After reading the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, it was interesting to see how animals played such a large role in the society of that world.  In the world of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, status is having a real animal.  The issue of having a real animal versus an android animal plays very heavily in the interactions of many people throughout the book.  This is interesting because in our world there are many times we hear of an animal on verge of extinction and hardly anything is being done about it.  This novel in a way provides a glimpse into what may happen in terms of animals and their future.  The novel also presents an idea that people only want what they can’t have.  Only till the point of the animals dying off and there being so few of them, does a person care about the animals.  The people in the story aren’t buying the animals for the right reasons to keep them alive but merely buying them to advance their status.  With such a view like that, it’s no wonder the animals have died off and android animals are being made to replace them. 

So far I have a very conflicted outlook on this novel. Upon reading the first 100 pages you see a human named Lilith being helped by individuals that have kept her captive for two years. After being “freed” she becomes apart of a huge experiment. So far the book is interesting, however I’m still a little skeptic of the outcome. Although she is no longer physically captive she still is not completely freed. Lilith is now cured thanks to the aliens with limited facial features, but they continue to use her to help other humans with survival skills they believe are necessary for the world(earth) to come. I still don’t quite understand why they freed her or what their true intentions. So far I’m left clueless to what Lilith outcome maybe. Although they have cured her they fail to help her with any concerns she have about her family. I can’t wait to see how this ends.

Unlike previous books I’ve read in this class, ‘Dawn’, by Octavia E. Butler creates a scenario in which humans are not in control of their immediate future. I personally have enjoyed reading through and imaging some of these situations presented. The idea of humanoid beings traveling to earth in an effort to recuse humanity from it’s own destruction makes for an interesting plot. First visual contact with the Oankali by Lilith truly shows how it’s possible for intelligent life to take on various forms, alien to us. This encounter also demonstrates how two separate forms of life can perceive each other as strange or uncanny. Medusa is what Lilith use to describe Jdahya’s hair like sensory organs. This encounter might share similarities with those on earth. Through out human history, contact with different civilization has often lead to a wider understanding for both side and allowed the thought of being apart of a much bigger world.

we see lilith a “prisoner”, who shortly becomes free after two years in a cell. or at least she had thought so. Lilth is now part of a large experiment using humans, that survived the war, to one day go back to earth and rebuild. there are a bunch of survivors from the war on earth that were taken to the “ship”, which is somewhere in outer space controlled by a alien race. the idea being is that they can convince one human to teach the other humans, which are still unconscious, but will soon be awaken. Also to aid the, soon to be awaken humans to, communicate and learn from the aliens. certain memories have been erased from the humans. Why cant Lilith have paper and a pen to use which would aid her in what she she needs to learn from the aliens?

In the novel “ Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” written by Philip K. Dick a major theme I noticed was intelligence verse the inability to encumber. The two abilities/inabilities are contrasted and the term “chicken head” is used to describe those who are thought to be mentality deficient. Rick makes a comment in the beginning of the novel that he is skilled and has the ability to overpower and kill and android, but also acknowledges that the skill can be taken from him at any moment due to the radioactive dust the covers the world. John has already become a victim of what they acknowledge as the cloud and is now refrain to the term “chicken head”, which is a person that has a diminishing mental ability.

People who are referred to as chicken heads are looked down upon and treated as second class citizens. They are not allowed to emigrate to Mars because they fear that people who are infected would contaminate the other citizens. They are not even allowed to do certain jobs. This deceives Dick’s belief on what the future society will be like. In a sarcastic but funny way John is the character that has the most sense of humanity making him have more human traits than tan the others.

In “do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” there was one part in particular that for me did not add up. that part was when Rebecca Rosen showed up at Decker’s place after he told her to go back to Seattle. this doesn’t add up because in that passage she goes up to the roof and in front of witnesses pushes his new goat off the roof. I understand that she was hurt by him but what I don’t get is why if living animals are so precious then why were there no repercussions to her actions. Even in this day and age where animals are not held in such  high regard, why is it in a time where you will be shunned if you don’t have one why can Rebecca Rosen get away with such a horrendous act?

in androids, there is a big difference in the way robots are viewed than that of caves of steel. The humanoid robots in androids are very close to humans in their physical appearance.They are very devious and move with a purpose. They are organized and have a common objective. Out of the 8 androids that escaped mars, all of them ended up getting retired by the bounty hunters suck as rick, Phil, and Dave Holden. This is due to the relationship between humans of earth and robots in general. In androids it is clear that their presence is unacceptable on Earth where as in caves of steel robots are just resented. There are bounty hunters who go about retiring androids where as in caves of steel they are not pursued. Even a robot such as daneel is still inferior in many ways when compared to a android such as Rachael. Daneel was constrained to his programming as apposed to Rachael who had a sense of free choice which makes her more capable and dangerous. At the end of androids, rick almost gets set up by the batys and Rachael. This cunning form of android reflects the relationship between humans and androids.

After reading some chapters of the novel do androids dream of electric sheep is about In the future, San Francisco lies under a cloud of radioactive dust from the last world war. Animals have become very rare, and in the story everyone is dreaming to have a pet that is being in possession of one is showing your wealth and also caring and love. But Rick Deckard only has an electric sheep. He’s dreaming of buying a real one, but the prices is very expensive, and when he is offered to make a lot of money he can’t refuse. He’s working for the police; an android killer. His job is to kill androids that have escaped illegally from Mars. He is very well paid for this job, but it is not an easy job. This androids are Nexus 6, the new model. They look exactly like humans. His hunt will change him for ever. He’s going to be confronted to queries about what makes the difference between a human being and a machine. I found this story very interesting and I sometimes ask similar kind of question that was mentioned in the book.