But We Try Not to Act Like It
Encyclopedia
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror
Maps in a Mirror
Maps in a Mirror is a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card. Like Card's novels, most of the stories have a science fiction or fantasy theme...
. It was first published in the August–September 1979 edition of Destinies The Paperback Magazine Of Science Fiction And Speculative Fact.
Plot summary
The story begins when the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
goes to the television office to complain about not being able to turn off his TV, as it disturbs him in his attempts to read, his preferred activity. He is told he'll only be allowed to turn the TV off if he makes some friends or develops a sexual relationship. The story follows his attempts to change his social status and his reactions to the daily soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s to which he is unwillingly subjected.