I find it difficult to understand the real meaning of the "code" from The Man in the High Castle

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello! I’m a fan of Philip K. Dick in China, and I have an ambition to translate this novel The Man in the High Castle to Chinese. However, I have got some problems when I’m reading this book. For example, the word “code”. It has appeared twice on the first two pages. Does it mean the moral code, a rule of being polite? Or is it the code associated with the profession of Childan or the field of antique?

“This is Mr. Tagomi. Did my Civil War recruiting poster arrive yet, sir? Please recall; you promised it sometime last week.” The fussy, brisk voice, barely polite, barely keeping the code.

Robert Childan’s aspirations and fears and torments rose up and exposed themselves, swamped him, stopping his tongue. He stammered, his hand sticky on the phone. The air of his store smelled of the marigolds; the music played on, but he felt as if he were falling into some distant sea.

Thank you!

2 Likes
2

I checked the ebook. The author seems to use the word in a specific way. He does not reveal any details about it, but it seems to be some kind of moral code, or code of conduct such as manners.

It might refer to the Bushido code.

3 Likes
3

In the next instance, the speaker is polite, but still manages to be insulting.

The author in both cases uses it with respect to “politeness ", so as a minimum it includes that, but he uses “the code” very specifically twice on the first page, so it raises the question in the reader’s mind as to what is involved in “the code”. This, by itself, is not a common phrase.
I think the author is setting us up for some code in this fictional world and it will be revealed later in the book.

So, to answer your question, the author hasn’t revealed what “the code” is yet. In your translation, I would not use a specific term.

2 Likes
4

I have another sentence very tricky to me. He says “Grand slam to keep patronage forever.” What does it mean?

2 Likes
5

The character is getting ready for a meeting with a big customer. He is going through a list of things to get ready for the meeting. Then he says this sentence fragment:
[It would be a] grand slam to keep [this customer’s] patronage forever.
It would be great to keep this customer as a client forever.

2 Likes
6

“Grand slam” is a baseball term and is also used in other sports. In baseball, it’s the most points a batter can get in a single turn. In sports like tennis and golf, it means to win four major tournaments.

In this sentence it means one thing that is so good that it locks in the patronage forever. The term is a superlative and represents the best they could hope for.

Grand slam is one of many sports terms than have worked their way into daily language.

3 Likes