You will have until 10:00 AM, Monday, April 8th, to give your insights on the following prompt and are welcome to use the assigned readings and your notes. With this in mind, please do use and cite quoted examples from the assigned reading parenthetically in response; for example, (Dick 150).
As stated on pages eight and nine of our syllabus, your response should be at least 400 words to be accepted, though you are welcome to write more. Your response should begin with an introductory paragraph that states your viewpoint as a clear argument that you can prove using evidence from what we have studied in class. This should then be followed by body paragraphs (more than one, please) to organize your ideas. A concluding paragraph is welcome but not required.
Prompt:
In terms how we approach responsibility for our creations as this mirrors the responsibility that we should show for one another, 1) what do you see as the overall theme of Dick’s novel, and 2) how would this theme change if the novel concluded with Chapter 21 and did not include Chapter 22? Please use and cite quoted examples from both chapters (you may also reference other chapters but do include Chapter 21 and Chapter 22) in your response.
April 1 Notes
I. Philip K. Dick
1. 1928
A. Born December 16 in Chicago.
2. 1929
A. Twin sister, Jane, dies.
B. Critics have argued that Jane’s loss informs Dick’s focus on dualities such as real/fake, science fiction/mainstream, and human/android.
3. 1940
A. Dick develops a love for reading the popular science fiction magazines of his day.
4. Early 1950’s
A. Dick begins to publish at an astounding rate. Seven of his stories appear in June 1953 alone.
5. 1959 – 1964
A. Dick publishes sixteen novels.
B. Wins the Hugo Award in 1963 for The Man in the High Castle.
6. 1968
A. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? published.
7. 1982
A. Dies March 2 as the result of heart failure.
II. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
1. Dick’s novel offers a dystopian vision.
2. The term android derives from the Greek andr-, meaning “man,” and the suffix –eides, used to mean “of the species; alike.”
A. The only factor that distinguishes an andy from a human is the perception of the inability of andys to experience empathy.
3. Themes
A. Empathy
i. The inability to experience empathy is the primary characteristic that separates androids from humans.
ii. Nevertheless, the lack of empathy alone does not dehumanize the androids greatly in our eyes. This absence in the androids actually informs us of our own humanity. Consider, for example, that bounty hunters are not supposed to feel empathy for androids. Doesn’t this blur the line further between human and android?
iii. Does Iran possess more “humanity” than her husband since she does feel empathy for androids?
iv. Immediately following Polokov’s retirement, Deckard calls his wife. What is the significance of Deckard’s comparison of Iran to Polokov? Is Polokov in some way more human, in Deckard’s perception, than Iran?
B. Technology
i. Bounty hunters, such as Deckard, use the Voigt-Kampff Test to distinguish between androids and humans. Technology largely controls the lives of the characters and is essential in their perception of reality.
ii. What is the role of the mood organ? Again, ask yourselves to what degree humans in Dick’s novel are dependent on technology in their view of reality.
iii. What is the role of television? Think in particular of Buster Friendly. This program fills in the vast silences in the aftermath of World War Terminus where human noise would otherwise exist. Compare the use of television in Androids to its use in Fahrenheit 451.
D. World War Terminus (WWT)
i. No one knows who started the war.
ii. The reality of the war’s aftermath is an undeniable part of everyday life. Nature is destroyed. Consider the advertisements for “Mountibank Lead Codpieces.”
iii. WWT represents the devastation that can result from the misuse of technological power. It is interesting in this light that technology is also used to fill the gaps created by the war, as can be observed in the Buster Friendly Television Program, or in the creation of electric animals as replacements for those destroyed. The owners of non-electric animals enjoy social status. Remember that this is Deckard’s goal as a bounty hunter: he wants to buy a real sheep. He finds owning an electric sheep to be demoralizing. Moreover, androids are created to replace people lost in the war and to perform tasks that humans are not willing to do. Their treatment shows a continuing misuse of power. Androids are seen as sub-human forms of life; they are essentially slaves and are advertised as such.
E. Mercerism
i. Quasi-religious movement founded upon the ability of humans to experience fusion with Wilbur Mercer via an empathy box. When connected to Mercer, the user of the empathy box is also connected to all other users “logged in” at that moment.
ii. Because they are seen as incapable of empathy, androids are excluded from fusion with Mercer. Consider how this again represents a method of control and justifies the treatment of androids in Dick’s novel.
April 3 Notes
April 3 Notes
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
I. Chapter 9-Chapter 11
1. In his pursuit of Luba Luft, what evidence suggests that Deckard himself might be an android?
2. At the end of Chapter 11, what is the importance to Resch’s conception of his identity that he loves his pet squirrel, Buffy?
II. Chapter 12
1. What is the significance of Edvard Munch’s Scream (1893) to Resch? What is the significance of Munch’s Puberty (1895) to Luba? (see the two images following this learning module)
2. How does Deckard react to the possibility that he is beginning to empathize with female androids?
