The Chromium Fence is a powerful warning from Phillip K. Dick about the dangers of politics and political parties. It is made painfully clear throughout this story that the Naturalist and Purists parties are painfully clear satires of the political parties in our society today. From the very beginning, there are indicators that the culture of these people is embodied by these two governing factions. "Wife murders husband over political tiff," "Purist mob lynches Naturalist in Boston." This is satirizes the alarming behaviors that stem from political beliefs. A woman murdered her own husband over a mere conflict of thoughts; this shows that in this society, even family is not strong enough to overcome these political differences. This is also demonstrated in Walsh's family. His son Jimmy is a Purist, while his brother-in-law Carl is a Naturalist. This leads to constant family arguments. Walsh's wife Betty says, "Please, no quarreling about politics at the table. Let's have peace and quiet for a change" (p.294). Politics are so overpowering that it controls and tears families apart.
The most striking message relayed in this story is how extreme politics can lead to conformist society, and how dangerous that is. When a culture is consumed by entities that defines and categorizes individuals, it poses a great threat to individuality and freedom. As the robot analyst tells Walsh, "You don't want to commit yourself for fear you'll lose your freedom and individuality" (p.296). Freedom and rights are lost as soon as one identifies themselves with a party; their personal identity is lost, and replaced with that of the party. Phillip K. Dick presents this story as an alarm warning against extreme politics and conformity.
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