The Hanging Stranger by Philip Dick Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Various writers have argued that following the rules of the society is an important consideration to prevent dire consequences. In his work, The Hanging Stranger, Dick has adequately outlined the presented statement. In The Hanging Stranger, it is evident that Loyce discovered that the fellow citizens in the city were indifferent to the stranger who was hanging within the city square. He realized that all persons who seemed typical as himself were pseudo-men. They were prone to following a group or accepting horrible situations since they did not have stable standards defining them independent of the available group in the society. Unlike Loyce, the other members of the community were willing to settle for horrible acts in the society defined by a high level of social injustice such as lynching and witch-hunt. Evidently, when Loyce engaged Fergusson in a conversation regarding the dead body, he put him off by stating, Take it easy, old man. There must be a good reason, or it wouldn 't be there (P. 13). Fergusson's words provide an indication that the element of injustice in the society cannot be easily addressed by a person who will acknowledge its existence. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hanging Stranger by Philip Dick or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The decision made by Loyce indicated a high level of indifference to the existing societal rule on stranger lynching, therefore, resulting in drastic consequences for him. Evidently, when the police arrived at the scene, Loyce provides that he was working underground the entire day (Dick, 1967). However, the police missed the explanation on the corpse and instead considered Loyce as a suspicious character.