Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Minority Report, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Security vs. Liberty
Fate and Free Will
Trust and Paranoia
Summary
Analysis
As they fly over war-ravaged countryside, Anderton and Lisa discuss the minority report. Anderton admits that it has happened “A great many times.” “Perhaps a lot of the people in the camps are like you,” Lisa suggests, adding, “We could have told them the truth.” Anderton stubbornly counters that doing so would have been far too risky. He decides to take the report to Kaplan, who may help him.
It is significant that Anderton’s situation is not the first case of a minority report. This shows that, as Lisa suggests, there are individuals in the camp who could have changed their minds in response to receiving precognitive data—meaning that their imprisonment is unwarranted and unjust. Anderton insists that his “is a unique case,” but it is only unique because he has the privilege of accessing the data, unlike the rest of the would-be criminals.
Themes
Her anxiety growing, Lisa lights a cigarette and attempts to counter Anderton’s paranoia: “If you’re going to accept this minority report as genuine you’ll have to accept the majority one, also.” She continues, explaining that Witwer is a good man who wants Precrime to succeed. If he were involved in a plot, he would have destroyed the minority report, but he does not know about the report. “You have to be taken in—if Precrime is to survive,” she pleads. When Anderton refuses to sacrifice his liberty, Lisa pulls a gun, forcing him to return to the station.
In this passage, Lisa explains that the majority report and the minority report are part of the same data set, which means that if one is corrupted, so is the other. Since Anderton believes the minority report is correct, he must also accept the validity of the majority report. Furthermore, if the majority report is valid, then Witwer could not have created it as part of a plot. By forcing her husband to return to the station at gunpoint—and thus sacrificing his liberty—Lisa demonstrates her devotion to Precrime and the greater societal good (near-total safety) it ensures.
Themes
Fleming, who has been hiding on the ship, suddenly leaps forward and knocks away Lisa’s gun as she screams. Asking Anderton for the precognitive tape reel, he proceeds to lay out the plot: “Kaplan is working directly with Witwer,” and “[Lisa] was back of the whole thing.” As Lisa protests the charge, Fleming crouches behind her and wraps his hands around her neck, beginning to suffocate her. After a pause, Anderton finally knocks out Fleming.
The identification card represents a turning-point discovery for Anderton. On its basis, Anderton concludes that Fleming is working for Kaplan, and that Kaplan planned the bread truck incident so that Anderton would not be arrested—for whatever reason, Kaplan seems to want Anderton accessible and not locked away, or at least not yet.
Themes
Searching Fleming’s unconscious body, Anderton finds identification, which states that Fleming is an Army Major in the Internal Intelligence Department of Military Information. Inferring Fleming’s connection to Kaplan, Anderton realizes that Lisa is innocent after all. Calling back to the station, Anderton speaks to a surprised Witwer, insisting he close down the precog room. But Witwer explains that Kaplan was just there to copy the reports.
Earlier, the story mentioned a system of checks and balances between Precrime and the army—of which Kaplan is apparently at the head. Kaplan’s involvement in this plot, then, suggests that he may be trying to take down Precrime to gain more power for the army.
Themes
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