preview

What Is The Thought Process In The Electric Ant, By Philip K. Dick

Decent Essays

One’s thought process is one of the most important tools any human can utilize. A thought process can be applied to just about anything whether it is taking a test, planning your day, or writing a story. An author’s thought process is generally evident by the end of their story and their goal is achieved whether the reader thinks so or not. In Philip K Dick’s short story The Electric Ant I found Dick’s thought process hazy but at the same time I discovered constant life advice. As a reader I obtained a theme of striving for a better way of life, which was similar to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. On a similar note both of these fantasy science-fiction short stories have an ending that makes me question what was going through the authors’ minds.
The first clue that gave …show more content…

It starts with Poole contemplating committing suicide, “”I think I will kill myself”, I said to himself” (Page 3). Then a couple of lines later Poole is already thinking about how he can beat the system, “My universe is lying within my fingers, he realized. If I can just figure out how the damn thing works. All I set out to do originally was to search for and locate my programming circuit so I could gain true homeostatic functioning: control of myself.” (Page 4) While it seems rather quick that Poole can already figure out how to possibly fix himself considering he has only known for a little while that he is not human, I see what Dick is trying to accomplish. You cannot dwell on the past, only live in the present and try to plan for the future. Dick shows this quick turnaround time with Poole to show his short memory and how to move on from those events. Poole wants to live a normal life (mostly to be with Sarah), but this scene shows he is willing to search for a better way to live life. Dick provides the reader with life advice throughout the short story, but at this moment is when his main theme is

Get Access