A Scanner Darkly - Part 1 Reflection (Or why I'm starting to both hate and love Bob Arctor)

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8:11 PM

I say it every time. Philip K. Dick has a gift when it comes to creating believable worlds and populating those worlds with vibrant characters. A Scanner Darkly is, once again, no exception. But for the first time I find my self in conflict with the character he has given us; I don't like Bob Arctor.

Arctor started off the same as any character to me. He is a complex man somehow lodged at the pivotal point between the 'straight' world and the world of Substance-D. Much like our other leading men in the past, he was thrust into a position that gave him a unique look at the universe PKD had created for us. Like some of the prior protagonists, he had a moral high ground given to him by position. Deckard of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was a officer charged with decommissioning rogue androids.  Arctor is a undercover narc agent, responsible for busting and reporting on the drug business in the city. Deckard goes through his crisis of identity when he thinks of androids as more than machines, but Arctor's big change in personality came before we met him. And unlike Deckard's, Arctor's change of perspective failed to put him on the moral high ground.

Arctor hit his head. That bump on a kitchen cabinet convinced him to leave his wife and two daughters, quit his job, and start life anew.  I had been tolerating his character until that detail was revealed. I had almost been looking at him, and any book protagonist until their little details are revealed, as if he were wearing one of those Scramble Suits. He was everyman, not a specific man. I didn't notice my traits, only imposed my ideas of a PKD protagonist onto him. Now the suit is off and I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing.

Disliking a character isn't necessarily a bad thing. The fact that I feel any emotions at all to a fictional person is a victory in itself. At the same time, it opens the doors to character development. On the level of the reader, Arctor will have to earn every bit of admiration he wants out of me. Within the story, Arctor could have a massive change of heart. He, like Deckard, could discover his humanity and either embrace it, or leave it behind. I'm willing to tolerate a few hundred more pages with Arctor to find out how its going to go for him.

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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