Do Aroids Dream Of Electric Sheep Character Analysis

The book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was published in the year of 1968 by the author Phillip Dick. This novel was a depiction of a futuristic outcome of androids being created with similarities to humans. Within the book, readers are given a vivid understanding that the main character Rick Deckard is human. Shortly after, readers compare Dick’s book to an adapted version in 1982, of a futuristic film interpretation by Ridley Scott, who utilized the book to call into question the theme of what it means to be human through the usage of empathy. Within the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by the author Phillip Dick, we are given the setting of a 2021 version of San Francisco’s future. During this time, human life has become so …show more content…
Isidore is a character who would be considered half human and half android since he has been dehumanized. As a result, he is defined as a chicken-head. “He had been a special now for over a year, and not merely in regard to the distorted genes which he carried. Worse still, he had failed to pass the minimum mental faculties test, which made him in popular parlance a chickenhead” (Chapter 2). By being a chicken-head, Isidore’s usage of his genetical empathy box makes him overly empathetic and also makes him realize that everyone is of equal. Therefore, he continues to remain neutral to everyone in need or pain. This is seen through the quote proclaiming: "If you kill them you won 't be able to fuse with Mercer again," Isidore said. "You won 't take me up there? Show me which floor? Just tell me the floor. I 'll figure out which apartment on the floor it is." "No," Isidore said” (Chapter 19). Here, one can see Isidore protecting the androids because he believes that humans should be empathetic to everyone whether they are considered artificial or organic. In essence, the utilization of his character is given to readers as a foil to Deckard. We get a sense of foil by the author’s usage of his character showing parallel similarities between Deckard and the replicants. For instance, the book states Isidore as saying “something merciless that carried a printed list and a gun, that moved machine-like through the flat …show more content…
In the film, we have Deckard falling in love with a replicant known as Rachael. Here is the major turning point within the movie because Deckard does not see her as a replicant, instead he has a harder time trying to label her as one since she is so closely replicated to human qualities. In addition, we are given a final scene between Roy and Deckard. Within this scene, Deckard almost loses the battle or his life so to speak but instead, Roy empathizes with Deckard and decides to spare his life so Deckard is able to run away with the replicant