Personally, I would say Dick is both a popular culture author and a critical philosophy perception author to some extent. Popular culture author? It’s embarrassing to admit that until now I had only read through “The man in the high castle” and texts provided by the course but it is there as a matter of fact that the fiction is definitely interesting. At the beginning I was only thinking to skim through it briefly but end up spending the whole time to read carefully till the end. For instant, because I was skimming, I wanted to know what going to happen between Tagomi and the seller and skip the meeting with the couple in the store. Surprisingly, I turn back to read the whole thing after all (and I guess it is the proper way to read as well). As for understanding of the story, I believe Dick illustrated his point of view very solid. In his essay, Dick (1995) says he wrote about why people shouldn’t use the I Ching to predict the future because the I Ching told him to write. This is why I said his critical reception is up to some extent. As a matter of fact, he wanted to say trying to avoid some future just lead you to another with the same ending. Just like the saying “Every route lead to the Roman Empire”. To many people it do sound like a game with God to see who achieve one’s goal first. Nevertheless, Dick deny this idea and strongly believe that the Spirit controlling the fate or whatever it might be is good not evil (McKee and Gabriel, 2004). To me, Dick seem to refer the Spirit refer to the entire humanity in the act of not evil and is trying to get better.
Reference:
Dick, P.K. (2001; 1962). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.
Dick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.175-182). New York: Vintage.
McKee, Gabriel (2004). A Scanner Darkly: Dick as a Christian theologian. In Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: the sciencefictional religion of Philip K. Dick. NY: U Press of America.
Simon - some excellent comments here (though there are a few I don't understand) I particularly like your discussion regarding the inevitability of the future, which in the context of tMiTHC is insightful. It's an idea that you might have discussed further, in particular referencing the final scenes in the novel (it's important to bring in reference to the primary material to support your critical discussions). It's great to hear you enjoyed the novel after reading and considering the critical literature - it's a comment I get from a lot of students. tMiTHC is a fantastic work. You've also made some great contributions to others' posts.
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