Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lathe of Heaven, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Limits of Utilitarianism
Dreams and the Limitations of Knowledge
Cosmic Balance
Power and Selfishness
Summary
Analysis
Orr heads to his large, three-bedroom apartment on Corbett Avenue. He remembers his tiny apartment in Corbett Condominium tower, though that building doesn’t actually exist. Orr arrives home and lies down in bed. He vows to stop Haber and “take his destiny into his own hands,” though he knows he won’t be able to do it. Haber has too strong a hold on him, manipulating him with grand proclamations about the invaluable impact Orr and his “peculiar and terrible gift” will have on humanity’s quest for knowledge, scientific advancement, and a better life. The idea that Orr’s effective dreams could be refined and repurposed to give back to a world they’ve so harmed is reason enough to stick it out with Haber a while longer. Still, Orr can’t stop thinking about the six billion people he killed today.
Haber’s manipulation of Orr’s dreams has improved Orr’s quality of life: now that there’s no overpopulation problem, Orr can afford to live in a more spacious apartment. Orr and Haber’s vastly different reactions to these changes (Haber is happy about them, but Orr is not) illustrate the opposing worldviews these characters represent. Orr believes that interfering with the universe’s natural state is never acceptable, which evokes a Taoist worldview. In contrast, Haber believes that interfering with the universe’s natural state is justified if the interference results in consequences that maximize happiness and minimize suffering, which evokes aUtilitarian worldview.
Themes
Orr’s troubled thoughts manifest as a splintering headache. He runs the sink, submerges his head in the frigid water, and considers his options as he comes up for air. It’s not just moral obligation that keeps him from leaving Haber. If Orr stops going to Volunteer Therapy, he’ll be sent to prison or institutionalized for his drug charges. If he stops cooperating with Haber, the doctor could withhold his prescription for dream-suppressing drugs. Orr also reminds himself that Haber isn’t some “mad scientist,” or he wasn’t—not until Orr’s condition gave him a chance at fame and power, distorted his thoughts, and corrupted him into “using his science as a means, not an end.” Still, if Haber’s “end” makes the world a better place, is it really so bad? Orr’s head throbs.
Orr realizes that his powerlessness gives him no good options for dealing with his predicament. If he refuses to cooperate with Haber, he won’t have access to dream-suppressing drugs and will continue to alter the world with his effective dreams; if he keeps working with Haber, Haber will continue to alter the world with his effective dreams. Orr’s depiction of Haber as a well-intentioned scientist who let his ambitions get the best of him illustrates the corruptive allure of power. His observation that Haber is now “using his science as a means, not an end” underscores the disparity between the intentions and consequences of Haber’s actions. Whereas Haber used to engage in scientific inquiry for its own sake, he is now “using his science as a means” to produce targeted results—many of which involve an improved social and professional status for himself. Orr’s observation shows how Haber’s Utilitarian worldview causes him to value the consequences of his actions over the actions themselves: Haber justifies the questionable act of meddling with fate on the grounds that such meddling improves the quality of his life and humanity’s quality of life more broadly.
Themes
Orr’s phone rings. It’s Heather Lelache, which makes Orr feel instantly better. Lelache asks to meet to talk, and Orr accepts. Lelache grumbles about the futility of assembling a case against Haber, noting all the steps Haber has taken to ensure that his experiments on Orr appear completely legitimate on paper. Plus, she hadn’t realized what an important figure he was. Inwardly, Orr recalls the session during which Haber ordered the dream that got him his Director position at the O.O.I.
Haber has used Orr’s dreams to create circumstances that guarantee him continued access to Orr: he’s now so important that he’s legally untouchable.
Themes
Lelache asks if all of Orr’s sessions with Haber leave him feeling so out of sorts, and he admits that although the Plague dream was a harrowing experience for him, not all sessions are so horrible. They make plans to meet for lunch at Dave’s on Monday. Before they hang up, Orr asks Lelache if she can fill him in on what Haber instructed him to dream, but Lelache refuses on the grounds that it would disrupt his treatment.
Lelache’s refusal to interfere with Orr’s treatment suggests that she still believes Haber’s treatment of Orr to be legitimate, which in turn suggests that Haber’s attempts to control the narrative of what happened in his office earlier that day were successful.
Themes
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After hanging up the phone, Orr realizes that although Lelache is smart and strong, she’s clearly not ready to take on the psychological burden of maintaining a double memory and is suppressing whatever she saw in Haber’s office today. The thought makes Orr feel sad and alone.
Lelache’s suppression of her double memory reflects a deeper discomfort with uncertainty: she’d rather suppress the idea of multiple realities altogether than entertain an idea that challenges her preconceived notions of what’s real and what’s not.
Themes
Before going to bed, Orr takes a dream-suppressing pill, though Haber warned him he’d eventually develop a tolerance to the drug. Orr sleeps deeply tonight, but his dreams are frivolous. He wakes up around noon on Saturday and walks to the refrigerator, which contains more food than he could’ve imagined in his previous life (which was characterized by overpopulation and food scarcity). Orr remembers his half-wife Donna, with whom he had a “trial marriage." She would get irrationally excited about an egg. He also remembers that, in the reality that exists after the Plague, there are only full marriages; in fact, to compensate for the low birth rate, Utah has begun to reinstate the practice of polygamous marriage.
Orr’s full refrigerator illustrates the improved quality of life made possible by the Plague: the elimination of billions of people results in better access to food for the Plague’s survivors. Orr is hardly fazed by the presence of all this food, though, which implies that he’s not convinced that this improved standard of life justifies the suffering the Plague caused.
Themes
Orr eats a huge meal and feels better. A short while later, he leaves his apartment and heads to the Institute. The March rain feels pleasant, and the streets are calm. Orr thinks about the way in which the world has improved and degraded since The Crash. The air is still catastrophically polluted, which reliably kills an average of one in four newborns; the tradeoff is that those who survive infancy are basically immune to cancer. There are no more factories releasing toxic fumes into the air, but there are no more birds, either. Though the Plague might have done a lot of good for the world, notes Orr, it hadn’t stopped global war; in fact, the conflict in the Near East is worse than it was before. Orr concludes that the world is basically the same as it was before The Crash.
As Orr compiles a mental pro/con list, he concludes that the pros of The Crash are equal to its cons—or, in a Taoist framework, that these dual forces complement each other and, in so doing, restore the world to a naturally balanced state where things are neither good nor bad—they simply are.
Themes
Orr enters Haber’s office and demands that Haber stop using his dreams. “I want to be cured,” Orr cries. Haber ignores Orr’s real request and responds with the evasive, condescending observation that “wanting” to be cured is the first step toward getting better. Orr resents Haber’s lies, evasiveness, and refusal to be candid. Haber will neither own up to using Orr’s effective dreams for personal gain, nor admit that he knows Orr’s effective dreams have the power to alter reality in the first place. Haber suggests that the reason they can’t communicate is because they have a fundamentally different idea about their moral duty to the world: while Haber wants to improve the world, Orr disagrees, reasoning that things and people don’t have purpose aside from their place within a larger whole.
Haber construes his and Orr’s failure to see eye to eye as the consequence of their differing worldviews to avoid acknowledging his awareness of Orr’s dreams, as well as his intentional exploitation of those dreams. It’s unclear why Haber continues to deceive Orr, since it’s abundantly obvious that Orr knows exactly what’s going on. Orr’s observation about people not having a purpose beyond their existence within a larger whole evokes the Taoist idea that the universe—and everything within it—exists as a single, interconnected entity. In contrast, Haber’s opposing, Utilitarian idea that people have a moral duty to improve the world suggests that a person can separate themselves from the rest of the world. Haber gives credibility to the subjective experience of the individual, whereas Orr views the individual’s experience as secondary to the sustained balance of the collective whole.
Themes
Haber’s exuberant demeanor grows dark as he accuses Orr of being “peculiarly passive” for someone belonging to “the Judeo-Christian-Rationalist West.” He mockingly asks Orr if he’s studied any Buddhism. Orr ignores Haber’s remarks and maintains that “it’s wrong to force the pattern of things,” citing “what happened yesterday” as an example of what can happen when one messes with things one shouldn’t. Haber looks straight at Orr and asks, “What happened yesterday, George?”
Haber insinuates that Orr’s adherence to principles derived from Eastern religions like Taoism or Buddhism is a sign of weakness or passivity. Haber’s dismissive comment also casts Eastern philosophical traditions as incompatible with (what Haber regards to be) a Western adherence to logic and rationality. Orr’s claim that “it’s wrong to force the pattern of things” reaffirms his commitment to practicing wu wei (“effortless action”), remaining passive, and avoiding the deliberate, unspontaneous sort of actions Haber associates with “the Judeo-Christian-Rationalist West.” Haber has the final word when he asks, “what happened yesterday, George?” Haber’s mocking question implies that nothing “happened yesterday,” which puts Orr back in his place by insinuating that Orr’s belief that anything happened yesterday is indicative of Orr’s insanity.
Themes
Haber prepares Orr for today’s session. He’s started to drug Orr to make him less resistant to hypnosis. Orr sees no alternative and accepts the shot. As the drug kicks in, Haber grows more energetic. Orr thinks about today’s newspaper headlines about the conflict in the Near East and knows that Haber’s instructions during today’s session will be to dream of an end to the war.
That Orr has no choice but to let Haber drug him underscores the vast disparity in power that exists between Orr and Haber.
Themes
Haber hypnotizes Orr, who begins to dream. Orr’s dream begins in darkness. From darkness, fields emerge. Orr is walking down an old road, and there’s a goose walking ahead of him. White stars emerge from the sky, with one star growing bigger, brighter, and redder before it explodes in a violent blast of light. Orr ducks for cover, but he’s unable to look away from the star. He screams “let be, let be!” before returning to Haber’s office.
The movement from darkness to light present in Orr’s dream mimics the creation myth, and this, in turn, reflects the God-like power Haber assumes when he uses Orr’s dreams to alter reality. It’s unclear exactly what Orr is dreaming about here, but the violence of the dream suggests that Orr’s unconscious is yet again attempting to thwart Haber’s vain attempt to alter reality without incurring any consequences. Additionally, Orr’s cries to “let be, let be” seem to convey his unconscious’s attempt to resist Haber’s influence.
Themes
When Orr comes to, he’s trembling. Haber wonders why Orr’s dream was so disturbing to him, since Haber’s instructions were to dream about “peace.” Orr describes his dream, and Haber laughs, likening it to an old science fiction movie. Orr demands to know Haber’s exact hypnosuggestion, and Haber decides to make an exception just this once and let Orr see the taped footage of their session. In the tape, Haber instructs Orr to dream of a world free from war, mass killings, genocides, and nuclear and biological weapons: to imagine “peace as a universal lifestyle on Earth.”
Orr’s unconscious seems to have interpreted Haber’s instructions to dream of “peace as a universal lifestyle on Earth” rather literally: the violence of the exploding stars in Orr’s dream suggests that Orr followed Haber’s specific instruction to promote peace on “Earth,” without applying the instruction to the entire universe. Perhaps Orr unconsciously transplanted war from Earth to some other planet or galaxy.
Themes
After reviewing the footage, Orr decides his dream has technically stayed within Haber’s guidelines, since all the dream’s violence occurred in space, not “on Earth.” Haber pauses and strokes his red-brown beard in a “calculated” way. Orr can sense that Haber’s actually putting some thought into how he responds to Orr’s dream rather than relying on his usual “inexhaustible fund of improvisation.” Haber finally speaks, commenting on how “subtle” it was of Orr to use “the Defense of Earth” to symbolize peace. Still, Haber allows, it makes sense, since it was the imperative to band together to defeat an extraterrestrial “common foe” that stopped war in the Near East once and for all.
Orr’s unconscious doesn’t eradicate humanity’s capacity for war and violence—it simply redirects humanity’s focus away from one another and toward a new, “common foe”: Aliens. Haber continues to manipulate and tease Orr by discussing the real effects of Orr’s dreams in vague, metaphorical terms, referring Orr’s literal creation of Aliens as a symbol of Orr’s unconscious desire for world peace. Haber continues to pretend that his sessions with Orr are standard exercises in psychoanalysis rather than “calculated” efforts to control Orr’s dreams; in this way, Haber reminds Orr who’s in charge.
Themes
Orr replies that while he obviously agrees with Haber that ending the war was a good thing, his subconscious can’t conceive of a completely peaceful world, which explains why he dreamed of a war against Aliens. Orr reminds Haber that his dreams are governed by the irrationality of his unconscious—not by his reasonable, waking mind—and it’s this irrationality that caused Orr’s dream to distort Haber’s logical desire for world peace. Orr wonders if there’s a different effective dreamer who’d be better suited for the job, since he’s no longer willing to assume responsibility for what happens in his dreams; after all, if he’s managed to put Aliens on the moon, who knows what’s next?
Orr’s inability to dream of a completely peaceful world reflects his inability to conceive of a universe over which he and his dreams have any real power: Orr can’t believe in a completely peaceful world because he views violence as part of the balanced universe, and he views any single person’s attempts to disrupt that balance by removing violence from the equation completely as ultimately futile. Orr’s remarks here also reflect his distrust in the unconscious: he sees his unconscious as dangerous and irrational, and the effective dreams his unconscious produces as an obstacle that inhibits him from living in harmony with the universe.
Themes
Haber breaks his silence to assure Orr that the Aliens pose no immediate danger to the Earth. Orr feels suddenly compelled to scream at Haber and call out all his lies, though he thinks better of it and even manages to generate some sympathy for Haber. Orr imagines a scenario in which Haber isn’t lying to him, but “to himself,” struggling to maintain a grip on reality as he grapples with two, conflicting memories: one in which he is treating a delusional patient who thinks his dreams are real, and the other, in which the patient isn’t delusional, and the dreams are real.
Orr’s unceasing ability to feel sympathy for Haber is indicative of his centered, nonjudgmental personality.
Themes
Orr warns Haber that he’s on the brink of mental collapse and begs him not to make him dream again, since he’s terrified of the future monsters his subconscious might unleash on the Earth. Haber ignores Orr’s real concerns and responds to his plea with vague psychobabble about not being afraid of the unconscious mind. It’s twilight when Orr leaves the Institute.
Haber engages in psychobabble to give the outward impression that his treatment of Orr adheres to standard therapeutic practices. Haber’s rambling also expresses his genuinely held belief that humans can use logic and rationality to solve most problems, and Haber views Orr’s desire to suppress his dreams as a rejection of logic and rationality.
Themes
