Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - My Part 1 Reflection
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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
While discussing the week's workload of school work with a friend, I mentioned that I had to read 11 chapters of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. A person seated a booth over jumped in and corrected me: "No, you get to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," and proceeded to pile praise upon the book. After reading through its chapters for the first time this last week, I can definitely say that all the praise is deserved.
The book started quickly. Much like Rick was jolted into the world by his alarm clock, I was suddenly put into a world I knew little about. Prior knowledge told me that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner. But having only a vague idea of what Blade Runner was about (Robots?) left me assuming far too much about the beginning of this Novel. I thought Iran was a android for the longest time. Her first line of dialogue, "Keep your hand off my settings." and my spotty knowledge of the novel's universe firmly reinforced this. Rick's announced occupation of Android Killer dispelled this belief of mine fairly quickly.
Despite its fast beginnings, I never really found myself confused. Every element of this strange world was carefully explained, but it was done skillfully enough were I never felt like I was having information spoon fed to me. Each step of the way seemed natural. Every artificial element of this fictional world seemed completely natural given the context and presentation. The chemically augmented fight between Iran and Rick, the electric sheep and its numerous neighbors on the rooftop, the idea of rogue androids infiltrating our society; none of these ideals warranted a second glance in context.
The character of Isidore was somewhat of an anomaly for me. I felt favorably to the character immidately simply because of his name; my grandmother's middle name is Isidore and I absolutely adore that name. As his character developed beyond my initial perspectives, I felt conflicted. This man is nothing like any character we had been introduced to by this point. Isidore was a 'chickenhead', someone who scored below standard IQ levels, and 'special' and thus unable to reproduce. He follows a religion which essentially condemns him as useless due to his being 'special'.
My first real moment of confusion during the story came while Rick was dealing with Luba Luft, as he is being taken away by the police officer that arrives. This feeling of confusion, no doubt, was intentional and matched much of what Rick must have been going through at the time. In my mind I saw two distinct possibilities First, I thought that he had somehow been moved out of place in time. It sounds silly to say it was my first explanation, but in a unfamiliar science fiction universe it is definitely plausible. After all, Isidore had mentioned he could turn back time to save dying animals as a child. Maybe that was a theme to be expanded? My second situation guess proved to be the one that was true: the androids Rick was sent to hunt had created a psudo-police organization for the protection of robotkind.
I'm incredibly excited to continue on in this book. Rick has partnered himself with a android hunter who, unbeknownst to himself, is actually an android. The questions this novel seeks to create about humanity and its definitions are coming to light and I'm anxious to see their resolution.
While discussing the week's workload of school work with a friend, I mentioned that I had to read 11 chapters of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. A person seated a booth over jumped in and corrected me: "No, you get to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," and proceeded to pile praise upon the book. After reading through its chapters for the first time this last week, I can definitely say that all the praise is deserved.
The book started quickly. Much like Rick was jolted into the world by his alarm clock, I was suddenly put into a world I knew little about. Prior knowledge told me that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner. But having only a vague idea of what Blade Runner was about (Robots?) left me assuming far too much about the beginning of this Novel. I thought Iran was a android for the longest time. Her first line of dialogue, "Keep your hand off my settings." and my spotty knowledge of the novel's universe firmly reinforced this. Rick's announced occupation of Android Killer dispelled this belief of mine fairly quickly.
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| Fun Fact: There is a Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? comic! I'll be picking this one up next time I swing through Sioux Falls for sure. |
Despite its fast beginnings, I never really found myself confused. Every element of this strange world was carefully explained, but it was done skillfully enough were I never felt like I was having information spoon fed to me. Each step of the way seemed natural. Every artificial element of this fictional world seemed completely natural given the context and presentation. The chemically augmented fight between Iran and Rick, the electric sheep and its numerous neighbors on the rooftop, the idea of rogue androids infiltrating our society; none of these ideals warranted a second glance in context.
The character of Isidore was somewhat of an anomaly for me. I felt favorably to the character immidately simply because of his name; my grandmother's middle name is Isidore and I absolutely adore that name. As his character developed beyond my initial perspectives, I felt conflicted. This man is nothing like any character we had been introduced to by this point. Isidore was a 'chickenhead', someone who scored below standard IQ levels, and 'special' and thus unable to reproduce. He follows a religion which essentially condemns him as useless due to his being 'special'.
My first real moment of confusion during the story came while Rick was dealing with Luba Luft, as he is being taken away by the police officer that arrives. This feeling of confusion, no doubt, was intentional and matched much of what Rick must have been going through at the time. In my mind I saw two distinct possibilities First, I thought that he had somehow been moved out of place in time. It sounds silly to say it was my first explanation, but in a unfamiliar science fiction universe it is definitely plausible. After all, Isidore had mentioned he could turn back time to save dying animals as a child. Maybe that was a theme to be expanded? My second situation guess proved to be the one that was true: the androids Rick was sent to hunt had created a psudo-police organization for the protection of robotkind.
I'm incredibly excited to continue on in this book. Rick has partnered himself with a android hunter who, unbeknownst to himself, is actually an android. The questions this novel seeks to create about humanity and its definitions are coming to light and I'm anxious to see their resolution.
About the author
Alissa is a Junior English for New Media student at Dakota State University. This blog and its posts exist as a part of the course: ENGL 343 - Literature: Philip K. Dick.
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Yes--Isadore is an intriguing character--especially as the term "special" may not just refer to his low IQ and inability to reproduce. As you noted, he talks about a time when he could save dying animals. Also, he seems to have empathic abilities even when he is not connected to the machines. He knows things about the androids, but perhaps more intuitively than cognitively. ?
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