Joe's Week 7

Discussion threads

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is The Man in the High Castle? 

To emphasise the difference between categories of speculative fictions and that of science fictions is simply a difficult chore to perform.  But, nevertheless, they can be broadly termed as fictions, make-up stories to induce us to believe what we read can become real in the future.  Fictions, like horror, fantasy and intimacy are speculative on the outcome, possess the genre of appealing to human compassion and empathetic feelings.  Fictions, like cyberpunk and similar type, describe supernatural elements that might exist in the future and possess the genre of make-belief.

“The Man in the High Castle” describes groups of people, “a number of key characters”, living in separate halves of the world occupied by Nazi German and Japanese who assassinated FDR and won the Second World War.  People, living under the Japanese occupation, were treated humanely and peacefully with the conqueror; to its contrary, German ruled with an iron fist and created a hell for the people under their control.  Of course, this is not true in real life.  The author shows the reader the "sense of connection with each of the narrating characters".  He is omniscient in his narrative technique.  I-Ching is mentioned to be used a means to predict which event would come next and which one the group would survive.  Broadly speaking, it can be categorised as speculative fiction.  

REFERENCES:

Brown, E. (2001). Introduction. In Dick, P.K., The Man in the High Castle (p.v-xii). London: Penguin.

Dick, P.K. (2001; 1962). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.
N.A (N.D.). The Man in the High Castle, Themes. Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-man-in-the-high-castle/themes.html