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Electric Sheep Themes

Decent Essays

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel written by Philip K. Dick. In the novel Dick writes about a bounty hunter named Rick Deckard during a post-apocalyptic time. Rick is a bounty hunter that hunts down androids that escape mars to earth. The problem that faces Rick is the fact that the androids look exactly like humans. Throughout the novel, Dick incorporates many themes such as ethical concerns and what makes one human. Dick uses tools such as animals and the likeness of androids to elaborate on these themes.
There are articles written about the themes presented in Dick’s novel. These articles criticize and review the themes and tools used in Dick’s novel. The three articles that will be reviewed are “Speciesism …show more content…

Vint focuses on the importance that animals play in Dick’s novel. Vint explains how the ethical concerns that are presented in Dick’s novel are better understood through the relationships with animals than with androids. Vint begins with explaining that the main theme of Dick’s novel is “what it means to be human”. Vint then proceeds to explain that androids are put in the position that animals are in reality. According to the article, animals are considered “less-than-human” and are exploited. Vint uses the terms “speciesism”, “carno-Phallogocentrism”, and “Cartesian” to define this type of treatment. Vint explains that the questions concerning this behavior are like the main theme of Dick’s novel, which consider ethics and “what it means to be human”.
Next Vent explains how animals are thought of and used in the novel. She explains that animals are thought of objects of values and are used as a status symbol. Vint explains that the only character to have a real concern for animals is Isidore which is only because of his degenerated mind. Vint also talks about the change in Deckard's use of animals as status symbols to “the key of healing his

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