How does Dick’s essay (1999; 1964) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?
A dominant idea, or motif, within ‘The Man in the High Castle’ (Dick, 1962) is that of ‘Nazism’. Nazism refers to the acts carried out by the Nazis, and as Harry Warner highlights, the acts carried out by the Nazis, Italians and Japanese with his novel provide a personal connection to the topics at hand. This is because ‘we might identify with the war guilt of the Germans because they’re so similar to us’ (Dick, 1964), and thus Dick has managed to take advantage of said relation and used Nazism as a motif in High Castle. Using the Nazi reference throughout The Man in the High Castle, Dick was able to use ideas and beliefs similar to the Nazi regime to display their capabilities in a future-noir novel. The essay he wrote helps to highlight these aspects and provide a clearer view on the matter that many readers may have looked over.
Dick, P.K. (1962). The Man in the High Castle. New York City, New York: Penguin Publishing
Dick, P.K. (1964). Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage.
An intially good response Tristan esp the the notion of giult being trasferred - however to support your argument it would be good to include a more explicit reference to the events occuring in the narrative of the primary text - i.e provide a description of some of the "acts carried out by the Nazis".
ReplyDeleteOne thing that could have been discussed in your post is the realisation by the characters at the end of the novel that in fact the narrative of their lives is a fiction (created by the i-ching), and it wasn't Japan and Germany that won the war at all.
ReplyDeleteHi Tristan interesting read. In addition, I think what could have been added was some examples such as Philip K Dick's use of rascist comments. In the Man in the High Castle Dick describes Japanese people as "yellow bellied chinks." One senses perhaps Dick believes his readers agree with him. There is a sub-text of rascism. What are thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteI think you are spot on - this would have been a good point to talk on, good call dude
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