The Man In The High Castle

“And the cipher was the metaphor type, utilizing poetic allusion, which had been adopted to baffle the Reich monitors.”

The German fascists are so self-involved and ecstatic in their racism that they fail to perceive cultural nuances of other, non-German people. As such, the Japanese hide coded messages within cryptic allusions to literature and cultural idiosyncrasies because they know the Germans will not know or care about such things. Togami thinks this way about the Germans and congratulates the Japanese for their intelligence, but he then depends on his American assistant to help him perceive the nuances of American culture when selecting a gift. Togami and the Japanese suffer many of the same chauvinistic cultural blind spots. 

“Obviously, it was God's sardonic vengeance, right out of some silent movie. That awful man struck down by an internal filth, the historic plague for man's wickedness.”

When Juliana thinks about the Nazi ideology, she frames it as the product of a diseased brain. Only a ruined, rotten mind like the syphilitic Adolf Hitler could devise such a violent, hateful system of beliefs. However, she blames humanity for buying into such a diseased and broken ideology. Juliana believes that Nazism is a plague sent from God to punish humanity for its sins. 

“Be small…and you will escape the jealousy of the great.”

Baynes is in a difficult position. His role in the German intelligence services means that he knows the terrible plans of the Nazis to destroy Japan and kill millions of people. His awareness of these plans also reveals to him the power and the apparently unstoppable nature of the Nazi war machine. He is faced with a choice of whether to be small and not attract attention or to risk appearing large and somehow alert the Nazis to his presence, likely resulting in his death. Baynes must decide whether he should act in a moral fashion and likely fail or not act and allow immorality to win. 

“She deserves to be married to a man who matters, an important person in the community, not some meshuggener.”

Frank has spent so long under antisemitic fascist rule that he has begun to internalize the lies and insults the Nazis spread about Jewish people. He is forced to hide his ethnic identity under the threat of execution, and he does not believe himself worthy of Juliana's attention. He uses a Yiddish word for fool to criticize his behavior, distinguishing himself as unworthy and separate by using an inherently Jewish vocabulary. Frank has lived so long under the Nazis that he has absorbed some of their hatred and turned it into self-loathing. 

“And so it’s all a fake, a mass delusion. The paper proves its worth, not the object itself!”

Wyndam-Matson argues that there is no quantifiable difference between real antiques and the fake versions he manufactures in his factories. He insists that an objective universal truth is not possible, bolstering the reality of alternative versions of history. Rather than a single universal truth, the novel depicts how characters experience subjective and discrete versions of reality that become true to them. Wyndam-Manton's argument about the cigarette lighter is the same, only there is no equivalent "paper" (43) that authenticates reality. To those experiencing it, the subjective experience is all that matters. 

“There isn't anything they've done we wouldn't have done if we'd been in their places.”

Joe makes a nihilistic argument for fascism, claiming that the mass genocides and brutalities were inevitable products of history and that all that could change would be the particular nationalistic branding of whichever country happened to win the war. He believes that this justifies the Germans’ behavior, as other countries would have acted in a similar manner. However, Joe is actually an undercover Nazi. His arguments are insincere because his character is an artificial echo of someone who was not on the victorious side. Joe is a Nazi who is justifying Nazi atrocities by arguing that they have acted in a fundamentally human manner. Thus, his sincere opinion is a pessimistic one: that humans are intrinsically capable of brutality and genocide. 

“Germany's scheme to reduce the populations of Europe and Northern Asia to the status of slaves—plus murdering all intellectuals, bourgeois elements, patriotic youth and what not—has been an economic catastrophe.”

Two Japanese officials discuss the potential candidates to take over the Nazi party. Rather than criticizing the numerous genocides of the Nazi regime on moral grounds, they criticize the Nazi actions because they were fundamentally inefficient. The conversation is a reminder to the audience that the Imperial Japanese government has committed atrocities of its own, and their main disagreement with the Nazis is built on a seething jealousy that the Nazis have succeeded in spite of their ideology, rather than because of it. 

“Bagatelle for you. To display fragment of the relaxation and enjoyment I feel in being here.”

Throughout the novel, Childan mimics Japanese speech patterns to ingratiate himself into the culture of the ruling class. He adopts an unconventional syntax that mirrors the way the Japanese people in the novel speak in English. Rather than speak the language he grew up speaking, Childan uses the unconjugated verbs and idiomatic phrases of his Japanese superiors while also mimicking their customs. As such, he becomes a pantomime of Japanese culture to win the affection of people he quietly resents. 

“Even the I Ching, which they've forced down our throats; it's Chinese. Borrowed from way back when.”

The existence of the I Ching is just one of the many cultural artifacts in the novel that illustrates how there is no single and unique culture. Though the Nazis or the Imperial Japanese might wish to believe that their cultures are somehow pure and superior, they are in fact an amalgamation of the hundreds of other cultures that surround them. 

“It was all somehow grander, more in the old spirit than the actual world. The world of German hegemony.”

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy feels more real to readers because it describes a version of reality from a subjective perspective. Written by an individual in conjunction with the I Ching, the novel contains an authoritative version of reality, if not necessarily an objective one. The subjective version of reality in the novel feels true because it describes a version of reality that is not questioned or interrogated, due to being confined solely to the book. In a world where everything is subjective and nothing is objectively true, characters are attracted to the authenticity of reality as described in a work of fiction.  

“Little kids are that way: they feel if their parents aren't watching what they do then what they do isn't real.”

History in The Man in the High Castle is—like reality—dependent on subjective experience. Unless a person witnesses or experiences something, they cannot be sure that it is true. The alternative version of history described in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy only feels real when it is experienced through a book. The rest of history, which is not experienced firsthand, feels as inauthentic as the merchandise in Childan's store. 

“The Colt .44 affair had shaken him considerably. He no longer viewed his stock with the same reverence.”

Childan's reality is shaken by the experience with Frank. His reputation and his idea of himself is so tied to his profession that to question his reputation as an antiques salesman is to question his identity. Childan experiences an identity crisis because he can no longer trust himself. The world around him feels less authentic as he comes to grips with the idea that no objective, single version of reality exists. 

“Under British rule, the darker races were excluded from the country clubs, the hotels, the better restaurants.”

The world described in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is very different from the world described in The Man in the High Castle. The former is an alternative reality within the alternative reality of the latter. Even in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, however, fascism and genocide are unavoidable. The British propagate a version of racist segregation and brutality that is not altogether different from the reality of the novel. Abendsen's work imagines a different world, but the difference is largely aesthetic. He replaces one group of racist imperialists with another. 

“Nothing is true or certain. Right?”

Juliana asking Joe to confirm whether anything can possibly be true is inherently ironic. If there is any truth to her statement, then Joe would not confirm it. Furthermore, Joe's perspective on the matter is compromised as he has arrived at the point via his constant cynicism. Joe's pessimistic fascism compels him to believe in a single, objective reality even when his experiences contradict this. The man who has spent most of the novel lying about his identity cannot become the arbiter of truth and reality. 

“The situation did not fit any model he had ever experienced.”

Childan becomes anxious when events do not conform to the ideal templates he has in his mind. He has spent so long trying to conform to the expectations of Japanese society, learning the protocols and manners, that anything beyond the boundaries of these set rules terrifies him. Childan fears honest interaction and emotional expression because of this oppressive society. 

“Christ! We're barbarians compared to them.”

Childan resents himself for failing to act in a proper manner. He views his failures through an imperial lens, blaming himself for not completely understanding Japanese culture. He decries his lack of understanding as barbarism, showing the extent to which he has internalized the propaganda of Imperial Japan. He craves the simple, objective reality of a society that is governed by strict rules and manners. Anything beyond this (including his own culture) seems barbaric. 

“Are we to assist it in gaining power, in order to save our lives?”

Once Baynes shares his information, the Japanese officials are in a difficult position. The only potential German chancellor who has the power to avert Operation Dandelion is the same man who committed many of the Nazi regime's worst atrocities. This presents a moral dilemma, in that the Japanese must ally with and elevate a monstrous man for the benefit of mankind. In a complex reality, they cannot adhere to strict moral guidelines and must decide whether to make compromises for the greater good. 

“To save one life, Mr. Tagomi had to take two.”

As well as allying with the worst of Nazi society to avert Operation Dandelion, Tagomi is presented with a similar moral question after he kills two police officers. He kills two men to save his own life. In a broader sense, he is also saving the lives of the other men in the room. In a still broader sense, he might also be saving the only possibility of stopping Operation Dandelion. Tagomi feels guilt and shame for killing two men, realizing instantly that the theoretical moral questions are very different to the actuality of murder. His future judgements (and those of the people around him) will be affected by what he has learned. 

“But it was dreary costume junk, without imagination or originality.”

Juliana shops for jewelry at the store but finds nothing that excites or interests her. Everything she views is cheap and meaningless, "without imagination or originality" (128). These pieces are the exact opposite of those produced by her ex-husband, Frank. Frank’s jewelry is powerful and artistic. It carries a deeper meaning, even if that meaning is only the relationship between the artist (Frank) and the wearer (Juliana). Juliana's experience in the shop suggests that Frank is the only person who satisfies her craving for intellectual stimulation and meaning. 

“I can't call them again tonight; I'll let it go—it's just too goddam late.”

The extent to which the characters have internalized the cultural idiosyncrasies of the occupying cultures is illustrated by Juliana's refusal to call Abendsen again. She has grown so accustomed to the dogmatic devotion to protocol and manners that she would rather adhere to social expectations than warn someone that their life might be in danger. In subtle ways, Juliana demonstrates the effect of many years spent as a colonial subject. 

“This gun, for me, has too much subjective history…all of the wrong kind. But that ends with me; no one else can experience it from the gun.”

Tagomi stares at the gun he used to kill two men and thinks about the nature of history. He understands the subjectivity of history: The gun now has a very different meaning for him than it does for anyone else. To Tagomi, this is the gun he used to kill people. To anyone else, it is just a gun. Both ideas are true, but Tagomi and the gun have a personal, subjective history that means more to him than it can possibly mean to anyone else. The relationship Tagomi has to the gun is an intense version of the relationship other characters have to their subjective experiences of history. 

“I am a mask, concealing the real. Behind me, hidden, actuality goes on, safe from prying eyes.”

As Tagomi begins to understand the subjective nature of truth and reality, he realizes that he is performing a version of subjective reality for everyone else. He wears one reality like a mask while another one lurks hidden inside him. This hidden actuality is true of every other character: Every person is performing reality to one another. As such, they are trying to assemble an objective version of reality from an infinite number of subjective performances. Every person is wearing a mask of some kind, Tagomi realizes, and their collective understanding of reality is based on interpreting these masks. 

“We can only control the end by making a choice at each step.”

Baynes returns to Germany and worries whether he made the right choice. He has betrayed his country in the hope that he might avert Operation Dandelion, and he might face execution when he returns home. However, he finds solace in the fact that he made a choice. Rather than remain a passive bystander as the brutality of reality unfolds, he at least tried to assert himself and reclaim his agency from the chaos of history. Baynes might not stop the Nazis, but he is happy that he at least tried to do so. To him, the choice to act is more significant than the outcome.