Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep Character Analysis

Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, examines the idea of empathy—forcing characters and readers alike to question just how much empathy one must have to be considered human. The main hero, Rick Deckard, feels as if androids and electric animals are incapable of feeling empathy towards humans or other machines, thus making it acceptable for Rick to “retire” androids due to the fact that they are unable to function as a human with empathetic response towards others. While Rick Deckard begins to question his empathy when Phil Resch, a bounty hunter, retires Luba Luft, an android Deckard describes as beautiful and talented, Deckard’s true reexamination of his empathetic response is sparked when he encounters Rachael

During the first few pages of the novel, readers uncover that Deckard once had a real sheep, but now he is demoted to taking care of an electrical one. ‘‘It’s not the same,’ Barbour finished. ‘But almost. You feel the same doing it…’ he [Deckard] said to Barbour” (Dick, 12). By this, Deckard means that the electric animals must be taken care of just as much as real animals, but fundamentally they are not the same because they are unable to actually know their owner is there and they are unable to care for their owner because of their built-in programming. Readers are able to understand where Rick Deckard is coming from because most people have pets that they care for and love. If these animals did not show their owners affection by licking them, rubbing up against them, purring by them, etc.., owners would feel a sense of resentment towards the animal, just as Deckard feels towards his sheep. The resentment in turn leads to Deckard feeling like there is always something missing in his life—something to love and care for that loves and cares for him as well. Deckard’s meeting with Rachael Rosen sparked his internal examination of empathy, allowing him to not only rethink his feelings toward androids, but to rethink his feelings towards electric animals as well. When Rick discovers that the toad he found is an electric toad, he states, “‘The electric things have

When other characters would mention Deckard being a bounty hunter, he would always come off as defensive toward what he had to do. “I’ve never killed a human being in my life.” (Dick, 4). The aforementioned statement is just one example of the justifications he makes to others about killing androids. To continue being a bounty hunter, Deckard must rationalize his behavior because deep down, he knows that retiring androids is wrong. People today use different defense mechanisms in order to make excuses as to why what they are doing is okay, just like Deckard must do in the beginning of the book. After Deckard meets Rosen in the hotel, he fundamentally changes the way he feels about himself by questioning his actions and his job. By questioning his choices, Deckard shows empathy and remorse towards the androids he has killed and the electric animals he has tended to, knowing that he has not been doing what he should have been doing for years. Rick Deckard is able to fully understand his empathy, now extending out towards androids and electric animals, which in turn allows him to see a revised version of himself—a version that is able to take responsibility for what he has