Science Fiction In Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep

Great Essays
Science fiction could be described as a realm of fantasy in which the possibilities of the future are explored and the past is rewritten but are there other reasons as well? Authors of this genre write science fiction novels for varying reasons, some might write science fiction for the enjoyment and pleasing of an audience with their imagination or others like Phillip K. Dick might do it to share and explain their philosophical ideas. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" not only entertains its audience but, also, engages the reader to question their ideas and reasoning on what truly makes a person “alive.” In the following, a summary of central plot and subplot will be provided, a discussion of the main character, and some of the philosophical …show more content…
Deckard leaves in his hover car and drives towards the Oregon border on a drive of self-reflection. Deckard finds a toad that he believes is real and can’t believe it because they are supposedly extinct and returns back home with the toad to show Iran. The toad turns out to be an android replication after Iran finds its access panel and Deckard retrieves to his room in a state of depression. The novel ends with Iran calling a pet robot maintenance company for food supplies and tips to upkeep the toad in top shape. There is a less significant but yet important subplot in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep that follows an individual by the name of John Isidore. Isidore is considered a “chicken head”, an individual who carries distorted genes resulting from World War Terminus. Despite his disability, Isidore works as a truck driver for a false animal repair firm called the Van Ness Pet Hospital. Isidore one day hears sounds echo in his apartment building, which has been abandoned before he even moved in. The new resident turns out to be girl by the name of Pris …show more content…
Deckard’s fascination with real animals could almost be called an obsession, so much that he always carries a book around with him called Sydney’s Animal & Fowl that tells him the value of any animal he encounters. It is this strong fascination with real animals that he is almost fooled by the Rosen Association in accepting a bride in the form of owning, a supposedly real, owl but discovers after rejecting the bride that the owl is fake. It is apparent after Deckard’s meeting with the Rosen Association that his mission changes from being a simple bounty collection to killing androids he sees almost on the same level as humans and keeping his sanity in killing these individuals, who in reality are not causing harm to anyone. This would affect him for the remainder of the novel to a point that only sex with Rachael would give him the remaining needed strength to kill the remaining androids. Despite this, even after sex Deckard acknowledges that if it weren’t for the law and the longevity of Rachael’s biology he would leave his wife for Rachael and even marry her. Rachel in a way catalyzed the already present idea in Deckard’s head that he sees androids, not as emotionless and simple machines but instead as thinking beings that deserve sympathy and acknowledgment of

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