Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep Analysis

The post-apocalyptic future in Phillip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is set in a science-fiction world. It functions by dehumanizing people through institutionalized dependency and a false sense of connectedness, while alienating androids for their inhuman qualities. Dick uses this dichotomy to inspire his readers to consider both what it is that makes us human, as well as what it is that makes us not. The book is rife with irony and social satire. The protagonist, Rick Deckard, is a bounty hunter on a mission to wipe out rogue androids. He uses a peculiar contraption called a Voigt-Kampff test which supposedly measures the empathetical response to multiple questions, thus proving ones humanity. The Voigt-Kampff test

is faulty, however, as it is shown in three different scenarios to inaccurately measure empathy; therefore, anyone can be deemed an Android by the test, and vice versa. The fear that the humans exhibit is explained by Japanese roboticist and expert, Masahiro Miro, who coined the term “Uncanny Valley.” The term describes the negative human reaction towards an overtly humanlike android. He talks about how people, when confronted with an android, will feel an affinity towards it up to a certain point, after that point has been reached revulsion takes over. The point is entirely dependent on how human seeming, acting, and looking the android is. This concept is represented within Dick’s novel with the obvious fear and animosity that the protagonists react with, and target towards, the androids.
The strongest motif in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is that of what it means to be alive. This is closely followed by the idea of what it means to be human. In a world where animals dictate ones social status and have nearly become extinct, their value is paramount. In one scene, Rick and his neighbor Barbour meet on the rooftop. Rick is jealous of Barbour’s real horse; feeling that his android sheep is inadequate in comparison. “For you to have two horses and me to have none, that violates the whole basic theological and moral structure of Mercerism.” Mercer is the equivalent of Jesus in this world. Rick is making an argument as to why Barbour should sell him a horse out of “Christian charity.” This scene is illustrative of the class structure and presents itself as a laughable sort of apocalyptic suburbia; they could just as easily have been comparing their cars. The separation of androids and humans is crucial to the functionality of society, yet the Voigt-Kampff test defines humanity by ones response to the death of animals. Therefore, it creates a hierarchical system where animals are above humans in terms of their value.
[…]it seems somewhat ironic that 9 of the 10 questions asked refer to animals and not people. The animals represent, despite the fact that they’re mostly electric, the original primal man, untouched by its technological ‘progress’). Humanitarian compassion has been replaced with compassion towards animals. Compassion that often ‘only’ exist toward synthetic animals, for instance the electrical sheep Rick and his wife Iran own in the beginning of the novel. This lack of empathy in-between mankind is well exemplified by Rick and Iran.
Heilemann 5
As Heinemann is saying, compassion is not measured by how you interact with other people. If anything there is a lack of human interaction in this world, and instead merely a tolerance for other people. It is hard to point to a loving relationship between humans. Rick and his wife Iran are introduced to the reader in the middle of an argument, and from then on have a cold and distant relationship. The people love animals but not each other. Even though electronic animals are more accepted than the androids, there is an underlying stigma towards them. This is particularly evident when in comparison with biological life, even though there is very little camaraderie between humans.
Empathy is beyond an emotion, it’s more of a concept or a state of being. Empathy in Dick’s novel is a pivotal concept to mankind, as can be seen from the Voigt-Kampff test, which measures one’s empathy by the reaction that is seen in the eyes. The eye, the window to the soul, allows humans to detect an android; as androids have muted reactions when it comes to the questions on the Voigt-Kampff test. It is a test that observes ones response when asked questions about the death and consumption of animals. According to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a human reacts with extreme repulsion when placed in situations that involve the death of animals, however androids act indifferent when faced with the same situation; even though they’ve learned to act with disgust, their eyes don't display this emotion. The humans dependency on the Empathy Box paints a unique ambiguity on whether they truly are empathetic creatures, since they routinely require these devices. “[…] the Empathetic gift blurred the boundaries between hunter and victim, between the successful and the defeated” (Dick 31). As this quote shows, humans require external stimulation in order to feel basic empathy, or rather, excessive empathy. In order to secure the preservation of endangered animals species, empathy has been magnified. One visible side effect of this is that fundamental human instincts, such as hunting and carnivorous appetites, are being suppressed by society. As shown within Iran and Rick’s marriage, the people’s values have shifted from humanitarian compassion to compassion towards animals.
Much of the love in the book is unreciprocated.

As Rick observes, “The tyranny of an object […] It doesn't know I exist. Like the androids, it [has] no ability to appreciate the existence of another” (Dick 42). That said, Dick has created a plethora of ambiguity around this concept. On Mars, for instance—where everyone is gifted with an android servant, the humans will sometimes take one as a mistress. The human androids, unlike the electric sheep, are somewhat aware of their surroundings, as can be seen when Roy leads an android revolt and escapes to Earth. The androids themselves feel as if they are inferior to humans, but does this mean that they are without empathy? Various technology has enabled the people to access empathy on a deeper level, but that shouldn't rule out all other forms of emotion. As Irmgard says, “It’s that empathy […] isn’t it a way of proving that humans can do something that we can’t do? Because without the Mercer experience, we just have your word that you feel this empathy business, this shared, group thing” (Dick 209-210). Irmgard is Roy’s lover, and another escaped android from Mars. Her point resonates with the overarching ambiguity of manufactured empathy. After all, it is ignoble to suggest that your own empathy is more valid and worthy than another’s, even if that creature is manufactured

itself.
If empathy helps to define humanity, what helps to define individuality? The Empathy Box is a metaphor for Christianity. It operates by immersing people in a noble situation, where they can watch Mercer, a Christlike figure, struggle up a hill while rocks fly towards his face. The experience is heightened by imagining yourself as Mercer, thereby simulating what is the very definition of empathy. “An empathy box […] is the most personal possession you have! It’s an extension of your body; it’s the way you touch other humans, it’s the way you stop being alone.” (Dick 66) To touch other humans through a virtual medium is eerily prophetic of platforms like social media, which have gained accelerated traction in the 21st century. The box helps people to feel connected to humanity in a similar way to how Christianity builds community. It helps them to feel connected, true, but what helps them to feel unique? This presents another rich and complicated question within the novel, one that’s explored by Dick in a variety of ways. Second to the Empathy Box, we have the Mood Organ, through which we can wonder at what genuine mood is and, along that line, what genuine personality is. The Mood Organ is a device that creates emotion. The entire experience of humanity is lessened when it is used, though, because it diminishes the people’s need to create positive or negative moods in others, while also reducing their capacity to notice mood. As Iran says, “[…] although I heard the emptiness intellectually, I didn’t feel it […] I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just in this building but everywhere, and not reacting—do you see?” (Dick 5) In this scene she uses the Mood Organ to feel depressed, in spite of Rick’s disapproval. She feels it’s appropriate because of the “empty apartments” that surround their own. It is an interesting concept. It makes you wonder, with such a device in existence, whether emotions such as sadness would disappear. It is also crucial to the making of identity. It is often stated that we are the result of our behavior. Emotion controls behavior, so in a world where it has been harnessed by the government, what are we, on an individual level?
The reduction process is extended through the use of animals. Status is now defined by them, which is apparent in the scene with Rick and Barbour. Animals define who you are, in a sense, and it doesn't matter what kind of animal you have as long as it’s a real one. This further illuminates the hierarchical nature of the world, where biologically natural humans are paramount in importance. It is embarrassing to own mechanical animals; it reflects poorly on yourself. After Rick reveals to Barbour that he has an electric sheep, Barbour says, “I wont say anything to anybody here in the building.” (Dick 13) It is laughable that, in a post-apocalyptic world where so much has gone wrong, people are still concerned about their reputations. Part of the reason for this could be Buster Friendly; a cynical Jimmy-Fallon-like TV entertainer. His presence in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is conveyed through different characters. He is adored by the fool, Isidore, but only when he’s switched on. After that, Isidore feels the sharp and keen loneliness of his life. He describes, “lungless, all-penetrating, masterful world-silence.” and how it’s “better, perhaps to turn the TV back on.” (Dick 21) Buster, therefore, is a metaphor for TV. Dick seems to be criticizing TV for its effect of deceiving us to believe we have friendship, community, and personal productivity. The idea that some clever, friendly person is talking to you, cheering you up, and bringing you into his confidence is addictive to Isidore. After he turns him off, however, what substance is he left with? He begins to realize how isolated he is in the world, no longer under the influence of Buster Friendly telling him that he is not alone.