I haven't finished reading this yet but so far, i'm quite disturbed by the realisitc world Dick has created. He has developed such a believably frightening world: It combines all the "What if?" theories of the possibile outcomes of World War II and manipulates aspects of today to create a modern time ruled by the 'bad guys'. It makes you really appreciate the real world...
Hi Minnie. Like you I haven't completed the readings but I did find the text by Brown (2001) helpful in getting an understanding of how Dick thought and functioned, which will be helpful when reading his work. On p. 308 Brown (2001) describes Dick's childhood, which appeared to be troubled. He mentioned the loss of Dick's twin sister Jane in infancy, and thatDick apportioned blame for her death on his mother. Brown (2001) then states that Dick was abandoned by his father at the age of 4. These are obviously awful things for him to have endured. He later developed phobias and anxiety attacks so his childhood experiences probably had an impact on him and the way he wrote.
The themes in his work centre around the metaphysical 'the nature of perceived reality, good and evil and the abuse of power'(p.308). These themes are recurrent in his work. His use of the I Ching fits in with the metaphysical theme.
Brown (2001) also states that 'another of his concerns was what constitutes a true human being, as opposed to a fake'(p.308). Obviously a deep thinking and perhaps troubled author.
"Abuse of Power" is definately a strong basis for in fact the entire world Dick has created.
I believe "man in the high castle" is well so far speculative fiction because of the fact that rather than concentrating on technology, Dick, builds on the people and the politics of his alternate world establishing a depth in the construct of the narrative that makes it more of a believable reality.
5. I am interested in the I Ching and would like to investigate it further. I believe Dick used the I Ching to help plot the movement of the story and aid in the organisation of the narrative. Questions were randomly posed to the I Ching 'as if it could respond of its own volition'(p.312) and the answer it produced led the story in another direction.
I've read the fiction and I feel it's quite different from the other Sci-Fis that I've read before. When I was reading it, I couldn't help to ask myself: is it a sci-fi? it doesn't look like. Then Paul gave us an exaplanation that SF might be speculative fiction. So it answers my question.
For Question 2, I think I can give it a go. The man in the high castle is the writer who wrote a sci-fi named 'the grasshopper lies heavy' in the Dick's book. His name is Hawthorn Abendsen who lives in a free land not occupied by both Japs and Nazi.
Philip K. Dick twisted the real world and imaginary world and made readers feel wierd. I couldn't help to thinking that Philip k. Dick might imply himself as the man in the high castle, because what he did was what the writer of 'the grasshopper' did - using I Ching to write a Sci-Fi which was an alternative of the reality.
As minie said, I'm also quite disturbed by what Dick has created.
Hi Minnie I agree with you that 'The Man in the High Castle' is speculative fiction. This is based on what Paul said in the lecture on Monday. My understanding of the difference between Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction is that Speculative Fiction is not just about technology and can also deal with philosophical elements.
Hi, I finished the readings but I haven't finished the book of The Man in the High Castle yet. I found the same ideas of what Renabrab said about the themes in Dick's work. Brown (2001) also said that he was obsessed with the idea that the universe was only apparently real, an illusion behind which the truth might dwell (p.308). And his use of the philosophical Chinese classic text the 'I Ching' in the way that the main characters consult the I Ching for a need of decision, which I, personally, found a bit interesting, because there could be cultural distinct in morality between China and America.
As Renabrab said, I also agree with what Brown (2001) concerned that Dick's psychological troubled and chaotic life was often applied in his works (p.308).
Like Hannah, I'm also interested in the use of the I Ching in the SF context and will attempt to answer Question 7 about what Dick (1995) theorised about it.
Dick (1995) said 'It is not a fortunetelling device'(p.321). It is a book of divination that is 'analytical and diagnostic, not predictive'(p.321). He then goes on to describe how the I Ching was invented by King Wen in 1100BC during the time the king was imprisoned. At this time King Wen wanted to know what was happening outside his cell and according to Dick (1995) developed the I Ching to help him decide what course of action to take(p.322).
I consider the most important point that Dick theorised comes towards the end of the text, when he suggests that 'we can't live by the damn book ... we can make partial use of it'(p.322). Dick refers many times to the mental illness schizophrenia, and he states that 'if you're not schizophrenic ... use the book a very, measured little - in controlled doses'. This is followed by 'ask it questions, the outcome of which can have no bearing on your life'(p.322). In other words I think he means not to take it too seriously.
Wikipedia suggests that the book of I Ching describes 'an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs'. It is represented by a set of 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams. Each hexagram represents a description of a 'state or process'. Stalks from the yarrow plant were the original method for casting but were replaced by the coin method.(Wikipedia).
I found Paul's article quite difficult to understand. Does Paul mean that I Ching has assembly function 'through acts of coices that generate a semoitic sequence'?(p.312)
My own answer for this question after I've finished the novel is that I Ching is the core of all the characters and all the acts of the novel. The fiction is not a linear narrative but a story about different characters who are not in close relationships(some characters seem to have no relationship at all) but somehow are connected and interacted. It's just like a cobweb. The spider is on the centre and threads are radialized from the centre. The threads are connected by some other circled threads and together to form a web. The I Ching is like the spider in the centre and all the characters and their actions are the threads radialized from the centre.
Have you guys seen a movie named 'Babel' which Brad Pitt is the main character? I think the structure of the movie seems very similar as the novel 'The man in the high castle'.
Brown(2001) says that Dick never lost sight of the fact that science fiction is about the effect of events on individuals (p308).
It's not like what I knew before that SF was a story with elements of science and technology. As the Japanese couple - Paul and Betty argue with each other what SF is in the novel 'the man in the high castle', Betty thinks that SF 'deals with future, in particular future where science has advanced over now' but Paul argues that SF also 'deals with alternate present'(Dick,1962,p.109)
What Paul says in the novel might be what Philip Dick says.
Like Min Zhang, I also found this novel is different from other SF I know. First of all, as Minnie and Renabrab also made a point about, people do not live in a machine world or machine controlled world. However, just as in other SF, I still feel the powerlessness and loss of control people experiencing in the novel. Maybe this time, it is not highly developed machine but a political system is the one oppressing people.
Renabrab, thank you for sharing your findings on I Ching. I should confess that I am writing this as one who does not know much about I Ching. To me I Ching is about definite number of chances, (as you said, a set of 64 abstract line arrangements) and the replies it gives are mere random chances. I would not ask if I should marry someone or not to I Ching.
In recent years I have found many Westerners (?) adapt oriental (Asian) beliefs or myths in their literary works. In a way it is a good thing because the West and the East get to understand each other better by appreciating the other’s culture. However, I also think the adaptation is from being tired of widely known, centuries old, western beliefs or culture and to attract popularity. Oriental beliefs which are very new to Westerners, mysterious, and seem to deal with something intangible and incomprehensible are certainly attractive to some people.
Q5. I Ching is the central organisational device, physical seams of the construction of the novel, joining different situations (p. 5). Characters in the novel consulted I Ching in the various critical situations they faced (p.5). Dick himself actually consulted I Ching as to how he proceeds the story in his writing (p.5). Other role Mounfort suggests is that I Ching consultations illuminate the subterranean fate-lines that connect characters (p. 5). Frank and Mr Tagomi never met but influence each other in concerete ways (p.5).
Q.7 I think Renabrab’s comments on I Ching seem to have most of relevant points and I also want to say that I enjoyed Harim’s comment about sharing culture or beliefs between West and East. I would like to say more about the I Ching including my own experience.
As Renabrab found, the I Ching is an ancient Chinese system of divination including a set of symbols. Dick (19195) said the divination in the I Ching is not predictive; it is analytical and diagnostic (It works roughly 80 percent of the time in statistical basis.) (p.321).
My farther, who passed away about 20 years ago, was also interested in the I Ching, so he studied it by himself as his pastime. Honestly I only realised that the thing my father studied was I Ching when I read about I Ching in this textbook. He sometimes told us about our future based on the I Ching, but he also said that it was statistical basis, as Dick (1995) mentioned.
Harim, you may not understand, however when I got married, my father consulted it about my husband’s character and how our marriage relationship would be like. As far as I remember, it also worked about 80 percent. I’m certainly not saying I always rely on this. However, it would be possible if I face with a situation in where I have to make a hard decision, I would ask it to help my decision, just as Dick did in his novel.
As Harim said, I also think this sort of my experience may be incomprehensible to western people because of cultural distinct. But the I Ching has been increasingly used in several Western artists and thinkers (Wikipedia)
Thanks Harim and Hannah for your information about the I Ching. As a westerner it is interesting to have your perspective on its use. I agree that oriental traditions are interesting for a lot of us westerners, because of their unfamiliarity to us I guess, as you suggest. Thanks very much Hannah for telling us about your father. It was fascinating to read and puts the I Ching into a personal perspective for me.
I started reading this book later than the others and haven’t quite finished yet. Therefore I missed the first part of discussion. As I read the novel. I have found it is more interesting than I had expected. More interesting than other SF novels, which contain aliens and sophisticated machines etc. Maybe it is because it has ‘fully-realized characters drawn from real life, ordinary people (Brown, 2001, p. vii) and it is also less ‘surreal (p. viii)’.
I think Minnie, Min Zhang, and Renabrab explained well about the difference between Science fiction and Speculative fiction. I agree with them. Before this class, I only knew SF as science fiction. My understanding of SF was similar to Betty in the novel. As Min Zhang pointed out Betty sees that SF contains science and its setting is in future (Dick, 1962, p.109). However, Paul claims in the novel that SF deals with alternate present (p. 109) just like ‘the man in the high castle’.
Hi Hannah! Thank you for sharing your experience. As you explained ‘I Ching has been increasingly used in several Western artists and thinkers'. This ancient Chinese belief has been brought into the West’s attention in recent decades. I can’t help thinking this is because of its newness to the West who is tired of own, too familiar culture. To me, it seems like a trend or fashion today in the West. It would be interesting to see how the West regard I Ching in the next century.
Hi, Harim and Renabrab Thanks that if two of you enjoyed my story. It would be a bit strange to you, but I just wanted to share my experience, anyway. Again, please don't get me wrong, I have just sometimes referred to it, but have never relied on it.
Like Harim, I am on the halfway through THITHC, too. And I also felt a bit more interesting than I expected (because some students who finished the book told me it wasn’t interesting), personally, that is probably because there appears I Ching in the book(?).
However, the main reason may be I think the same as what Harim found interesting points that ‘fully-realized characters......’surrel’. Like other SF, he also conformed alien worlds, precognition, or ray-gun, but used them to his own scheme. Moreover, distinctively, in his works, much of his troubled and chaotic life was reflected (Brown, 2001, p. 308), and then, can I say such his life made it possible his interest in the I Ching as well as use of the I Ching in his novels?
I agree with Harim’s view on question 5. The I Ching is appeared throughout the novel, as the central organizational device, brought by three main characters who are consulting it for their important decisions in the various critical junctures (p.5).
Personally, I think the use of the I Ching may bring about cultural aspects to the novel. Therefore, these decisions consulted the I Ching could show distinct morals compared to American moral point of view.
It's a shame that I didn't talk about I Ching because one of my friend studies I Ching as a philosophy theory as well as workes it on practice in China. I've read a bit I Ching myself but it's so complicated to put into practical way and the oracles are so difficult to interpret, so I gave up reading it at the very beginning.
When Hannah told me that her father was interested in I Ching and had also studied I Ching, I was not surprised because Korean culture has a very close relationship with Chinese culture. For example, I remember that the pattern of South Korea flag is from Tao and I Ching. The circle is divided into two parts by a curved thread, which means one part represents ‘Yin’ and the other represents ‘Yang’. Around the circle, there are 4 hexagrams represent ‘Sky’, ‘Earth’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Sun’. Hannah and Harim, please correct me if I said something wrong.
Like renabrab, hannah and harim say in their posts, I Ching has 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams. Each hexagram represents a description of a 'state or process'. More than that, there are just two kinds of lines, one is long line, and the other is short. Somebody says that this is the first computer language. The short line is ‘0’ and the long line is ‘1’. Isn‘t it interesting？
Hi, guys. I do realise that it’s a bit late to put forward my thoughts (have been too busy with other assignments). I’ve been reading the blog, and Min Zhang’s answer to question one caught my eye.
There seems to be a lot of confusion over the difference between science fiction and speculative fiction, not only on this blog, but also among the different internet dictionary definitions. My own readings and research show that speculative fiction is a type of fiction that focuses around a "What if?" question and attempts to answer it. Assuming this is an accurate definition of the term, I think all fictions should be labelled under this genre. Because when you think about it, don’t all fictions centre around an alternative ‘What if?’ universe? For example, Harry Potter – what if magic really exists? Lord of the Rings – what if there were Elves and Dwarves? Bourne Ultimatum – what if some guy can get shot and still jump over rooftops and dive into a river from 5 stories up without dying? When it comes down to answering question 2, the question that The Man in the High Castle poses is really just ‘What if the Axis powers won the Second World War?’
So at the end, it all depends on what kind of question the author is asking that sorts different fictions into their respective sub-categories, whether it be high fantasy or science fiction.
Back to question one, what is the difference in emphasis between the science fiction and speculative fiction? Well, my answer would be that there is no difference in emphasis: both concentrate on defining the ‘What if’s’ of a fictional novel. The real difference lies in how specific the answer is and what approach it takes, i.e. how does it attempt to pose or answer the question in the form of a novel? But I guess if I have to put a label on The Man in the High Castle, I would have to go with Science Fiction, because not only does it poses a ‘What if’ question, but it also creates an alternative universe in order to answer that question. Albeit the universe created does have some links and similarities to our own world, it would still count as a work of pure imagination, which is a defining characteristic of Science Fiction.
23 comments:
I haven't finished reading this yet but so far, i'm quite disturbed by the realisitc world Dick has created. He has developed such a believably frightening world: It combines all the "What if?" theories of the possibile outcomes of World War II and manipulates aspects of today to create a modern time ruled by the 'bad guys'. It makes you really appreciate the real world...
1. What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction?
2. Which is The Man in the High Castle?
3. What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel?
4. What elements conform to the wider generic features of SF?
5. According to Mountfort (2006), what role does the I Ching have as an organisational device in the structure of High Castle?
6. How does the use of this device illuminate the character of the novel’s protagonists?
7. What was does Dick (1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?
Hi Minnie. Like you I haven't completed the readings but I did find the text by Brown (2001) helpful in getting an understanding of how Dick thought and functioned, which will be helpful when reading his work. On p. 308 Brown (2001) describes Dick's childhood, which appeared to be troubled. He mentioned the loss of Dick's twin sister Jane in infancy, and thatDick apportioned blame for her death on his mother. Brown (2001) then states that Dick was abandoned by his father at the age of 4. These are obviously awful things for him to have endured. He later developed phobias and anxiety attacks so his childhood experiences probably had an impact on him and the way he wrote.
The themes in his work centre around the metaphysical 'the nature of perceived reality, good and evil and the abuse of power'(p.308). These themes are recurrent in his work. His use of the I Ching fits in with the metaphysical theme.
Brown (2001) also states that 'another of his concerns was what constitutes a true human being, as opposed to a fake'(p.308). Obviously a deep thinking and perhaps troubled author.
Yeah, that's tough life for Dick.
I only read halfway through the book and I found it so very depressing.
Not a book for you to read when you're lying in the sun on a beach.
"Abuse of Power" is definately a strong basis for in fact the entire world Dick has created.
I believe "man in the high castle" is well so far speculative fiction because of the fact that rather than concentrating on technology, Dick, builds on the people and the politics of his alternate world establishing a depth in the construct of the narrative that makes it more of a believable reality.
5. I am interested in the I Ching and would like to investigate it further. I believe Dick used the I Ching to help plot the movement of the story and aid in the organisation of the narrative. Questions were randomly posed to the I Ching 'as if it could respond of its own volition'(p.312) and the answer it produced led the story in another direction.
Hi, guys,
I've read the fiction and I feel it's quite different from the other Sci-Fis that I've read before. When I was reading it, I couldn't help to ask myself: is it a sci-fi? it doesn't look like. Then Paul gave us an exaplanation that SF might be speculative fiction. So it answers my question.
For Question 2, I think I can give it a go. The man in the high castle is the writer who wrote a sci-fi named 'the grasshopper lies heavy' in the Dick's book. His name is Hawthorn Abendsen who lives in a free land not occupied by both Japs and Nazi.
Philip K. Dick twisted the real world and imaginary world and made readers feel wierd. I couldn't help to thinking that Philip k. Dick might imply himself as the man in the high castle, because what he did was what the writer of 'the grasshopper' did - using I Ching to write a Sci-Fi which was an alternative of the reality.
As minie said, I'm also quite disturbed by what Dick has created.
Hi Minnie
I agree with you that 'The Man in the High Castle' is speculative fiction. This is based on what Paul said in the lecture on Monday. My understanding of the difference between Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction is that Speculative Fiction is not just about technology and can also deal with philosophical elements.
Hi,
I finished the readings but I haven't finished the book of The Man in the High Castle yet. I found the same ideas of what Renabrab said about the themes in Dick's work. Brown (2001) also said that he was obsessed with the idea that the universe was only apparently real, an illusion behind which the truth might dwell (p.308).
And his use of the philosophical Chinese classic text the 'I Ching' in the way that the main characters consult the I Ching for a need of decision, which I, personally, found a bit interesting, because there could be cultural distinct in morality between China and America.
As Renabrab said, I also agree with what Brown (2001) concerned that Dick's psychological troubled and chaotic life was often applied in his works (p.308).
Like Hannah, I'm also interested in the use of the I Ching in the SF context and will attempt to answer Question 7 about what Dick (1995) theorised about it.
Dick (1995) said 'It is not a fortunetelling device'(p.321). It is a book of divination that is 'analytical and diagnostic, not predictive'(p.321). He then goes on to describe how the I Ching was invented by King Wen in 1100BC during the time the king was imprisoned. At this time King Wen wanted to know what was happening outside his cell and according to Dick (1995) developed the I Ching to help him decide what course of action to take(p.322).
I consider the most important point that Dick theorised comes towards the end of the text, when he suggests that 'we can't live by the damn book ... we can make partial use of it'(p.322). Dick refers many times to the mental illness schizophrenia, and he states that 'if you're not schizophrenic ... use the book a very, measured little - in controlled doses'. This is followed by 'ask it questions, the outcome of which can have no bearing on your life'(p.322). In other words I think he means not to take it too seriously.
Wikipedia suggests that the book of I Ching describes 'an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs'. It is represented by a set of 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams. Each hexagram represents a description of a 'state or process'. Stalks from the yarrow plant were the original method for casting but were replaced by the coin method.(Wikipedia).
Question 5:
I found Paul's article quite difficult to understand. Does Paul mean that I Ching has assembly function 'through acts of coices that generate a semoitic sequence'?(p.312)
My own answer for this question after I've finished the novel is that I Ching is the core of all the characters and all the acts of the novel. The fiction is not a linear narrative but a story about different characters who are not in close relationships(some characters seem to have no relationship at all) but somehow are connected and interacted. It's just like a cobweb. The spider is on the centre and threads are radialized from the centre. The threads are connected by some other circled threads and together to form a web. The I Ching is like the spider in the centre and all the characters and their actions are the threads radialized from the centre.
Have you guys seen a movie named 'Babel' which Brad Pitt is the main character? I think the structure of the movie seems very similar as the novel 'The man in the high castle'.
Brown(2001) says that Dick never lost sight of the fact that science fiction is about the effect of events on individuals (p308).
It's not like what I knew before that SF was a story with elements of science and technology. As the Japanese couple - Paul and Betty argue with each other what SF is in the novel 'the man in the high castle', Betty thinks that SF 'deals with future, in particular future where science has advanced over now' but Paul argues that SF also 'deals with alternate present'(Dick,1962,p.109)
What Paul says in the novel might be what Philip Dick says.
Like Min Zhang, I also found this novel is different from other SF I know. First of all, as Minnie and Renabrab also made a point about, people do not live in a machine world or machine controlled world. However, just as in other SF, I still feel the powerlessness and loss of control people experiencing in the novel. Maybe this time, it is not highly developed machine but a political system is the one oppressing people.
Renabrab, thank you for sharing your findings on I Ching. I should confess that I am writing this as one who does not know much about I Ching.
To me I Ching is about definite number of chances, (as you said, a set of 64 abstract line arrangements) and the replies it gives are mere random chances. I would not ask if I should marry someone or not to I Ching.
In recent years I have found many Westerners (?) adapt oriental (Asian) beliefs or myths in their literary works. In a way it is a good thing because the West and the East get to understand each other better by appreciating the other’s culture. However, I also think the adaptation is from being tired of widely known, centuries old, western beliefs or culture and to attract popularity. Oriental beliefs which are very new to Westerners, mysterious, and seem to deal with something intangible and incomprehensible are certainly attractive to some people.
Q5.
I Ching is the central organisational device, physical seams of the construction of the novel, joining different situations (p. 5). Characters in the novel consulted I Ching in the various critical situations they faced (p.5).
Dick himself actually consulted I Ching as to how he proceeds the story in his writing (p.5).
Other role Mounfort suggests is that I Ching consultations illuminate the subterranean fate-lines that connect characters (p. 5). Frank and Mr Tagomi never met but influence each other in concerete ways (p.5).
Q.7
I think Renabrab’s comments on I Ching seem to have most of relevant points and I also want to say that I enjoyed Harim’s comment about sharing culture or beliefs between West and East. I would like to say more about the I Ching including my own experience.
As Renabrab found, the I Ching is an ancient Chinese system of divination including a set of symbols. Dick (19195) said the divination in the I Ching is not predictive; it is analytical and diagnostic (It works roughly 80 percent of the time in statistical basis.) (p.321).
My farther, who passed away about 20 years ago, was also interested in the I Ching, so he studied it by himself as his pastime. Honestly I only realised that the thing my father studied was I Ching when I read about I Ching in this textbook. He sometimes told us about our future based on the I Ching, but he also said that it was statistical basis, as Dick (1995) mentioned.
Harim, you may not understand, however when I got married, my father consulted it about my husband’s character and how our marriage relationship would be like. As far as I remember, it also worked about 80 percent. I’m certainly not saying I always rely on this. However, it would be possible if I face with a situation in where I have to make a hard decision, I would ask it to help my decision, just as Dick did in his novel.
As Harim said, I also think this sort of my experience may be incomprehensible to western people because of cultural distinct. But the I Ching has been increasingly used in several Western artists and thinkers (Wikipedia)
Thanks Harim and Hannah for your information about the I Ching. As a westerner it is interesting to have your perspective on its use. I agree that oriental traditions are interesting for a lot of us westerners, because of their unfamiliarity to us I guess, as you suggest. Thanks very much Hannah for telling us about your father. It was fascinating to read and puts the I Ching into a personal perspective for me.
I started reading this book later than the others and haven’t quite finished yet. Therefore I missed the first part of discussion.
As I read the novel. I have found it is more interesting than I had expected. More interesting than other SF novels, which contain aliens and sophisticated machines etc. Maybe it is because it has ‘fully-realized characters drawn from real life, ordinary people (Brown, 2001, p. vii) and it is also less ‘surreal (p. viii)’.
I think Minnie, Min Zhang, and Renabrab explained well about the difference between Science fiction and Speculative fiction. I agree with them. Before this class, I only knew SF as science fiction. My understanding of SF was similar to Betty in the novel. As Min Zhang pointed out Betty sees that SF contains science and its setting is in future (Dick, 1962, p.109). However, Paul claims in the novel that SF deals with alternate present (p. 109) just like ‘the man in the high castle’.
Hi Hannah! Thank you for sharing your experience. As you explained ‘I Ching has been increasingly used in several Western artists and thinkers'. This ancient Chinese belief has been brought into the West’s attention in recent decades. I can’t help thinking this is because of its newness to the West who is tired of own, too familiar culture. To me, it seems like a trend or fashion today in the West. It would be interesting to see how the West regard I Ching in the next century.
Hi, Harim and Renabrab
Thanks that if two of you enjoyed my story. It would be a bit strange to you, but I just wanted to share my experience, anyway. Again, please don't get me wrong, I have just sometimes referred to it, but have never relied on it.
Like Harim, I am on the halfway through THITHC, too. And I also felt a bit more interesting than I expected (because some students who finished the book told me it wasn’t interesting), personally, that is probably because there appears I Ching in the book(?).
However, the main reason may be I think the same as what Harim found interesting points that ‘fully-realized characters......’surrel’. Like other SF, he also conformed alien worlds, precognition, or ray-gun, but used them to his own scheme. Moreover, distinctively, in his works, much of his troubled and chaotic life was reflected (Brown, 2001, p. 308), and then, can I say such his life made it possible his interest in the I Ching as well as use of the I Ching in his novels?
I agree with Harim’s view on question 5.
The I Ching is appeared throughout the novel, as the central organizational device, brought by three main characters who are consulting it for their important decisions in the various critical junctures (p.5).
Personally, I think the use of the I Ching may bring about cultural aspects to the novel. Therefore, these decisions consulted the I Ching could show distinct morals compared to American moral point of view.
It's a shame that I didn't talk about I Ching because one of my friend studies I Ching as a philosophy theory as well as workes it on practice in China. I've read a bit I Ching myself but it's so complicated to put into practical way and the oracles are so difficult to interpret, so I gave up reading it at the very beginning.
When Hannah told me that her father was interested in I Ching and had also studied I Ching, I was not surprised because Korean culture has a very close relationship with Chinese culture. For example, I remember that the pattern of South Korea flag is from Tao and I Ching. The circle is divided into two parts by a curved thread, which means one part represents ‘Yin’ and the other represents ‘Yang’. Around the circle, there are 4 hexagrams represent ‘Sky’, ‘Earth’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Sun’. Hannah and Harim, please correct me if I said something wrong.
Like renabrab, hannah and harim say in their posts, I Ching has 64 abstract line arrangements called hexagrams. Each hexagram represents a description of a 'state or process'. More than that, there are just two kinds of lines, one is long line, and the other is short. Somebody says that this is the first computer language. The short line is ‘0’ and the long line is ‘1’. Isn‘t it interesting？
Hi, guys. I do realise that it’s a bit late to put forward my thoughts (have been too busy with other assignments). I’ve been reading the blog, and Min Zhang’s answer to question one caught my eye.
There seems to be a lot of confusion over the difference between science fiction and speculative fiction, not only on this blog, but also among the different internet dictionary definitions. My own readings and research show that speculative fiction is a type of fiction that focuses around a "What if?" question and attempts to answer it. Assuming this is an accurate definition of the term, I think all fictions should be labelled under this genre. Because when you think about it, don’t all fictions centre around an alternative ‘What if?’ universe? For example, Harry Potter – what if magic really exists? Lord of the Rings – what if there were Elves and Dwarves? Bourne Ultimatum – what if some guy can get shot and still jump over rooftops and dive into a river from 5 stories up without dying? When it comes down to answering question 2, the question that The Man in the High Castle poses is really just ‘What if the Axis powers won the Second World War?’
So at the end, it all depends on what kind of question the author is asking that sorts different fictions into their respective sub-categories, whether it be high fantasy or science fiction.
Back to question one, what is the difference in emphasis between the science fiction and speculative fiction? Well, my answer would be that there is no difference in emphasis: both concentrate on defining the ‘What if’s’ of a fictional novel. The real difference lies in how specific the answer is and what approach it takes, i.e. how does it attempt to pose or answer the question in the form of a novel? But I guess if I have to put a label on The Man in the High Castle, I would have to go with Science Fiction, because not only does it poses a ‘What if’ question, but it also creates an alternative universe in order to answer that question. Albeit the universe created does have some links and similarities to our own world, it would still count as a work of pure imagination, which is a defining characteristic of Science Fiction.
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