In Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, humans and androids stand in direct opposition with one another: they must destroy each other to maintain their existence on a dystopic Earth with an ever-dwindling population. With this being said, the distinctions between dehumanized humans and humanized androids seem to grow smaller all the time, creating a cause for concern for both humans and androids alike, begging questions of what it means to be human, what it is to feel “genuine” emotions, and how to decipher reality. Iran Deckard, wife of protagonist Rick, as well as the female androids Luba Luft, Rachael Rosen, and Pris Stratton, serve as Dick’s vessels to illustrate these significant thematic concepts such
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This talent along with her personality causes protagonist Rick Deckard to eventually develop a sense of empathy toward her, altering his attitude on androids as well as his own career and existence. Luba, similarly to Pris, is so desperate to replicate the emotions a human would feel that she glosses over the emotions that seem to reside within her in regards to art. Art can only be engaging if a viewer feels connected empathetically to the piece, leaving an open-ended interpretation as to whether or not the Voigt-Kampff empathy test would have denoted a human empathetic capacity in Luba. On pages 133 and 134, Luba declares, “I really don’t like androids. Ever since I got here from Mars my life has consisted of imitating the human, doing what she would do, acting as if I had the thoughts and impulses a human would have. Imitating, as far as I’m concerned, a superior life-form”. This makes a reader question if an android not only looks and acts human but also actively desires to be human, can it truly continue to be considered imitation? Rachael Rosen, the novel’s femme fatale, infatuates and outsmarts Rick Deckard several times despite the fact that she is an android. After eventually sleeping with Rick, Rachael reveals her true motive: to manipulate Rick so as not to be able to retire the remaining androids. She explains that
This talent along with her personality causes protagonist Rick Deckard to eventually develop a sense of empathy toward her, altering his attitude on androids as well as his own career and existence. Luba, similarly to Pris, is so desperate to replicate the emotions a human would feel that she glosses over the emotions that seem to reside within her in regards to art. Art can only be engaging if a viewer feels connected empathetically to the piece, leaving an open-ended interpretation as to whether or not the Voigt-Kampff empathy test would have denoted a human empathetic capacity in Luba. On pages 133 and 134, Luba declares, “I really don’t like androids. Ever since I got here from Mars my life has consisted of imitating the human, doing what she would do, acting as if I had the thoughts and impulses a human would have. Imitating, as far as I’m concerned, a superior life-form”. This makes a reader question if an android not only looks and acts human but also actively desires to be human, can it truly continue to be considered imitation? Rachael Rosen, the novel’s femme fatale, infatuates and outsmarts Rick Deckard several times despite the fact that she is an android. After eventually sleeping with Rick, Rachael reveals her true motive: to manipulate Rick so as not to be able to retire the remaining androids. She explains that