Decay, Death, and the Return of Light: The I Ching Yin-Yang Cycle in Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle

Abstract

Abstract Through a critical investigation of Philip K. Dick’s best-selling novel The Man in the High Castle, this essay attempts to unearth deeper levels of characterisation and motifs in the novel by discovering the implicit and nuanced symbolisms of the I Ching (Book of Changes) incorporated within it. The article scrutinises the influences of the I Ching upon Dick’s literary creation, particularly how the major themes of decay, death, and the return of light are uniquely depicted in the I Ching cycle of yin and yang, and metaphorically symbolised by several corresponding hexagrams.