Week 8

Week8
How does Dick’s essay (1995) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?



In his essay, Dick points out that Nazi Germans who has fear as we do (1995) and he further gives an example of one of his Nazi friend’s fear of Jews. It can be seen that Nazi’s phobia is profound and appalling, but, the power behind this fear is lethal. In his work, “The Man in The High Castle”, he exaggerates the power of Nazis’ fear. This great destructive power from the fear urged German Nazis won the World War II and destroyed the whole Africa. They expelled and killed the people they thought were dangerous to them. However, I think they were not satisfied, because although they temporally eliminate Jews, they could not dispel the fear from deep inside, because they would be afraid of the force of revenge and the guiltiness of their tyranny and cruelty can also bring them a convulsion.



In his essay, Dick also mentions that the more dreadful thing is that the Jews who are the victims of the Nazism drove Arabs and saluted to Nazis. From these statements we can see that Nazism is not simply a description of Nazi itself; it is the dark shadow of those Jews who also discriminate other races. Therefore, in the Man in the high, just like Nazis racial police, Childan who also trade different customer with different attitudes. Dick tended to extend Nazism’s influence on Americans or non-Nazis. I think he probably also points out this is common dark side in human. Maybe his wish is just like he mentioned at the end of his essay “may the peace and love of god be with you. Germans included and Please Jews too.” (Dick, 1995, p.117)



Dick, P.K. (1995). Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L.(Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage.