Week 7

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is The Man in the High Castle?

Science fiction is simply a kind of fiction that use scientific discoveries or advanced technology (either actual or imaginary) and is defined as 'A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background' (answers, n.d.) so I guess science fiction is a branch of speculative fiction. Brown (2001) also supports this by saying 'Dick's finest book, and one of the very best science-fiction novels ever published' and so on. Therefore I believe The Man in the High Castle is a science-fiction that comes under the speculative fiction.

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

The central theme of this novel is, as Brown (2001) states, 'fractured realities presented a future that, like all good science fiction, was less prescriptive of what was to come than descriptive of the present.' Then he goes on to say Dick's 'concerns was what constitutes a true human being, as opposed to a fake' and SF is inviting us to explore another 'what if' world that we can compare with our own ordinary world. He, then, summarises 'The Man in the high Castle, in its depiction of little people living small lives with honour and confusion and in its examination of the conflicting ideas of totalitarianism and Eastern philosophy.'

References

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

Science fiction, Retrieved October 20, 2010, from Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/science-fiction