![]() Tok Tok Tok!” The last line is a refrain following each brief description, suggesting both the sound of a clock (time passing) and the notion of cicada “talk.” Upon retiring, he ascends the long stairway to the skyscraper’s ledge. Cicada language is primitive and rhythmic: “Seventeen year. Readers will recognize forms of marginalization throughout, i.e., the elevator buttons are too high, poverty forces residency in the office wall. Despite his exceptional performance and strong work ethic, he must walk blocks to a bathroom and is physically bullied. The green data entry clerk works in a gray maze of cubicles. Oriented vertically, the insect does not reach the top of his human co-workers’ desks, thus skewing the perspective so their heads are not visible. Tan’s narratives often critique traditional office culture this one features the inhumane treatment of the protagonist, a cicada dressed in a four-armed gray suit, complete with tie and pocket square. ![]()
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