The 1950s in American history is known, not only as the Golden Age of wealth and materialistic abundance, but as a “transitional time” when social standards were challenged. Aspects of gender roles, which were at that time underscored by the Cold War ideals of domesticity and conformity, were also put into question. In his novel, Time Out of Joint (1959), Philip K. Dick portrays the matter of sexual politics most vividly through the characterization of Ragle Gumm and Junie Black, whose lives were greatly burdened by gender guidelines. Nonetheless, it is also through Ragle’s persistent pursuit of reality and Junie’s rebellious pursuit of love that Dick foreshadows the liberation of gender roles and the impending gender equality movements of the 1960s.
Although Ragle Gumm is the protagonist living in a world set up in the late 1950s, his character resembles nothing of a 1950s role male model and lacks many of the core criteria: a stable occupation, a private house, and a family. This eventually leads to his experiences of societal pressure and self-doubt, which genuinely reflects the struggle of many men in the 1950s. Unlike ordinary men, Ragle Gumm worked at home solving a daily newspaper puzzle titled “Where will the little green man be next?” that paid surprisingly well. Ragle’s work was unconventional and overlooked as “a hobby” based entirely on luck (Dick 33). Only later in the book was Ragle’s puzzle-solving work revealed as facade for protecting the Earth from nuclear strikes. Connecting this big revelation to the society’s cynical attitude towards Ragle’s occupation at the beginning, there exists a sense of irony that Dick uses to challenge conformity and gender roles. This irony shows how social expectations do not determine Ragle’s personal worth and instead, restrain him from making use of his talent. The fact that Ragle had “no kids. No wife. No home of his own” (81) also indicates that he failed to settle down and achieve the American Dream. Unlike Vic and Margo, whose lives are completed by American Dream ideals, Ragle is haunted by the concept and feels the need to conform. He suffers from personal conflict to an extent that he could “savor (others’) insults” instead of going through “deep internal gnawing pangs of doubt and self-accusation” (31) and ultimately conclude that he has “a worthless life.” (81)
An interesting aspect of Ragle’s struggle with gender role lies in his inability of finding a suitable woman. This brings up the question of homosexuality and Ragle’s sexual orientation. It reasonably relates to the Lavender Scare, which is the fear and discrimination against homosexuals in the 1950s partially as a result of the Red Scare (The Huffington Post, 2015). Ragle has a negative perspective on man-woman love since he describes it as opposing “Yin and Yang” (75) and how it could bend “the great mind” (75). It is conceivable that real love for Ragle could have been about a different type of relationship beyond the line of social standards, perhaps a relationship between two people regardless of their gender. The characterization of Ragle Gumm clearly fails to meet the criteria of gender role and his struggle to live in the artificial world challenges the ethics of social conformity.
In contrast to Ragle Gumm, Junie Black is the embodiment of gender expectations, the role model of a good woman in the 1950s. Despite her ‘qualifications,’ Junie is dissatisfied with life, which directly points out the flaws of the American Dream and gender roles. Junie is bounded to her duty as a housewife even though she resents it. While Ragle is able to freely go for a swim anytime, Junie has “all (the) housework to do” (66) in the way and instantly reminisces her teenage years of freedom. In her marriage, she is automatically assigned the submissive role to her husband. Dick uses tone to portray the polarity of power in this relationship. In their conversations, Bill Black’s tone is always condescending and judgemental whereas Junie’s tone is sincere and reverent. Even when they have a fight, Bill could openly express his frustration for Junie by exclaiming in vulgar language: “The hell with it” (123). At the same time, he could command her to get the door by simply saying “the door” (123). Unlike Bill who had no need to clarify his anger, Junie could say nothing to substantiate her argument besides mourning about her “educational background” (123) that was clearly limited to all women. In the end, the characterization of Junie Black matches every principle of the American Dream and women’s role, yet completely diverges from any definition of happiness described by those two sets of ideals.
Ragle Gumm and Junie Black both struggled to live by the guidelines of gender role, and they both took actions against it, specifically actions in pursuit of their personal desires. Throughout the book, Ragle has always had a strong sense of belief in his uniqueness as well as of disbelief in the 1950s society. He would confidently go into an argument with Bill Black and Vic to justify his puzzle-solving work, yet would, later on, blame himself for being worthless to the society. Ragle constantly searches for a sense of belonging and desires an escape from the 1950s world in order to enter the future reality, in which his talent was celebrated and his identity accepted. Ragle’s escape from the past world to a better, free world metaphorically foreshadows the liberation of gender roles that would open up “ the experience of pure freedom” (399) to every individual. Junie’s discontent for her marriage urged her to pursue a new romantic relationship. Her transformation, from bluntly refusing to reluctantly responding to boldly confessing and fighting for her new love, is a process any revolutionist would take before joining the movement for gender equality. Ragle’s pursuit of reality and Junie’s search for love both symbolize opposition to social norms and foreshadow the gender equality movement in the 1960s.
The characterization of Ragle Gumm and Junie Black reveals the imperfections of gender roles and foreshadows future gender equality movements. Nowadays, gender equality is no longer a vision because women are as equally powerful as men. Asides from having gratitude for revolutionists who fought against gender bias, it is also our duty to preserve equality. The fact that president Donald Trump could make sexist comments and still have the majority's support highlights our negligence of the past and irresponsibility with the future. Time Out of Joint is a reminder of gender roles’ dreadful influence in the past and of our commitment as Americans to protect and respect civil rights.