Ubik

Each chapter of the novel begins by discussing the wonderful properties of the spray Ubik, which can seemingly do anything. For the main characters, however, its ability to reverse the deterioration of Jory and prevent him from consuming their energy is paramount. From one perspective, Ubik is representative of cure-alls and a drug culture that provides easy fixes to problems. Yet from another perspective, Ubik is in fact an antidote to the reality-bending hallucinations of its characters. Moreover, Ubik comes from the Latin word, “Ubique,” which means everywhere, which strongly suggests that the substance represents God. 

Money provides a host of symbols that one could read and dissect to understand a culture and its values. In the novel, currency shifts and evolves, and we can see how American culture’s figureheads shift and evolve over time, as well. The final scene of the novel, in which it is Joe Chip’s face on the coin that Runciter holds, symbolizes, perhaps, that the more things change, the more they stay the same; while the faces on the coins change, their purpose—capitalism actualized—does not.