Autofac Sparknotes

Science Fiction, or Sci-Fi, is a genre of fiction that involves heavy use of vivid imagination in order to create futuristic elements including advanced technology and sciences. Philip K. Dick was an influential author known for writing short stories and all alike in this genre, including the short story “Autofac”. Autofac is a science fiction story which is centered on the dangers of automatons, or robots and follows around a few human survivors after the war. Dick integrates narrative and literary elements into the story as well as setting, characterization, and allusions pertaining to how life was while Dick was alive. Philip K. Dick was an American writer, who was known for his several stories and essays written in science fiction. He was born in 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, and died in 1982 at the location of Santa Ana, California. Despite being well-known as an influential figure in science

An important historical event in Dick’s life would be the Vietnam War. While he tried to stay out of politics because of the societal commotion, there were several actions that would prove he was anti-Vietnam War when he joined the “Editors and Writers Tax Protest”. This was one of the several actions that people took during that time as an anti-war protest. The Vietnam War was a time and money wasting event that involved North Vietnam and allies against South Vietnam. Philip K. Dick was educated throughout Quaker schools for the early part of his life. Quaker schools were schools that administer education based on the religious belief that Quakers follow. Later on while in college, he started wondering about the metaphysical parts of life, and whether or not different domains exist. This later influenced many of his future novels and short stories, seeing as it was a common trope used in several of his stories