Dick's World

As shown by the endless “no artificial additives or preservatives” label dominating fridges and pantries across the nation, society’s obsession with all things natural and whole persists. Yet, despite research which shows organic fruits and veggies don’t truly provide more nutrients, growing numbers of people remain willing to pay large amounts of money and sacrifice convenience in order to hop onto the organic bandwagon. People view organic things as real because they lack the artificial byproducts of human creation (such as pesticides and unnatural fertilizer). So, perhaps it is less so that organic foods entrance people with their many health benefits, but that people place great emphasis on the value of authentic things: real food and,

People in the book struggle to accept the androids because humans created them through unnatural (essentially artificial) means, gave them false memories, allowed them to live for only four years, and restricted their ability to feel empathy. All three of these points defy important facets of humanity: natural creation through fertilization, developing from a child to an adult, and expressing compassion. However, the androids do not have control over any of these shortcomings: they function this way because humans created them with these limitations in place. The main character and android bounty hunter Rick Deckard begins to empathize with the androids because he sees that, although they were programmed to lack empathy, the androids continually express frustration towards their inability to experience life from birth to death and to empathize. In a scene near the beginning of the book, Dick depicts an android named Luba Luft standing, entranced, in front of a painting of a young girl - sitting naked on a bed, her hands clasped with a shadow stretching out behind her. Painted by Munch and titled Puberty, this painting represents to Luba everything she cannot experience: all the emotions and experience that come with growing up. In the same scene Luba says “‘There’s something very strange and touching about humans ... I really don’t like androids...’” (Dick 133 - 134). She goes on to explain to Rick how she has spent her life trying to imitate a “superior life-form” (Dick 134). Her slight jealously and immense frustration towards her situation shows a helpless android with a desire to be what society deems human, not an emotionless and dangerous machine. Another example of this is when a group of androids - Pris, Roy, and Imrgard - seek shelter from Rick in the home