According to Mountfort (2006), what role does the I Ching have as an organisational device in the structure of High Castle? How does the use of this device illuminate the character of the novel’s protagonists?

According to Mountfort (2006), what role does the I Ching have as an organisational device in the structure of High Castle? How does the use of this device illuminate the character of the novel’s protagonists?

The I Ching, an ancient text based on divination to provide guidance is referenced and used heavily within the narrative of The Man in the High Castle. Author Philip K. Dick’s use of the I Ching throughout his novel functioned as an organizational device through a meta-narrative role (Mountfort, 2006). The I Ching essentially connects characters that have never met but are affected through their actions by using the I Ching. The story within the story, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is revealed to have also been created through the use of the I Ching, which deepens the constructs of intersected characters, storylines and parallel worlds (Mountfort, 2006). It is through this oracle that Dick alludes to another parallel world that may exist (Brown, 2001). The I Ching was also used as a tool to help Dick write his novel (Mountfort, 2006). Dick himself consulted the oracle while at a number of significant and decisive moments within the story, through his own oracle consultations he was then able to develop and move forward in his storyline (Mountfort, 2006).

Two of the protagonists, Frank Frink and Nobusuke Tagomi both consult the oracle for similar situations concerning interpersonal matters. For Frink it was his boss and for Tagomi it was the international visitor Mr. Baynes. Both characters consult the I Ching before making what seem to be insignificant decisions, but in actuality it affects their own outcomes drastically (Mountfort, 2006). Juliana Frink, estranged wife of Frank, also consults the I Ching with gusto after killing her boyfriend who turned out to be a Nazi assassin sent out to kill Hawthorne Abendsen, the author of The Grasshopper lies Heavy. She receives a response that she believes is telling her to warn the author that more assassins will be sent to kill him.

 Power, injustice, inner truths and real and parallel realities are explored, and the reference and use of the I Ching by the characters within The Man in the High Castle affects their decisions, behaviors, and outcomes of their existence.

References

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

Dick, P.K. (2001; 1962). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.

Mountfort P. (2006). Oracle-text/Cybertext in Phillip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. Conference paper, Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association annual joint conference, Atlanta, 2006.