The paranoid worlds of Phillip K. Dick

An undercurrent of paranoia and fear runs through Phillip K. Dick's novels and short stories, exhibited not only in the actions and experiences of his characters, but in the worlds they inhabit. The elements of the stories- The protagonists' reactions to their surroundings, their surroundings themselves, and the story structure, all combine to heighten the sense of paranoia and unease.

A striking example of such  occurs in the character's rejection of their reality. In Phillip K. Dick's fiction, the characters do not question their reality, as seen in most fantastic fiction. Rather, they embrace the world of the fantastic. This is seen most prominently in The Father Thing where Charles and the other children never doubt that Charles's father is really an extraterrestrial threat in disguise. In We Can Remember it for you Wholesale, while Quail, after his initial revelation of his dual life as a secret agent, doubts he ever visited Mars, events in the story confirm his suspicions and reject his 'logical' explanations. This rejection of real reality and substitution of the supernatural add to the paranoid elements of the story- The protagonist is witness to, and often victim of, a world outside the mundane.

Often, the settings, contain an element of ever present danger from forces much more powerful than the protagonist. The setting of Pay Check, while not obliquely dystopian, is nonetheless a world under the tyrannical government, with security police on constant alert, ready to snatch dangerous persons off the streets at any time. In The Father Thing the threat is from the otherworldly being controlling Charles's father, adding an element of the uncanny to the story by making a familiar person into something unknown and dangerous. In Fair Game, the protagonist is under the scrutiny of massive beings in the sky. The threat of being under surveillance and being snatched is a recurring element throughout these stories, making the settings themselves paranoid.

Finally, the structure of the stories adds to a sense of heightening tension and unease. The protagonist, be it Quail in Wholesale or Walsh in The Chromium Fence, begins the story in a mundane environment, with something working under their conscious thought putting them at unease. For Walsh, this is his indecision between either the Purist or Naturalist political factions, for Quail, this is his desire to go to Mars. The characters' underlying emotion becomes a major factor as the story unfolds- Quail's desire to go to Mars turns out to be a clue into his past life. Walsh's indecision makes him an enemy of the state. Ultimately, the protagonist is pursued and confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds, relying on their 'underlying emotion' to resolve the situation. In Wholesale, Quail's buried memories prove the key to saving him from the government. In Fence, Walsh makes the decision to be indecisive, leading to his death. These story elements- The protagonist's buried or subconscious emotion becoming a critical element in the plot and ultimately the resolution of the story, serve in both cases to isolate the protagonist and place him 'against all odds'.

Phillip K. Dick's stories are ultimately stories of the individual against forces seemingly beyond his control. Often time, the protagonist's wildest suspicions prove to be correct- There are aliens out to abduct him, the government is out to assassinate him, his father is an alien. In a way, Dick's fiction can be read as validations of paranoid thinking. In Dick's worlds, paranoia is what allows his characters to survive.