Life and Times of Philip K. Dick

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Dick’s Early Life• Philip K. Dick was born in

Chicago in 1928 along with his twin sister Jane. Unfortunately, Jane died only six weeks after her birth.

• Dick blamed his mother for his sister’s death, and tension in Dick’s relationships with both his parents began to grow.

• He spent the majority of his teen life in Berkeley.

• Dick briefly attended the University of California, but never graduated.

Dick’s Medical Conditions

• When Dick was a young boy he suffered from severe vertigo, which recurred later, and was one of the main reasons he left college.

• In his late teens Dick was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

• Later, it was suggested that Dick also suffered from several other mental conditions, but other doctors thought that he was perfectly sane.

The Visions of a Genius

• From February to March of 1974 Dick claims to have had a series of visions .

• Dick claimed that these visions changed his life and altered his writing, culminating in the success seen during the last 8 years of his life.

Dick’s Success• Philip K. Dick authored

more than 40 novels including The Minority Report and the inspiration for the hit movie Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).

• He also wrote approximately 121 short stories as well as many essays and poems.

Dick’s Success

• More than 8 movies have been based on Dick’s novels and short stories.

• Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, along with director Steven Spielberg, during the first induction ceremony of this institution.

Dick’s Style

• Dick developed a very “out of this world style” challenging the bonds of reality.

• He used psychedelic jargon to mystify his readers.

• Dick often created “other” worlds in his novels - a key feature of his writing.

• His stories started a new era of science fiction: “cyberpunk”.

Ubik• “Upright in her transparent

casket, encased in an effluvium of icy mist, Ella Runciter lay with her eyes shut, her hands lifted permanently toward her impassive face. It had been three years since he had seen Ella, and of course she had not changed. She never would, now, at least not in the outward physical way. But with each resuscitation into active half-life, into a return of cerebral activity, however short, Ella died somewhat. The remaining time left of her pulse phased out and ebbed” (Dick, 11).

• This quote is the embodiment of Philip K. Dick’s style

• Overly dramatic jargon is characteristic of his style

• This quote also illustrates Dick’s tendency to create alternative worlds within his stories.

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said.

• “She has died, he thought. But when? A hundred thousand years ago? A few minutes ago? Why has she died? He asked himself. Is it the mescaline? That I took? Is this real?” (Dick, 166)

• Again this quote shows Dick’s unique, dream-like style.

• Dick often took dramatic events and turned them into impossible phenomena, challenging the world we know.

An untimely end

• Philip K. Dick died on March 2nd, 1982.• He suffered from several strokes but ultimately died

from heart failure.• He was only 53.• He was buried alongside the sister he never knew.

Works Cited

Dick, Philip K. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. New York: Vintage Books Inc, 1974.

Dick, Philip K. Ubik. New York: Vintage Books Inc, 1969.

"Sci-Fi Shrine Honours Spielberg." BBC. BBC. 4 Jan. 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4532831.stm>.

Sutin, Lawrence. "Philip K. Dick." Philipkdick.Com. 4 Jan. 2008 <http://www.philipkdick.com/aa_biography.html>.