The Man Who Japed
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The Man Who Japed is a science-fiction novel written by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1956. Although one of Dick's lesser-known novels, it features several of the ideas and themes that recur throughout his later works.
The Man Who Japed is set in the year 2114. A totalitarian government rules a post-apocalyptic world under the strict ideology of Morec, or Moral Reclamation. Morec has made the future society conservative and puritanical in nature, but also strict, oppressive and judgemental of its fellow citizens.
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[edit] Future society
The book contains a number of ideas with regard to how society will have changed by the year 2114. The main character, Allen Purcell, lives in a single-room apartment that changes its appearance according to the time of day. Hence, at seven in the morning his "bedroom" changes into a kitchen; at night it will change back to a bedroom.
Other predictions of future society relate to the Morec system. Small robots called "juveniles" have been designed to seek out and record evidence of incriminating exchanges between people. Anyone who has committed what is deemed an "immoral act"- be it swearing or extramarital relationships- is brought before a committee where other citizens air their views on their behaviour.
[edit] Humour
The Man Who Japed is notable as being perhaps the first book in which Dick has used a sense of humour to great effect. This gives the book an irreverent tone in contrast to the dark themes prominent within the storyline. We learn, for instance, that the highly moral people of 2114 consider "damn" and "hell" to be bad swear words, and hereafter the writer censors them so that they become "d__m", and "h__l".
Humour is also a key theme in the book. Allen Purcell is found to have a sense of humour, thereby making him one of the rarest individuals in 2114's strict, humourless society. In discovering that he has such a gift, Purcell discovers that humour could help him in changing the face of society- for the better.
[edit] Politics
The Political system of The Man Who Japed could be interpreted as representing numerous real-life political parties. However, many agree that it is first and foremost a representation of the Communist Party of China.
[edit] The Man Who Japed and Nineteen Eighty-Four
The Man Who Japed has much in common with George Orwell's 1949 book Nineteen Eighty-Four. For instance, Both novels are satirical takes on the dangers of politics; Both novels are set in a future dystopia; Both novels feature the state's invasions of citizens' privacy (1984's Telescreens and the Juveniles from The Man Who Japed.) Philip K. Dick once claimed that, to him, true science fiction deals with dystopias. He gave the example of 1984 as a book of this type, even though Orwell's book is rarely thought of as "Science Fiction". Overall, The Man Who Japed is different from 1984 in the way it presents ideas and features a more prominent sense of humour.
[edit] External links
- Digressions on The Man Who Japed, by Frank C. Bertrand.
- A Summary of The Man Who Japed, at the official Philip K. Dick Website.
