“The Minority Report”

BY PHILIP K. DICK

 

From The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories, Citadel Press Books, May 2002
© The Estate of Philip K. Dick, 1987

 

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11 NOTEBOOK 22: Background details

 

Setting:

 

Describe the existence and purpose of Pre Crime. How does it work? What makes it exist?

 

 

 

Character List

·        John Allison Anderton:

·        Lisa Anderton:

·        Ed Witwer:

·        Precogs (3):

o       Jerry:

o       Mike:

·        Leopold Kaplan:

·        Ernest Temple:

·        Tod Fleming:

·        Wally Page:

 

THURSDAY DECEMBER 12 NOTEBOOK 23: Author motivations

 

1.  From the first paragraph, what is the effectiveness of the author jumping right into the story in “The Minority Report’s” opening paragraph?

 

 

 

2.  Why does Dick refer to his characters only by their last names? Is it necessary to specify sex? Do last names bring egalitarianism among people? Why are last names typically passed down family lines when it is the blood lines of the mother that actually connect us?

 

 

 

3.  From the title, what is a “minority report” (85)?

 

 

 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 NOTEBOOK 24: Take action or settle

 

1.  From page 90, what must Anderton do to accept the minority report?

 

 

 

2.  Why do Lisa and her cohorts want Anderton out of the way (90)? How would our lives change if “classified” and “top secret” information suddenly became public knowledge?

 

 

 

3.  What is the role of the Senate in the story and how does it correspond to Pre Crime?

 

 

 

4.  What are the rules of the organizations mentioned in the story? Which ones are most important? Which organizations actually RUN our country? Which are more important? Why? If this really is a democracy, why are some government agencies valued more than others, when our only actual involvement is our one in six million vote on election day?

 

 

 

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16 – no notebook assignment

 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17 NOTEBOOK 25: changing roles

 

1.  What point of view is the story told from? How does the author use italicizing? Does this change the point of view of the story? For better or for worse?

 

 

 

2.  How does General Kaplan’s role change? Why does Kaplan change his tactic when addressing the public at the end of the story (99)?

 

 

 

3.  How does Anderton’s killing of Kaplan disrupt the Pre Crime system by proving the majority report true?

 

 

 

4.  Why does Anderton feel “lucky to get out” (100)?

 

 

 

5.  What was the difference between the three minority reports (101)?

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18 NOTEBOOK 26: Self-actualization and reflection

 

1.  Was there ever an actual “minority report” in existence? What makes you think so?

 

 

 

2.  How was the majority report only an illusion? Which precog’s report was actually correct?

 

 

 

3.  What are the ONLY circumstances in which such revised reports could actually occur (101)? Why could it happen to Witwer? Might he have any sort of response to stop it, or would he have reacted the same as Anderton?

 

 

 

THURSDAY DECEMBER 19 NOTEBOOK 27:

 

1.  Which real life examples can you think of when such knowledge was available BEFORE the rest of the world knew? How was that information “handled”? If you were in a similar situation, what would you do?

 

 

 

FRIDAY DECEMBER 20 NOTEBOOK 28: Movie Differences

1.  How is the story changed by casting such a youthful, agile character, as Tom Cruise, into the role of Anderton?

 

 

 

2.  What is the trouble with making this small story into an $80 million production? What are the gains and losses?

 

 

 

3.  What would the United States be like without weapons and without murder? Why is it necessary to practice such tactics on Saddam Hussein and Iraq, for example, when he has already complied with U.S. Weapons Inspections? Why is our military waiting so anxiously for deployment at a moment’s notice?