out how friendly and understanding a Hostess could be.”

This passage denotes the veneer of choice that this society offers: stay in line, stay in your house, or go out and end it all. Neither choice is appealing and both lack Personal Freedom and Autonomy, and yet 17 billion people still cling to life in this way. This quote also lays out the fundamental problems with this society that Nancy must transcend in order to earn a better life.