The Adding Machine | The Adding Machine

At a glance:

Author: Elmer Rice
First Published: 1923
Type of Plot: Expressionist
Time of Work: The early twentieth century
Setting: United States
Principal Characters: Mr. Zero, Mrs. Zero, Daisy Diana Dorothea Devore, The Boss, Judy O’Grady, Shrdlu, Lieutenant Charles
Genres: Drama, Expressionist literature
Subjects: Values, United States or Americans, Murder or homicide, 1920’s, Working class, Capitalism, Work or workers, Accountants or accounting, Office employees, Automation, Voyeurism
Locales: United States

The opening scene sets the tone of a nightmarish, dehumanized, and machine-dominated world. In a drab and barely furnished bedroom, a slovenly looking Mrs. Zero engages in a wearying monologue directed at her husband, who is lying on the bed. Her refrain is how Mr. Zero has been a failure, holding the same dead-end job as a department-store clerk for twenty-five years. A henpecked husband, Mr. Zero finds his sole pleasure in peeping at an undressed prostitute in a room across the way. His wife has forced him, however, to report the girl to the police.

The Adding Machine | The Adding Machine

At a glance:

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