Dune Essay Questions

How does Herbert's emphasis on scarcity and excess inform the reader's view of certain characters' "goodness" or "badness"?

In Dune, it's fairly easy to see who's good and who's evil most of the time. Baron Harkonnen, a sadistic, narcissistic pedophile? Clearly bad. Chani, a protective, kind leader of her tribe? Clearly good. This is furthered by how these individuals interact with the resources of their environment: The Baron is wasteful, regularly killing people to make a point or for fun; he's obese, demonstrating his gluttony (and also perhaps an example of troubling fatphobia, associating fatness with pure evil). Chani is resourceful, demonstrating to Paul the quicker way down a mountain; she never wastes a drop of water, which means she even makes use of the water from the men she kills while protecting of Muad'Dib and his people.

It's fairly obvious that respecting scarcity is a major theme in the novel, but it also informs the morality of the characters in less-obvious examples than Harkonnen vs. Atreides. Though the Fremen and the Sardaukar are compared throughout as equal forces with comparable fanaticism, their lifestyles are different. Where the Fremen respect the Law of the Minimum, the Sardaukar live like kings, taking wealth and pleasure wherever they please. Though the Sardaukar aren't really evil on their own—they're soldiers under one leader, like the Fremen—their "badness" is clear from their excess.

Fate and free will are at odds throughout the novel. Do you think that Paul had influence over his fate, or were the events already set in stone? Why?

The novel's emphasis seems to lean toward fate. The events of the novel are foretold and filled, even without the characters' knowledge (like Paul choosing Muad'Dib, Paul riding the largest sandworm ever seen, and Paul knowing how to wear a stillsuit without being taught). The structure of the novel subtly supports this as well, in two ways. First, the Harkonnens outline the plot of Book 1 in Chapter 2, and that exact outline is followed. Second, each chapter begins with a quotation collected by Princess Irulan, and it often gives the reader advanced knowledge of what's going to come (for example, knowing Wanna is dead; knowing how Duke Leto is remembered after his death; knowing that Paul's reputation will grow out of control).

On the other hand, there are a few narrative moments that show Paul's future was not set in stone. These are the moments of the "real-now," usually a life-or-death moment where anything can actually go wrong. Paul's fights with Jamis and Feyd-Rautha are like this, as is his first time riding a sandworm. Paul's decisions in these moments are his—at least as far as he knows. Because of the subjective nature of Paul's foresight, it still seems like Dune weighs more toward fate than free will.

In Dune, does Paul fit the traditional role of the "chosen one"? Why or why not?

There are many arguments for or against Paul being "the One," especially considering his behavior in the sequel. Looking strictly at Dune alone, Paul reads as a sort of anti-hero—not a villain, but not a hero, either. Though he is "foretold," those prophecies are inventions spread by the Bene Gesserit. On the other hand, on some occasions, he fulfills these prophecies without knowing them. Though he can "see" the future and past, his vision is incomplete and flawed, even after drinking the Water of Life. He completes a "hero's journey," leaving home, studying under a mentor, developing unique powers, and completing a quest—but the quest isn't exactly complete. Dune shows Paul winning the war and becoming next in line to the throne, but it also ends on the cliffhanger of a jihad.

An argument can be made that Paul is the One, the Hero, the Chosen Boy—and that in exploring Paul's flaws, Herbert wants the reader to examine the flaws of heroes, and the danger of following them blindly.

Dune frequently refers to a question of human versus animal, from the early scene with gom jabbar to Paul's final duel with Feyd-Rautha. How is the human/animal dichotomy depicted? What does this contribute to the story?

The contrast between human and animal comes up frequently in Dune. Paul takes on the name of the desert mouse, but when he sees his friend and mentor Stilgar become a worshiper, a creature, "less than human," Paul is disappointed. As Liet-Kynes is dying, he thinks hawks can appreciate what no scientist understands. Both Duke Leto and Baron Harkonnen think of themselves as predatory animals. There are few characters who don't have at least one animal comparison made to their appearance.

It certainly seems like the novel draws a firm line between human and animal, with human as the superior, but close examination complicates that. The gom jabbar sifts humans from animals—but the Bene Gesserit are controlling puppeteers on a generations-long eugenic quest, so their opinions aren't exactly admirable. The Fremen learn a lot from animals and admire them greatly, calling muad'dib instructor-of-boys. Herbert seems to admire the Fremen way of life, so perhaps Herbert actually intends for the reader to be critical of the dichotomy between human and animal. Liet-Kynes's dying thought certainly seems to support this—even hawks can appreciate facts scientists don't understand, so perhaps human supremacy isn't quite as firm as most characters in Dune would have you believe.

Despite being science fiction, Dune doesn't have much "hard technology" depicted. What does this do for the lives of characters, and for the narrative as a whole?

In writing Dune, Herbert aimed to create an unrecognizable, but relatable, future. One of his techniques for this was eschewing what we now think of as a sci-fi aesthetic, banning all computers and robots from his futuristic society. The Butlerian Jihad thousands of years ago destroyed all thinking machines that dominated human life, and in Paul's time, those computers have been replaced by human power.

This affects the lives of the characters, as they're essentially forced to specialize to fill the roles of computers. Mentats like Thufir Hawat and Piter de Vries spend their entire lives as human computers in service of others, taking various drugs to increase their computational abilities. Guild members have to ingest spice for space travel—not to power their ships, but because without awareness of the future it'd be impossible to chart a safe course.

The technology possessed by the cultures of Dune is at a sort of stalemate: shields make lasguns useless, so combat must be done hand-to-hand. The narrative therefore feels old-fashioned, with large armies meeting on the battlefield with swords like an Arthurian legend. This science fiction doesn't have the flash of Star Wars, with large space shootouts, but the narrative can be much more personal as a result. Less emphasis on weaponry and technology means that the story focuses on the humans that fill those gaps.