Analysis of "The Chromium Fence"

   In the short story "The Chromium Fence", Philip K. Dick portrayed a divisive society in which identity is inseparable from politics. The main character, by refusing either extreme, places himself in a vulnerable and ultimately untenable position. The society portrayed demonstrates numerous problems, the most evident of which are the issues surrounding extremism. Those who subscribe to cleanliness do so to the extent of surgical modification, while those who espouse "natural" behavior revel in excessive eating and unhygienic behavior as a point of pride. While hygiene, or the lack thereof is an important issue, the societies conflict over it blows issue out of proportion.
     What is more interesting than the critique of extremism however is the critique of a two party system, and the assimilatory quality that has on citizens who subscribe to neither ideology. As the robot mentions, the only choices are assimilation or death, which reinforces the notion that such societies, in spite of their internal conflict, are all-encompassing and inclusive. The implication is that the alleged freedom provided by a two-party system is in fact an illusion, since the choice is mandated externally, and failure to choose one or the other ideology has severe repercussions. Further, the society can be seen as being oddly static. Since the purist/naturalist dichotomy can never be resolved, in spite of the passing of compulsory purist legislation, the society is effectively in a state of permanent unresolved conflict. This is reminiscent of George Orwell's "1984" and to a lesser extent Usula LeGuin's "The Word For the World if Forest". While the latter portrays a static society that is largely free of conflict (prior to human intervention), the former depicts a society that thrives on conflict. In fact, in this example, as in "The Chromium Fence", conflict is the very basis for the society, and without it the social paradigm would collapse, since it was no longer supported by the underlying, constant tension.    
    The extent to which this story is a reflection of American politics is uncertain, but the theme of unconditional duality is apparent in both. Further, the influence of advertising in forming the political parties, without the emphasis placed on grooming, beauty, halitosis and so forth has a darkly comedic, and Vonnegut-esque feel. While Philip K. Dick is critiquing the notion of a static, binary, and hyper-politicized society, he is at the same time parodying many of our society's superficial values, in order to more effectively demonstrate the ridiculousness of such a scenario.