Phillip K dick - Imposter

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Analyse ‘Imposter’ and show how it is typical of Dick’s work

Phillip K Dick was the author of over one hundred short stories in his lifetime focusing primarily on questions surrounding personal identity. His stories often featured references to an authoritarian government and are delivered with a definitive feeling of paranoia.  As a short story writer his work was true to the style, making use of time lapses and dead time and captures the glimpse of time that John Davies refers to:

‘A short-story captures a moment in time. It can by its size be only a glimpse. A short story offers a past and a future that aren’t there.’

Dick was succinct in his writing technique. His descriptions are precise and avoid over complications. Being true to the genre of science fiction, he wrote in a methodical scientific manner with the use of complex sentences such as  ‘Peters was in a hurry; below him, rumbling under the floor, the jets were wide open’. The glimpse of the story offers the reader enough to follow the story, yet leaves much to assumptions, often which are incorrect and this misinterpretation is what Dick plays upon in the ‘Imposter’. He also uses this to create the thrilling twists found in the short stories.

          The last scene is set in the forest and creates a suitable climax to the story through a number of techniques. The use of simple and implied sentences is evident throughout and creates tension and suspicion. “Only a matter of time.” The use of this short implied sentence lets the reader make assumptions: that it is referring to the capture of Olham. In hindsight, it is relating to the detonation of the bomb. This misinterpretation is important in leading the reader down the wrong chain of thought, thus making the ending more satisfying and shocking while creating an enigma:

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‘Olham walked quietly through the wood. Mile by mile, each part of the county was being measured off, laid bare, searched, studied, examined.’

The sentences shown are laid out methodically and scientifically; this can be seen in a number of Dick’s work. There is a great belief in science in society and by setting it out in this way, it leads the reader into believing there is no escape for Oldham and this only adds to the tension created. This is particularly effective as it is directly after the initial reference to time running out: it gives the effect ...

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