What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel? What elements conform to the wider generic features of SF?

What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel? What elements conform to the wider generic features of SF?

In Brown’s (2001) article he talks about he talks about the author Philip K. Dick as well as his work the man in the high castle. While talking about Philip Dick we learn about his life and hardships as well as types of themes he favours in his writing these are all important as they all relate to his work in the man in the high castle. His personal life and also helps us to show why he may have chosen to use features of science fiction.

Personality and Central Themes

According to Brown (2001) “Philip Kinderd Dick was a maverick, a self-taught anti-establishment intellectual with an appetite for knowledge and an intimating ability to absorb information” knowing this is important when looking at themes in the man in the high castle. The novel is not an easy read and the themes in the novel are quite complex.  Brown stated that Dick liked to write about the themes of perceived reality and how good and evil only be illusion in which the truth may dwell. This theme is seen constantly throughout the novel especially in the character of Hawthorne Abendsen the man who lived in the high castle who lives in the false perception that his jail was just a fortified isolation.  Brown also wrote that Dick liked to write about people who are put in extraordinary situations as seen in the Robert Childan story ark. Dick also liked to draw inspiration from his personal life and people around him which may have helped him in developing his characters and storylines so well.

Central Themes in The Man in the High Castle

Brown (2001) also talked in his article directly about the novel. He talks about the I ching, the ancient Chinese book of divination to suggest that the world presented in the novel may just be an illusion of a perfect world and that other better worlds may exist. The main Characters use the book to develop their own stories and lives. In the end although characters make breakthroughs and have revelations there is however no happy endings which is a common feature in his stories.

Generic elements of Science Fiction Dick Used

According to Brown (2001) Dick used pretty standard elements in his writings these included rocket ships, space aliens and space-suited heroes.  However, although he used common features in his works he did use them in his own ways conforming them to his own themes and unique story lines. From reading Browns article it gives me the feeling that he used these elements to help gain some popularity as such elements were already popular with science fiction readers. As his works were not immediately popular and he seemed to move away from such generic elements when his popularity rose this may have been the case this is however just personal opinion.

References

Dick, P.K. (2001). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin

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