The novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Phillip K. Dick is a classic in the genre of science fiction. The novel covers large variety of human aspects while at the same time addressing many philosophical questions. In this article the relationships between male and female along with humanity dilemmas are covered. In the modern future world the need for emotions is expressed, and while the wealthy people have the ability to own real animals, the replicate animals become symbols for the owners and targets to express their emotions. In analogy the vision of the female androids in the novel is the view on how male see the relations between man and woman could evaluate and relate these relations to wider meanings.
The lack of presence of the wife character in the novel while the main focus stays on Rachael throughout the book may show some interesting conclusions. The modeling of the female android in the book might show the fantasies of the modern man on how the women should be looking and how the man –female relations should be like. The feel of connections that is present in the novel with the three androids that the story covers. If we try to analyze the three female figures that surrounds the hero beside his wife, we find that Rachael is represented as the ‘healing woman’ who saves Deckard’s life, Luft the opera singer, and Pris as a ‘pleasure’ model android, who both pose serious threats to the hero.
It can be noticed that the demands of the modern man in searching for the object of his affection, in the future might be fulfilled in the form of the constructed female robots. That gives an assumption in the novel that in the future the more mechanical way of relationships between male and female will substitute the usual human feelings and emotions.
There is another main idea of portraying the humans in that modern, technological and cold world as android or replicant like species. It might be concluded from the ending of the novel that for the human to be “healed” a connection with nature should be practiced. For confirming the previous statement we can notice the focus on animals in the novel and specifically in the title. The definition of animals in the novel as distinguishing symbol for what is human and what is not is an imagery of the technological animal life. It might not be fetishism like presentation, but it certainly gives a wider meaning for the animals in the novel. It may be an idea placed by the author that Deckard and humans in general have already became android like creatures distancing themselves more and more by becoming logical, rational, calculating, though the need for animals still present. We can notice that this fictional prediction in the book might, in a way or another started to get realization in our time. We can notice the mass use of the games and programs that use simulation of real life and create a substitute for their identities and even for their pets in electronic form. Definitely the use the animal in the book was not such an absurd idea, taking in consideration that in our time people use electronic pets instead of real ones.
Another important idea of the book was the humanity description that was portrayed as a division of the community to human and inhuman. The destruction of androids in the novel as a result for their classification as inhuman can be paralleled with ethnic discrimination and extermination found in history of the twentieth century.
The difference portrayed in the novel between the androids and humans aside for the effects resulted from the test of Voight-Kampff is the absence of empathy which could be subject for debates. The androids shown in the novel which has to be exterminated or retired as suggested in the novel are distinguished from the others by the crimes they committed and along with the others they were described simply as identical to human. So the subject of humanity and who deserve to live and die is very relative. It can be added from the views of history, e.g. the extermination of Jews for not being identical or deserving to die very similar to the situations portrayed in the novel.
Overall the concepts portrayed in the novel though were described as futuristic can be very similar to the situations in our world today. Problems of humanity and in humanity can still be topical even without the androids and the replicants. The relations between males and females in the world today or the world described in the book are the relations based on absence of emotions. Relations when man find in android woman who stylistically and physically presents his fantasies are more convenient for him than relations with a human woman. A woman who most of the time stays at home and spends her days under the influence of the empathy box and the mood organ.
Works cited
Dick, Philip K. Do androids dream of electric sheep? New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.
Thesis Statement
The human and in human relations might be different at first sight in the worlds near future but it turn out to be similar to our world today as a result of the worlds lack of emotions and eternal search for them. The problems of describing humanity are very relevant in our world standards.
Explain below the main idea of each body paragraph and how it supports the thesis:
- First body paragraph
- The description of the women in the novel with their relations to the hero and how he find that he connected more to the android woman
- What specific support from the text do you have to support your idea?
- The hero has sex with Rachael and he did not retire her even after she reveals her true intentions.
Second body paragraph
The presence of animals in the novel shows the need of man to feel the need to love and take care of something or someone. The exchange of real animals with simulated or electric substitutes is a part of the idea the author tries to deliver.
What specific support from the text do you have to support your idea?
The hero feeds his electric sheep because he is trying to hide that the sheep is not alive from the neighbors. The discovery of a live animal at the end of the novel can be explained as symbol of returning to nature.
Third body paragraph
The subjects of humanity in the text of the novel and the dilemma of distinguishing the human and the inhuman throughout the whole novel can be explained as a parallel to the world today.
What specific support from the text do you have to support your idea?
The use of the test as a tool to examine and identify the androids, the difficulties the hero find in the doubts of distinguishing the human and inhuman in the book along with the relation with Rachael despite knowing that she an android all are pointers to the idea of the paragraph.