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The Pre-persons
[edit][Copied from The Pre-persons]
"The Pre-persons" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, October 1974. It forms part of the collected stories of Philip L. Dick, The Eye of the Sibyl. The story was an anti-abortion response to Roe v. Wade. Dick imagines a future where the United States Congress has decided that abortion is legal until the soul enters the body. The specific instant is defined by the administration, at present the moment a person has the ability to perform simple algebraic calculations (around the age of 12).
The main protester — a former Stanford mathematics major — demands to be taken to the abortion center, since he claims to have forgotten all his algebra. Ideologies of anti-abortion and rebellions against the government are associated with the historical background of the Roe v. Wade and the resignation of Nixon.
Plot
[edit]Walter, a kid who is more than 12 years old, is playing king of the mountain when he sees a white truck that has come to take kids to the abortion facility. Walter's mother comes to clarify to him that he has nothing to worry about because he is over twelve and that according to the law, if you are over twelve or older you have a soul [1]. She mentions that "pre-persons" in the Country Facility have approximately thirty days to be adopted before they are put to sleep. To identify the presence of a soul, an algebra test is taken to decide the results [2]. Throughout the story, multiple children and babies are taken away because they are unwanted and their lives are taken away in the "pound facility". The County facility used this law in the United States to prevent starvation from overpopulation in the future [2].
A Desirability Card with a 90 dollar cost is needed for all children in order for the abortion truck to identify wanted kids from those who need an abortion. Ed Gantro, Tim's father, claims his son to be wanted to the officer but without a D-Card, he must take Tim and charge the parents a fee of 500 dollars. Gantro defies the system by asking the officer to take him to the County facility because he does not know how to do math and therefore has no soul. This act of defiance caused a great scandal because Ed is a mathematics Stanford graduate and his statement proved that there is a soul even in the lack of knowledge of algebra [3].
Walter's father, Ian Best, demonstrated his opposed opinion against the system blaming women, especially his wife, for preventing growth and arranging the abortion system. He believes women to be the cause of the abortion system and the one ones to be in charge of killing helpless humans. Ian embraces the idea of running away from the system and incorporating in a place where women do not rule over men and there is no laws about abortion.
At the end, the idea of living in a free place where children are not hunted down in the "pound" is mentioned but the adults know that is impossible to scape from the system and thus, there is "nothing left to say" [2].
Author
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Philip Kindred Dick is an American author born on December 16th, 1928, in Chicago. He was known for writing multiple science fiction works that explored themes about human nature, identity, and perception. In total, he wrote 121 short stories and 44 published novels during his career [4]. One of his first major successes was winning Hugo Award with the novel The Man In the High Castle. Throughout his career, he followed a collection of novels engaged in religious activities associated with theology and philosophy as well. He passed away on March 2, 1982, after a brain death caused by multiple strokes. After his death, his influence was prominent in Hollywood filmmaking due to his work getting adapted for TV shows and movies [5].
During his early life, he moved from Chicago to California because his parents got a divorce. When he attended college, he believed in the importance of human perception and the ideology that "the universe is an extension of God"[6]. Dick's first sold story was "Roog" in 1951 [7]. Although, Dick won many awards during his career he suffered financial instability. These troubles and the use of drugs caused him to try a suicide attempt on March 23, 1972, with an overdose of sedative potassium bromide [8]. During his recovery, he suffered from hallucinations and after two strokes Dick died of brain death. After his death, many writers were inspired by his work and the "death of the American dream" [9].
Analysis
[edit]The Pre-person short story by Philip K. Dicks emphasizes the idea of anti-abortion and reinforces the male point of view about abortion. A white truck is used as the instrument of abortion and women's breast as the impediment of growth. Dick demonstrated his opposing view about the Roe v Wade case with the abundant presence of the malthusian perspective in the story [10]. Overpopulation is a risk that leads to lack of essentials such as food and water, and in order to prevent it, the population decided to "put to sleep" all the unwanted children under twelve years old. Philip K. Dick was a believer of human nature and the philosophy of traditional roles males and females play in history[11]
Characters
[edit]- Cynthia is Walter's mother and she is a true believer of the law. She supports the idea of abortion and brings the female point of view to the story. She illustrates a cold and apathetic character because of her support towards abortion.
- Walter is a kid who is more than twelve years old and highlights the ideas of anti-abortion from the perspective of children. He defies the law and wants to burn down the system to save "The Pre-persons". He dreams of getting out and being free but it never happens.
- Tim is a child under twelve who is caught by the white truck and asked for his D-card. Due to financial troubles, he doesn't have the Desirability Card and is asked to go to the County facility. He shows rebel thoughts against the system and their ideologies.
- Ed Gantro is Tim's father and he demands the peace officer driving the white truck to take him to the County facility along with the other children because he does not know math. Even though he has a master's degree in math from Stanford University, he defies the system to prove that there is no way to determine whether a person has a soul based on an algebra test.
- Ian Best is Walter's father and he is an anti-abortion activist that dreams about moving out with his son to Canada where the laws are different. Ed Gastro and Ian Best represent the heroes of the story that reveal the pro-life topic.
- Ferris is a Peace Officer from the Country facility who is happy to complete his job and believed that the abortion system has a purpose against overpopulation.
Historical Background
[edit]- During the 1970s in United States, minorities fought to have equal rights and to normalize non-traditional roles in the community.
- During the Vietnam War, many people joined to fight the protests occurring during the war.
- African Americans, lesbians, women, Native Americans, and the poor complemented the "New Rights" in which traditional social values and beliefs were rejected [12].
- In 1973, the Supreme Court declared the right to have an abortion based on the Roe v Wade case implementing women's rights [13]
- The Watergate scandal occurred and President Nixon resigned [14].
External links
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References
[edit]- ^ Postma, Eric. "The Pre-Persons by Philip K. Dick".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Dick, Philip K."The Pre-Persons". The Eye of the Sibyl and Other Classic Stories" (PDF). New York: Citadel Press, 275-296. 1987.
- ^ Rampell, Palmer (2018). "The Science Fiction of Roe v . Wade" (PDF). The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ^ "Ranked: Movies Based on Philip K. Dick Stories". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
- ^ Chi Hyun Park, Jane (2010). "Yellow Future: Oriental Style in Hollywood Cinema". U of Minnesota Press.
- ^ Dick, Philip K. "An Interview With America's Most Brilliant Science-Fiction Writer" Interview by Joe Vitale. Interview With Philip K Dick. Print Interviews. Web. October 22, 2011
- ^ Philip K. Dick (1978), How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later, urbigenous, retrieved February 10, 2019
- ^ Cameron, R. Graeme (June 20, 2014). "Mad Flight of a Manic Phoenix, or: Philip K. Dick in Vancouver (1972)". Amazing Stories. Retrieved June 26, 2015
- ^ ""Between Parenthesis by Roberto Bolano: review"". The Daily Telegraph.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Salyer, Jerry (2019-07-21). "Philip K. Dick's "The Pre-Persons": Abortion & Dystopia". The Imaginative Conservative. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ Gopnik, Adam. "Blows Against the Empire". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ Editors, History com. "The 1970s". HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "What Happened in the 1970s inc. News, Popular Culture, Prices and Technology". www.thepeoplehistory.com. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ "United States - The 1970s". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-04-19.